“To my big brother, George, the richest man in town!” So ends the beloved movie, It’s a Wonderful Life. I can’t help but think of that movie, as I reflect upon the news of my dear friend, Steve Herbst, winning a handicapped accessible van.
The story starts about two months ago, when I got a call from Steve’s wife Sue. She was quite distressed because they had just found out that Steve was no longer able to drive his current van. This was devastating news. How was he going to continue to participate in all of his coaching and volunteer activities? How was he going to get to work?
Honestly, I knew from the moment I started telling people this story that one way or another, we were on the brink of something very special coming from this bad news. I started to tell people the story and they would literally reach into their pockets to give me hundreds of dollars at a time if that was what was necessary. I told them to hold off for a bit, we were still in the brainstorming process.
Those of us who are spiritual people know that the universe has ways of taking care of its people. Through some research, Steve and Sue were able to find the National Mobility Equipment Dealer’s Association was having a “Local Heroes” contest and the three winners would win handicap-accessible vans. The winners would be those who best exemplified the criteria: “Volunteer, Educate, Advocate, Achieve, and Persevere.” Of the many people I know, able-bodied or handicapped, Steve is probably the best example of all of these. Would it be possible that the judges would agree and pick him as one of 3 winners from the 1,200 entrants?
And so began the tedious process of reminding people to vote and share the link on a daily basis. But, we the people of Palatine, and friends and family of Steve, did what we do best which is rally together and achieve an amazing vote total of 38,000! That was enough to get us into the top 10 of all vote-getters and definitely put us into the required top 5% who move onto semi-finals and then be chosen by judges. Would the judges be able to see how amazing of a person Steve was? There was going to be about a month’s wait before the announcement was made.
Everywhere I went, people were asking. I didn’t know what to tell them. May 31st came and went. The winners were supposed to have been notified. Little did I know. Last Thursday, I dropped Steve and Sue off at the airport for Steve’s “business trip.” On the way there, I asked them, “Are you sure you’re not going to Florida to win a van?” They both quickly replied, “We wish!” Again, little did I know.
Along came a text message Friday morning from Sue, with a link to watch the live announcement. To say I shed a couple tears would be putting it mildly. We did it! Our beloved family member, friend, and community member who needed our help got it and then some. They enjoyed the rest of their weekend in Disney, the place where dreams come true. Their new van will be arriving shortly.
Thank you to all who voted and shared this WONDERFUL story. It truly is a victory for all of us. Thank you to NMEDA for sponsoring such a WONDERFUL contest, we can assure you that you made a WONDERFUL choice.
We all need to remember the words of Clarence the Angel, “Remember, no man is a failure who has friends.”
