Texas native Gordon Nelms will receive the keys to a new 2010 Ford F-150 and a check for $250,000 to improve his community at the Texas State Fair this week as winner of the Ford Motor Company and ABC "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" Heroes campaign, which was designed to find the ultimate community hero.
Nelms was chosen among thousands of entries for his charitable work with several Titus County charities, including the Food Pantry, which feeds an average of 800 families each month in and around Mount Pleasant, Texas. Nelms will use his new Ford F-150 and the $250,000 to complete work on a new community center to store food and feed families.
"Ford's generous donation will provide our organization with the assets needed to help finish construction on one convenient, centralized location where families in need receive assistance," said Nelms. "We ran out of room at our church where we've been storing items for the Food Pantry. Our new facility will now have the storage space to accommodate our supply, and the new F-150 can handle the tough job of hauling food items continuously throughout each month."
Connie Fontaine, Ford manager, Brand Content and Alliances, says Nelms is the type of hard-working hero Ford envisioned as the winner of the Heroes campaign. "He's dedicated to helping those in his community," she said. "He will use the truck and the donation to significantly expand that work."
Hero with a heart
Nelms has been an active member of the Titus County community since he moved to Mount Pleasant 35 years ago. During last year's Christmas season, he organized more than 250 bell ringers for the Salvation Army Red Kettle program and helped provide nearly 2,000 children with Christmas gifts through the Empty Stocking program. On an ongoing basis, Nelms distributes 715 backpacks a week to low-income families through the Backpack program.
Nelms was nominated by Michelle Woodruff of Titus County Cares. Woodruff wrote in her entry, "Gordon has a huge heart for the needs of our community. He is literally on call 24/7 for the Police and Fire Departments for the homeless or people stranded in our area. He is constantly picking up people in his own vehicle who are stranded, homeless and in need of safe shelter or a hot meal. Gordon drives an older sedan that is really not large enough to accommodate his needs for the various projects he does. A larger, more reliable vehicle would help out immensely when transporting the large amount of food items."