Over the past four years, Tim Profit has taken Reading’s Christmas on the Mountain from a neighborhood holiday light display to the talk of the town. But if you ask him, the real magic is made by the Reading High School Junior ROTC.
How did you get involved with Christmas on the Mountain?I literally read about it in the paper. I used to go there as a kid, and I didn’t want it to die, so I called the writer, and he put me in touch with the right people in the city.
What was it like getting it up and running that first year? A lot of the original decorations had been broken or stolen, and I remember thinking, “How expensive can Christmas lights be?” I can tell you right now I have never blown a timeline or a budget like that in my life. We wanted it to be something we could be proud of; we wanted to do it right, so we decided that in year one we were going to convert every single light to LED. I ended up buying shipping containers full of lights. It was crazy.
How is the Reading JROTC involved? They totally operate it. I’m there to provide the business expertise and to secure funding for sponsorships, but we empower them to run it. We’re teaching them to run a business, and they are so dedicated. They have drill practice in the morning, go to school all day, then come straight to Christmas on the Mountain and run the displays until 9 o’clock at night. They’re the most respectful and polite kids you will ever meet in your life, and they’re from Reading. The really cool thing is that people are seeing that now.
What do you do when you’re not stringing Christmas lights? I’m the General Manager of Savage 61, and I own a few other businesses as well. I grew up in the City of Reading; I’m a Reading grad, and I grew up in less than desirable conditions. So now I try to give back to my community — through my businesses and otherwise.
How do you give back the rest of the year? At this point it seems like I’m involved in just about everything. I’m a very proud Red Knight, so anything the school district needs, I’m there to help. Everything I do, I do through Savage, and a lot of people get involved. This year we actually launched the Savage 61 Dream Field in coordination with Baseballtown Charities, which is designed specifically for children with disabilities, physical or otherwise, so we’re really proud to be a part of that.
You spend so much time working in the community; what do you like to do around town in your free time? Honestly, whatever my son and daughter want to do. On days I’m not working, they get to rule the roost. They love going to museums; they want to be at every festival around town. They enjoy being in the community as much as I do.
