ASHLAND – Mother’s Day will be a little sweeter this year for Lacey Shaw, thanks to a new set of wheels from Bill Harris Dealerships.
The Mansfield mom was chosen as the winner of the dealership’s latest Keys4Needs program giveaway. She and her 5-year-old son Jagger drove away Friday with a new Dodge Grand Caravan.
“It’s a blessing. We’re very grateful,” Shaw said.
As a single mother of a son with developmental disabilities, Shaw said she feels blessed to have a reliable vehicle to take Jagger to daycare and to drive to her job as a case worker at Ashland County’s Department of Job and Family Services.
Jagger was born with cytomegalovirus, which has caused him to have spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy. Shaw is working to obtain a grant that will help her convert the van to be wheelchair accessible.
Before the gift from Bill Harris Dealerships, Shaw was trading off between a vehicle that was handicapped accessible but was unreliable and her old car, which was not handicapped accessible. She needed a permanent solution to get both Jagger and his power chair into a vehicle, especially as he continues to grow and becomes harder to lift.
Friday’s giveaway was the dealership’s third Keys4Needs event.
“It’s such a blessing to be able to do stuff like this,” said David Harris, sales manager at the dealership.
Harris said the program is rooted in the family’s Christian faith and that the Bill Harris team felt led by God to choose Shaw as the winner.
Tommy Theisen, lead pastor at Cross Connect Church, led a prayer at Friday’s ceremony and commended the dealership and the Harris family for living out their faith.
“I’m blown away that their faith, kindness and generosity are being put into action,” Theisen said.
Ashland Mayor Matt Miller also spoke briefly, saying the dealership’s legacy of service has continued through its 37 years in business. The company was started by the late Bill Harris and is now run by Bill’s son, Scott Harris, who is David Harris’s father.
“The name Bill Harris in this community is synonymous with community service … Through your grandfather, and your father, and now your legacy, the name continues to mean giving back to the community,” Miller told David. “This is a mighty generous way to give back.”
