Every year, on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, as the Ogden Christmas Village lights flicker on, one thing is certain: a line quickly forms at the hot chocolate booth, where volunteers work swiftly to fill cups as fast as the machines allow.
And there, in the middle of it all, is Marshall Konzen.
For more than 15 years, Marshall has served as the fundraising chair for the Ogden Breakfast Exchange Club’s Shoes for Tots program, one of the community's longest-running holiday initiatives.
Using the proceeds from the Christmas village’s booth, Shoes for Tots provides new shoes for children in the Weber and Ogden, Utah, school districts. Counselors identify students who need help; requests flow through the Weber School Foundation; and the Exchange Club fulfills each order, ensuring that kids receive comfortable, well-fitting shoes when their families may not be able to afford them.
Marshall first joined the Exchange Club in the late ’90s, back when the operation looked very different.
“We made cocoa by boiling huge pots of water, mixing in powdered cocoa, and ladling it one cup at a time,” he recalled.
Since then, he’s helped lead the transformation of the booth, adding water tanks and cocoa machines, and even getting a city-installed water faucet after the mayor volunteered one night and witnessed fellow volunteers haul water over 100 yards to the booth from the amphitheater’s janitor's closet.
Today, the booth runs six nights a week from the Saturday after Thanksgiving through December 23rd, raising around $30,000 annually to purchase shoes for students in the Weber and Ogden school districts.
“It was an eye-opener when we realized how much need was truly out there,” Marshall shared. “Parents often worry about so many things before they worry about shoes. Once the community saw what a difference this made, the support just grew.”
Part of that growth has come from new partnerships Marshall has helped build. Three years ago, he worked with the Ogden City Police Department to create Cocoa with Cops, a holiday spin on their “Coffee with Cops” program. For the past three years, officers have come to the Christmas Village to run games, visit with families, and jump behind the counter to help with sales. The Ogden Fire Department has joined in as well, and last year, the mayor himself spent a night in the booth.
Behind the scenes, Marshall handles nearly every moving part: scheduling volunteers for 3-hour shifts, coordinating with other nonprofits to help run the booth, ordering supplies, maintaining equipment, and reaching out to local media to help raise awareness.
Marshall even mentioned how he often starts his Leavitt Group workday early so he can dedicate his evenings to managing the fundraiser during the busiest months.
When the cocoa machines finally shut down on Christmas Eve, Marshall doesn’t slow down. He also volunteers at the Hill Aerospace Museum, serving on the Restoration Committee to support fundraising and awareness, most recently helping promote restoration efforts for the B-29 Superfortress.
He’s even in the process of proposing a Christmas Village cottage representing the museum’s role in the community.
What started as a networking opportunity more than two decades ago has grown into something much deeper. “It evolved into a way to give back,” he says. “We get thank-you letters every year from schools and parents. You realize just how many families you’re reaching.”
Marshall may be one person at Leavitt Group, but the ripple effect of his time and leadership reaches hundreds of children each season. His work is a reminder that meaningful service is composed of just a couple of things: consistency and a willingness to show up.
