Roger Dougherty knows all the tricks.
After 29 years of fundraising for Variety - The Children's Charity's telethon, Dougherty said he has become accustomed to the vagaries of raising money by telephone.
Some techniques are simple: be friendly, not pushy, and keep smiling - the cameras might be near.
On Sunday, Dougherty joined about 3,000 volunteers and more than 50 entertainers to raise money during the 23-hour telethon at the Palace Theater at Adventureland in Altoona. The telethon wrapped up at 6 p.m. Sunday, and raised $3,455,854, which bests the last two years' totals.
"We're thrilled with that," said Sheri McMichael, executive director of Variety - The Children's Charity of Iowa.
Dougherty worked for 90 minutes Sunday, starting about 10 a.m., but said he has also pulled some late-night shifts in years past.
"At 3 a.m., the calls you get are a little different," he said.
Variety supports charities across Iowa that benefit at-risk youth, disabled and underprivileged children and critically ill children. Through fundraisers and its annual telethon, the children's charity has raised more than $70 million since its Iowa inception more than 60 years ago.
The telethon raised $3.4 million last year, and brought in $3.35 million in 2006, when Iowan and "Superman Returns" actor Brandon Routh made an appearance.
Dougherty said he has witnessed the benefits of the charities firsthand. A relative's daughter was born premature and weighed about a pound.
The girl was cared for at Iowa Methodist Medical Center's neonatal intensive care unit, which he said receives money from Variety. Today, he said, she is a healthy 5-year-old.
Stan Reynolds, vice president of the Variety board and producer of the telethon, said more than half the charity's budget would be raised during the telethon, money which will be donated beginning today.
The banks of phone operators, staple of the telethon world, would bring in about $1 million, Reynolds said earlier Sunday. The rest of the money was expected to come in larger increments throughout the day.
And, despite the gala-like atmosphere that included crooner Domizio Dondino Melchiorre Jr. and Miss World 2007 Zi Lin Zhang, Reynolds said the tote board is - and always will be - the biggest draw.
"You can have all the talent in the world," Reynolds said. "That's the real star of the show."
Reporter Nigel Duara can be reached at (515) 284-8065 or nduara@dmreg.com