KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A longtime Mobile Meals volunteer in Knoxville got an early Christmas present - a car that will allow him to continue doing the volunteer work he loves.
The Knoxville News Sentinel reports , Glenn “Lefty” Miller had been unable to regularly make deliveries for several weeks after a series of older vehicles he was using needed repairs.
Miller, who is 78 years old and on a fixed income, has been a Mobile Meals volunteer for over a dozen years, and in 2014 won a national Volunteer of the Year award. He said the vehicle problems left him feeling down - unable to check on and connect with the people he regularly served meals to five days a week.
When word spread that he was without reliable transportation, Knoxville businessman Doug Horne, stepped in. Horne, who is president of Horne Properties, said Miller reminded him of his late father, who was also a Mobile Meals volunteer.
“Like Mr. Miller, he viewed all the people he served as - they needed him to come and give them a hug and give them their meals,” Horne said.
Horne said he thought getting a car for Miller would be a good way to honor his father’s memory.
On Monday afternoon, Miller received 2014 Hyundai Accent with new tires and a two-year warranty.
“I was real surprised, like a kid getting up on Christmas morning with a new bicycle,” Miller said.
To keep the car going, the Community Action Committee, which oversees Mobile Meals for Knox County, has set up a fund specifically to help Miller cover gas and oil changes and other routine maintenance.
Donations can be sent to CAC, Attn: Sue Campbell, P.O. Box 51650, Knoxville, TN 37950, with “for Lefty Miller” in the memo line. Donations are tax-deductible, and 100 percent go to “Lefty’s transportation needs to keep him delivering Mobile Meals,” the agency said.
Miller was looking forward to getting back on his old route, but he said his first trip after getting his car would be to buy Horne lunch as a thank-you.
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Information from: Knoxville News Sentinel, http://www.knoxnews.com
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