It was thirty-one degrees in north Carrollton this morning when the Bell family received a knock at their door from Ron Haynes of Addison Smith Mechanical Contractor, Inc. A few days ago, they had been selected from a pool of about thirty-five families to receive a new HVAC system Addison Smith was giving away for the holidays, but the Bells were unaware, as seen on their expressions.
As Haynes handed the couple a framed certificate stating they were the recipients of the 2023 Addison Smith Residential Services Giveaway, their confusion melted into pure astonishment.
“Oh my gosh!” Alyssa Bell exclaimed repeatedly, covering her face in a shy happiness. Eli Bell’s eyes widened in disbelief.
The Bells, who had lived in their home for about five years now, had frequently serviced their aging HVAC system, but the repairs only held out for a short while before another set of issues would present themselves. Addison Smith’s surprise not only gifts them with a new system, but a free servicing for the next ten years!
When asked why they thought they won the giveaway, Alyssa laid a hand on her chest and looked around.
“I’m not one hundred percent sure!” she said. “But I am hearing from you all that you see what we do in the community… Both of our jobs have us heavily involved with people. My husband works at a men’s shelter four nights a week and is literally a living kidney donor, and I work with foster children.”
Alyssa works at Carroll County CASA as a foster child Advocacy Coordinator. Her coworker Paula Roddenberry was the one who entered her in the giveaway and coordinated with Ron Haynes to get the Bells at home at the same time.
“It was hard to cram all the good things about the Bells into six hundred characters!” Roddenberry laughed, speaking on the giveaway application process. “I really had to think about what I was going to say and really hammer home why I think they deserve this.”
Addison Smith techs Justin Camp, Jacob Ship, Jason Bush, and Connor Robinson will be assessing the Bells’ old unit and will be installing the new one.
“[Our HVAC was] a living burden,” the Bells stated. “We have been doing short-term solutions so knowing the whole thing is going to be replaced is just such a big deal!”
Their smiles spread throughout the small gathering outside their home. Knowing that this was a useful and meaningful gift to these kind people infected everyone with a sense of love and hope that there are people all around us that care.
