WHEEL AMERICAN HEROES
Three area veterans get keys to tip-top vehicles courtesy of NEHOV, Henri’s
WOONSOCKET – Seth Guy of Burrillville is a veteran of the U.S. Army infantry who doesn’t look for much help from veterans groups or anyone in general.
“I don’t usually don’t take part in veterans things,” Guy explained at Henri’s Auto Repair at 1068 Park Avenue Saturday morning.
But Guy, 33, was one of three veterans who did benefit from a veterans project put together by Henri’s owners Bill Gately and Dave Lambert, their technicians, and Jim Collins of New Englanders Helping Our Veterans (NEHOV) organization.
Each of the veterans had been selected by a drawing at WOON Radio to receive a used but fixed car from Henri’s along with money for gas, registration and other costs.
It was the third year Henri’s has taken on the car giveaway and the biggest yet with the three veterans, Guy, Bill Ashton, 58, of Pawtucket, and Richard Mandeville, 82, of Dartmouth, Mass., all leaving the business with a car.
Seth said it was his mom, Jill Guy, who actually signed him up for the car drawing on Nov. 12.
“I’m not one to ask for help like that,” Guy explained.
Guy’s truck, however, was falling apart and Jill Guy thought he was a good candidate for Henri’s veteran’s assistance drawing.
After it was held, Guy got a bit of a surprise.
“I called her and said I think I won that car from Henri’s and she said “You lucky dog,” Guy related.
Guy went along with family members and friends to Henri’s key presentation cookout and initially had his eye on the 2000 Buick the Veerman family from Burrillville had donated for the Henri’s fixup.
He instead drew the envelope with the title for the 2011 Mazada 3 sport given by the Gaulin family.
Bill Ashton took home the Buick, and Richard Mandeville drew the title for the 2003 Ford Focus donated by the Jung family.
“I like it, I’m very happy,” Guy said of said of his sporty Mazada.
“This is really cool,” he added while looking the car over.
“I think it is great they are doing this, the New Englanders Helping Our Veterans and Henri’s are awesome to be helping our veterans out and there are a lot of veterans who need help,” Guy said.
“We don’t like to ask for help, I know we don’t, so for this to happen is kind of an eye-opener to me,” Guy said. The event also showed what a community can do when it takes on a project together, Guy noted.
“It’s nice to see people doing this kind of thing to help veterans,” Guy said.
Bill Ashton, a U.S. Navy veteran, said he plans to use his Buick to get around as a caregiver for a relative.
His current vehicle “is a beater,” Ashton noted, and the cars from Henri’s were all much better.
“They said they are all fixed up and they went through the engines and everything,” Ashton.
After collecting the keys to the Buick, Ashton was also appreciative of the group’s assistance.
“I can definitely use the car,” Ashton said.
Richard Mandeville said he had a car but it broke down just before he entered the veteran car drawing with the help of Jim Collins’ organization.
“It’s terrific, I had no idea that they were doing it,” Mandeville, an Air Force veteran and a life member of the VFW, noted.
“It was just in time,” the veteran said of the trouble he had with his last car.
“I would donate it back but it needs a lot of work,” Mandeville said while noting he maybe be able to donate the other car to NEHOV for is salvage value.
Mandeville said he thinks there should be more events like what Henri’s and NEHOV put on to help veterans.
“At least this here is helping and that is super great,” Mandeville said. Mandeville is one of seven brothers in a family of eight children who all served in some branch of the military, his two older brothers with the Navy in World War II and another in Korea.
While helping out with the car pick-up event Saturday, Jim Collins said this year’s car donations went very well.
“Henri’s is a well-known garage in the city and very supportive of the program,” Collins said.
NEHOV also gained assistance from Stop & Shop at Park Square for the cookout as well as contributions from Home Depot, Lowe’s, Pepin Lumber, The Butcher Brothers, NAPA Auto Parts, and GI Joe’s on Route 1 in North Attleboro.
Bill Gately said a list of sponsors also helped with the work on the cars themselves and listed WOON Radio, New England Farms and Burrillville Motors in Burrillville, among them. NAPA on Cumberland Hill Road provided auto parts as dis Woonsocket Auto Salvage and Advantage Tire in Palmer, Mass.
The Letendre family made a cash donation to the project as did Sheila Turcotte, the grandmother of Army SPC Matt Turcotte, who was killed accidentally while training at Fort Carson and for whom the group held a moment of silence on Saturday.
The Carlow family also donated a car that was sold and the money used to help the veterans with getting their cars fueled and registered, Gately noted.
Gately offered a special thanks to Dave Richards of WOON Radio noting “we couldn’t have done it without you,” while crediting him for getting the word out about the project.
The business owner also took note of the veterans present.
“Thank you especially to our veterans, if it wasn’t for what you have done, we wouldn’t be here today, we wouldn’t have all the freedoms we have to be able to run a mom & pop shop, that’s all we are,” Gately said.
Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt also stopped in to commend the business and the NEHOV for their veteran assistance project and also thanked the veterans attending.
“I just want to share with you, the fact that my administration, all of my administration, directors and staff, we are all true supporters of veterans,” Baldelli-Hunt said.
“Veterans are extremely important to us, we understand the sacrifices they have made, the sacrifices their families have made,” the mayor said.
Baldelli-Hunt said she found the car donation project to be a true team effort given how valuable and difficult obtaining a car can be these days.
“If you can do it, that means others can do it, too. And I’m hoping that this sparks thoughts in other minds that if this can happen here today in Woonsocket, think of how this can expand in other areas and with other car dealerships,” Baldelli-Hunt said.
“Which was a conversation Bill and I were just having and think what they could do and what joy they could bring to others,” the mayor added.
“Having a vehicle is important, having transportation is important whether it is to go to doctor appointments or to work, so this is just fantastic,” Baldelli-Hunt said while congratulating “everyone who is making this happen today.”