Why I Love Mattress Mac!

[pineda]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

12/18/2004

Family gets free house of furniture

By: Kassia Micek , Courier staff

GRANGERLAND -- A local family of nine received an early Christmas surprise Friday morning - a much-needed house full of furniture as part of Gallery Furniture's Christmas giveaway.

Belinda and Kenneth Koenig, along with their seven children, were in shock as they watched Gallery Furniture employees unload tables, chairs, dressers, beds, mattresses, sofas and a coffee table into their small home.

"I don't know what to think. I'm speechless," Kenneth said.

"I see this on TV all the time, and I didn't think it would happen to me," Belinda said.

Between the two of them, they have seven children. Kenneth has four children from a previous marriage, Samantha, 13, Kenneth Jr., 12, Matthew, 10, and Zackary, 4. Belinda has three children from a previous marriage, Jade, 9, Jasmine, 7, and Angel, 5.

All nine of them were in disbelief as they were greeted Friday morning by Gallery Furniture employees, close friends and the children's school teachers singing, "We wish you a Merry Christmas."

"They're an awesome family," said Monica Stanley, a prekindergarten teacher at Creighton Elementary School who has had three of the Koenig children in her class. "We were eager to support it."

Gallery Furniture received a letter about the Koenig family from a close family friend after she saw the Gallery Furniture Christmas giveaway commercial to give "a house full of furniture" to 15 families who need it.

"We live in a world today of great wealth and observe little love in homes. The Koenig family is certainly not in that category. This family may lack finances, but they do not lack love and respect for each other," the letter stated.

After living in numerous small temporary dwellings, the Koenig family acquired an acre of land where they are slowly building a home of their own. Kenneth is a woodcrafter and a contractor in the construction field. During the day, he works in the field. When he comes home at night, he works on building the family home.

The family friend who wrote the letter but did not want to be identified said she could tell the family needed the furniture through conversations with them.

"There was a need there," she said.

The family friend told the Koenigs to stay home Friday morning because Santa was coming.

"I knew she was up to something, but didn't know what," Kenneth said.

The Koenig family stood and watched in disbelief as their old furniture was taken out of the home, only to be filled with new furniture.

"This was made possible by the generosity of (Jim) McIngvale and his team of angels," the family friend said.

Gallery Furniture received 5,000 letters, sorted through them to find which ones were authentic and narrowed it down to the 15 who needed the truckload of furniture the most, said Georgia Ann Spears, with Gallery Furniture Special Events.

"As long as everybody's taken care of, we don't care how much they get," Spears said.

Gallery Furniture has been doing the Christmas giveaway for 21 years, Spears said, adding that McIngvale and his wife Linda work very hard and believe in giving back to the community.

"The Christmas giveaway is just a special thing they do," Spears said.

Members of Ascension Lutheran Church of Tomball also donated toys for the children and groceries to fill the Koenig kitchen.

Kassia Micek can be reached at kmicek@mail.hcnonline.net.

[tw2ntyse7en]

...

[Talbot]

He does run a very good business. He doesn't let his employees screw around.

[tw2ntyse7en]

...

[LarryDallas]

I grew up with his TV spots and do recall driving by on the freeway back when he used to see stuff from tents. We bought some tables from him in 1997 when the store was half building and half tents. It was just against all odds that his business thrived.

The location is good for being on the freeway feeder but that is not a good part of town. The tents should have leaked like crazy and and been too cold or too hot.

The key to his biz has been advertisement and spending money to make money. He made a great move back in the mid 90s when he sponsored the Rockets like crazy when they made their 2 title runs in 94 and 95.

I met Mac at a car show some years ago where he had his purple Ferarri on display. He had painted it and had company logos added plus unlike MAJOR CAR COMPANIES he left the car completely unlocked and open for anyone to get in and see what a Ferrari feels like on them. This may seem like an insignificant thing but I think it has a lot of meaning in it and is very welcoming to potnetial customers. This car was worth over 100 grand new yet he didn't care who got in.

Porsche, Land Rover, Jaguar, and some Mercedes Benz cars costing half of that were locked up to keep people out and some models were event roped off so you could not get closer than 3 feet from them.

The guy knows how to market his store!

[J.A.S.O.N.]

He's ok in my book. He donated a million dollars to my University's athletic department (his alma mater) last year during halftime at our basketball game. All the kids from the Houston area were like "SAVE YOU MONEY!!", the Dallas kids were like, What??

[pineda]

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grandfather overwhelmed by Christmas surprise

By CORTNEY MARTIN, Citizen Reporter 12/20/2004

Michael John Davis and his grandson, Dylan Prell, are overwhelmed by generosity recently bestowed upon them.

"There is a God, and there is a Santa Claus," Michael John Davis declared, fighting tears as he beheld the sparkling living room of his modest Pasadena apartment.

That statement was never more real for Davis and his grandson, Dylan Prell, than on Thursday, when they received a Christmas blessing neither expected, but both needed tremendously.

Called the "dynamic duo" by Dylan's teachers and the staff at Pomeroy Elementary School, where he is in kindergarten, they saw their home filled with items they desperately needed, like furniture and bedding, and one gift Dylan had always wanted, a Christmas tree.

This small family was one of 15 chosen for Gallery Furniture's annual Christmas furniture giveaway, which attracted 5,000 letters nominating families in need. Pomeroy's staff spearheaded the effort to get Davis some much-needed help.

"This grandfather touched my heart when I needed a doctor's note from Dylan, and I found out his grandfather was willing to wheel himself all the way to the doctor's office to get it for him," school nurse Stephanie Cox said.

Davis, who is disabled, relies on a manual wheelchair for mobility but is Dylan's sole caretaker and source of family support. He has raised Dylan, 6, since his daughter and son-in-law dropped their baby son off for a visit five years ago, and never returned.

Until Dylan was able to walk, Davis carried the boy everywhere on his lap - from the store to the doctor's office. Even recently, Dylan sat on his grandfather's lap to do homework because they did not have a desk chair.

Cox learned of the family's situation from Dylan's teacher, who informed her that the apartment where they live was nearly bare, except for two mattresses on the floor of its only bedroom.

Davis has been a constant presence in Dylan's life both at home and at school. He makes sure Dylan gets to and from school safely every day, is mindful of Dylan's grades and is there in a heartbeat if he is needed at the school, Cox said.

"It's touching to see a parent be so involved when he has so little," she said.

The faculty and staff of Pomeroy banded together to write letters praising Davis' efforts as a caretaker and Dylan's excellence as a student. They mailed those letters to Gallery, and 90 judges voted to give this duo a home full of new furniture.

Representatives from Gallery arrived at Pomeroy Thursday to meet up with Cox, Principal Liz Ortiz and several faculty and staff members.

School employees' husbands came along to help move the furniture in, as did a group of college students from Cox's church.

After calling Dylan out of class, Gallery special events coordinator Georgia Ann Spears told him that he and his "pawpaw" were in for a treat. When she asked him if he had a couch at home, Dylan replied, "We don't have a very big house."

With Dylan in tow, the crew from Pomeroy and Gallery traveled across the street to his apartment complex. They marched up to Davis' apartment singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and greeted Davis at the door.

"I thank God because I don't know . . . what else can I say?" Davis said, clutching his grandson at the sight of the Gallery Furniture truck in the parking lot.

Among the gifts Gallery provided were two beds for Davis and Dylan, a dinette set, a desk and chair set, a recliner, end tables and two chests of drawers.

To top it off, the store covered Dylan's new bed with Spider-Man sheets and presented him with a pair of Spider-Man pajamas. Spears also told Davis she would give him a mobility scooter that had been used by her parents.

Davis' few pieces of old furniture were taken out of his apartment and stored in another unit at the complex. Spears said she would arrange for them to be given to others who needed them.

Pomeroy contributed to the happy affair by setting up a Christmas tree and letting Dylan decorate it and place the star on top. The small tree was positioned in a corner of the living room, and presents filled the space beneath it.

One of the letters sent to Gallery stated that Dylan had acted very maturely at school when his classmates were talking about their Christmas trees.

When it was his turn to boast, all he said was that he wouldn't be decorating his Christmas tree this year, because he had never had one.

Davis is unable to work because of his disability and the responsibility of caring for Dylan, and he supports his grandson on disability checks alone, managing to pay $465 a month for rent plus utilities.

The "dynamic duo" was separated at one time, when Dylan's paternal grandparents sought custody and reported Davis as an unfit caretaker to Child Protective Services. Upon an investigation, Dylan and his grandfather were promptly reunited.

"I've got a good thing in him. I don't want him to ever change," Davis said.

The Pomeroy staff's letters described Dylan as a happy, well-adjusted boy who is quick to make friends. It said that although he has lacked many material items due to finances, he is rich with love from his grandfather.

"This came as a total surprise to me," Davis said of the furniture delivery. "You see this on TV, but never in your wildest dreams do you think it will happen to you."

Cox's husband asked Davis if it would be OK for him to purchase a new Bible for Dylan, and Davis was overjoyed by the offer. The Pomeroy staff also talked about continuing to assist the family during the holidays.

"The other day, Dylan asked me if Santa Claus would be coming by," Davis said. "I told him, 'Don't you know? He always comes.' And this year, he really did."