Employees Excitedly Welcome Hallmark Stars to Midwest Headquarters: ‘Extraordinary’

Heavy/Getty Among the stars who toured Hallmark headquarters on June 8, 2023, were Nikki DeLoach, Jonathan Bennett, Erin Cahill, Andrew Walker, and John Brotherton

Employees at Hallmark‘s Kansas City-based headquarters were seeing stars on June 8, 2023, when a chartered minibus packed with nearly 20 celebrities — all regulars in the company’s beloved TV movies — arrived for their first-ever group field trip to the iconic card company. With the first Midwest Christmas Con scheduled for June 9 to 11 in Kansas City, Hallmark invited the stars to town a day early for a special visit.

In social media videos shared by Hallmark Channel and multiple stars, a huge crowd of staff members could be seen cheering for the tour bus as it arrived on the campus, with many employees wearing purple Hallmark shirts, holding celebratory signs and purple pompoms, and greeting the actors with hugs and high fives as they stepped off the bus and onto a purple — instead of red — carpet to enter the building.

In her Instagram Stories, DeLoach wrote, “I’ll never forget this greeting. I’ll never forget this day. @hallmark and @hallmarkchannel you are truly the most special.❤️”

Hallmark Stars Get Schooled on Company’s History

During their field trip to headquarters, stars including Lacey Chabert, Jonathan Bennett, Nikki DeLoach, Cindy Busby, Taylor Cole, Autumn Reeser, Wes Brown, and Erin Cahill were taken on a personal tour by Don Hall Jr., executive chairman of the board of directors and one of the founder’s grandsons.

Hallmark Media, which oversees the company’s popular TV programming, is a Los Angeles-based branch of Hallmark Cards Inc., so the stars don’t typically have any need to travel to Kansas City for meetings. The company was founded there in 1910 by 18-year-old Joyce Clyde Hall by selling postcards. According to company archives, when his brother Rollie joined the company, which they originally called Hall Brothers.

After a 1915 fire destroyed their building and inventory, the brothers started over, with an idea for selling cards delivered in envelopes to keep customers’ notes to their loved ones private. Beginning with Valentines and Christmas cards, the idea took off and jumpstarted the greeting card industry.

In addition to the tour, Alicia Witt shared a video in her Instagram Stories of the group in an art session at Hallmark, with glimpses of several stars including Kimberley Sustad, Victor Webster, Brooke D’Orsay, and Benjamin Ayres all wearing aprons at a large worktable with acrylic paints, papers, Sharpies and other art tools.

The stars who attended the Hallmark field trip also entertained staff members in the company’s auditorium, per multiple videos shown on social media. Many participated in a live game show on stage, with funny physical challenges and even a reunion of “Three Wise Men and a Baby” stars Andrew Walker, Paul Campbell and Tyler Hynes doing their infamous dance from the movie for the audience. And after a special lunch, Bennett and Walker were surprised with birthday cake; Bennett’s birthday was June 8 and Walker’s is June 9.

Hallmark Stars & Staffers Share Gratitude for Day at Headquarters

GettyMultiple Hallmark stars arrived via double-decker bus at the “Countdown to Christmas” event in New York in December 2022, including (L-R) Jonathan Bennett, George Krissa, Rachel Boston, Erin Cahill, Nikki DeLoach, Andrew Walker, Ginna Claire Mason and Ryan Paevey

Many of the stars who got to attend the special field trip to Hallmark headquarters expressed their gratitude on social media during and after their visit. Campbell shared a video montage of highlights in his Instagram feed on June 9.

In addition to thanking Hallmark Media’s PR and events team, he wrote, “What an extraordinary day visiting Hallmark headquarters in Kansas City. Thank you so much to the Hall family for hosting us and to the incredible team at Hallmark Channel for putting this all together.”

Witt, who has not starred in a new movie on the network since her breast cancer battle, also posted a video compilation and message on June 9 via Instagram.

“What a special gift of a day – getting to visit @hallmark HQ here in the birthplace of #hallmark ❤️,” she wrote. “We got to meet the whole team here – the innovators and brainstormers and artists behind everything you see whenever you buy a Hallmark product!”

Witt wrote that the group received “the warmest welcome imaginable 😭💜 we had a guided tour by Don Hall, grandson of founder JC Hall, and learned so much about this iconic brand and the core principles behind it that have lasted through the 110 years since it was founded (did you know they invented gift wrap? literally). i also got to spend quality heart-opening time with some of my beloved friends who i’ve made over the years making my 9 #hallmarkchristmasmovies to date ❤️ a beautiful day i will never forget!”

Ayres’ Romance University account also posted a video montage of the day’s events, captioning the post, “Day 1 with all the Professors! Thank you @hallmark and @hallmarkchannel for a beautiful day of insight, creativity and a reminder of why this company is so important to everyone involved❤️”

The visit clearly also made an impression on Hynes, who shared video glimpses from the tour in his Instagram Stories and a thank you message.

He wrote, “The values and authentic intention that this family holds to couldn’t be more lovely. Thank you Don for sharing your history and thank you everyone in every department at Hallmark who contribute to the warmth that permeates this culture of ours. 🤍👑🤍”

Many of the staffers who were present for the actors’ field trip to their workplace commented on Campbell’s post.

One wrote, “Thanks for coming! The event was such fun, as an employees I felt like it was a behind the scenes experience. I especially enjoyed your humor and being so gracious for photos. Red team for the win! We need a Wisemen and a baby sequel for sure. 💜”

Another commented, “Y’all are the best! I loved being in the office yesterday and being a small part of the fun.”