Announcing the Rochester, MN 2025 Red Kettle Christmas Campaign Chairman

Rochester, Minn. – The Salvation Army is honored to have Brad Trahan serve as our 2025 Red Kettle Christmas Campaign Chairman. This role has been filled by many exceptional members of our community, including Dr. Halena Gazelka, Sheriff Kevin Torgerson, Jerry Williams, and Joe Powers to name a few. As Brad assumes the mantle of advocate for Salvation Army services and volunteer opportunities during the six weeks before Christmas, there are a great many opportunities for Olmsted County residents to make a positive impact on their community.

“Times have been tough for people,” said Trahan, “The Salvation Army offers so many services for people struggling, and I want those services to succeed in helping people.” From gifts for children, to holiday meals, financial and in-kind donations, as well as volunteer time are a great need during the Thanksgiving and Christmas season.

The announcement of Trahan as Christmas Chairman comes just after registertoring.com, the scheduling tool that allows community members to volunteer to ring bells at the red kettles, opened to the public. Every hour of volunteer time given to the red kettles in Olmsted County raises an average of $100 for local services. The annual tradition of bell ringing has grown to raise between one third and one half of all dollars local The Salvation Army raises in a year.

“The kettle season is a time when families and kids can really be involved,” said Trahan, “Kids need to see what it is to volunteer in this community.”

However, last year also kicked off an exciting new tradition: the Downtown Dazzle Parade! Brad Trahan and his team of trusted volunteers worked with the city, local law enforcement, local businesses, and other community groups for a full year leading up to the first Saturday in December. “An hour before the parade had started, there definitely were not thousands of people in Peace Plaza, and we were still very happy at how the parade came together,” said Trahan, “But then 6, 7, 8 thousand people filed in from all across the region to enjoy the lights.

“When you see the eyes of a police sergeant light up because he’s never seen anything like this, and when you hear all the excitement moving through the crowd, it was a great big adrenaline rush!”

This year’s Downtown Dazzle Parade is set for Saturday, December 6. When asked about his hopes for this year’s event, Trahan replied, “we hope for joy, happiness, and that it will bring our community together.

“There’s so much that goes into this parade- I have an amazing team of doers that I can really depend on working on this parade. It’s the joy, the happiness, the togetherness that make the event worth every minute we put into it.”

When asked what he would like to share with his community to set the tone for this year’s campaign, Trahan replied, “while it’s an honor to chair this campaign, my biggest desire for this community is that we would come together and take care of one another.”

To learn more about the many ways you can participate in the 2025 Red Kettle Christmas Campaign, please visit RocehsterSA.org