Amber's Army - Benefit and Live Action - January 17, 2015

Amber was severely beat, strangled, sexually assaulted and left for dead at the hands of her soon to be ex-husband. She has an amazing will to survive and managed to get herself untied and get help all while her young daughters were in the home asleep. Amber will be out of work for a while and is in need of our support. She and her family have a long road to recovery and are asking for your support and continued prayers.

Please contact Tiffaney Alderson at 832-465-5942, to schedule a donation pick up or drop off.

Knight Industrial Services steps up effort to help Save Employees Brother with Leukemia

“Dallas is good as gold, and it was a no brainer to help.  He is part of Knight’s family and that means his family is too” states Joe Briscoe, Knight Industrial Services General Manager.

Abrasive blasting, below grade services, fireproofing, scaffolding, and bio blasting cleaning doesn’t sound like jobs where your employees would have a lot of compassion.  As a matter of fact, Knight Industrial Services is a 3 decade plus old company with some of the toughest professionals in the industry.  However, when 18 month special Equipment Technician, Dallas Ivey approached longtime General Manager, Joe Briscoe about his brothers plight- these guys put effort into a great cause.

Pictured: Dallas Ivey and his colleagues hanging out on the job site.  Dallas is the one with the backwards hat 3rd person from the left.

You see, Dallas’ brother Matt Ivey was just diagnosed with NDS a form of bone cancer.  Cancer-induced bone disease is a characteristic feature of several types of cancer, including the hematological malignancy multiple myeloma, and other tumors that metastasise to bone such as breast, prostate and lung. In addition to the development of debilitating skeletal complications, the bone marrow provides a unique hospitable microenvironment, and once tumors become established in bone, they are largely unresponsive to treatment.

Matt Ivey

This diagnosis sounds pretty bad, but if you knew the fight that Knight Industrial Services has- you would know that quitting is not an option.  “Matt is 41 years old, and has two teenage children; one who just graduated high school.  He is getting married this Saturday and has no plans to go anywhere but back with his family” says an emphatic Dallas Ivey.  Matt was a volunteer fireman in Madison, Texas and had a job with Nabors Drilling with their corporate services team located in Houston, Texas and can be reached at 281.874.0035.

That’s right.  He had a job with Nabors Drilling, but not anymore.  The doctors are making an aggressive effort to save Matts life by ordering him into Chemotherapy and putting his name on the Bone Marrow Transplant list.  If the news for Matt couldn’t get any worse; it did when the doctors said that Matt would have to stop working while in treatment.  Nabors decided to let Matt go which means he loses his insurance and Cobra is too expensive for Matt to afford.

Therefore, Dallas and his family organized selling chop beef briquette sandwiches, chips, and a drink for $5 each.  They will be serving these sandwiches hoping to raise money for Matt’s mounting medical expenses as well as insurance cost.  The event will take place Saturday, June 22, 2013 and held at the Madisonville Volunteer Fire Department on Main Street located at 1617 E. Main Street, Madisonville, Texas where Matt had served as a volunteer fireman.

“It really means a lot that Knight Industrial Services stepped up in helping with donations for my brother.  It was a lot more than what his own company did for him” adds Dallas.

Wells Fargo has set up an account in Matt Ivey’s name if you would like to help with donations.  You can also email Dallas Ivey for more information at divey@knightis.com.  If you are near Madisonville, stop by and eat a chop beef sandwich for a good cause.

DeliveryMaxx performs behind the scenes helping make a wish come true

It is not all of the time that a company will step up, and give time and financial assistance to help others.  As a matter of fact, most large companies make the news because of corporate greed or embezzlement.

However, on January 2nd, 2013 DeliveryMaxx helped one of its clients, Dodge City of McKinney support the Make-A-Wish foundation of North Texas raise more than $25,000 to help grant a wish to two children.

The 2013 Wish-A-Thon sponsored by Dodge City of McKinney was a new all-day charitable event hosted by Dallas Cowboys great, "The Original 88", Drew Pearson. The public was invited to join Dodge City of McKinney and guest as they break a YouTube record by broadcasting the longest YouTube Live event ever while filming for FOX Sports Southwest.
 

The sole purpose of the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of North Texas is to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions, in order to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.  The foundation wants to provide children with the hope for better times, the strength for the tough times and the joy to experience the present. "Our goal was simple," stated Jim Proctor of Dodge City of McKinney. "We wanted to raise enough money to grant not just one, but several wishes for 2013".

The event had many stars that helped celebrate the event.  DeliveryMaxx helped publicize the event and then enjoyed rubbing elbows with the celebrities who participated.

Drew Pearson, of The Drew Pearson Show “More Than Just Sports” hosted the Wish-A-Thon for Dodge City of McKinney.  He spent the day interviewing guest and filming the show for Fox Sports Southwest.

Pearson fist bumps DeliveryMaxx Chief Operating Officer, James Schaefer

1987 Heisman Trophy Winner Tim Brown was also a guest at the celebration.  Brown talked about his playing days at Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas, the year he became the first wide receiver to win the Heisman trophy, and his NFL playing days with the Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders.  He established himself as one of the NFL’s most prolific wide receivers and is now the general manager of the professional indoor football league team, Texas Revolution, which plays at Allen City Convention Center.

CEO of DeliveryMaxx Josh Deaton with Tim Brown while Schaefer and Dodge City of McKinney’s Jim Proctor join the picture

Current Texas Wesleyan University Head Baseball Coach and former pitcher of the Texas Rangers made an appearance talking about the success of his baseball club.

Jeffcoat is well known as one of the most influential coaches in the country recruiting top talent in college baseball, and preparing the athletes for what it takes to make it to the professional level.

Under Jeffcoat's guidance, Texas Wesleyan has become one of the premier baseball programs in the NAIA. His teams have appeared in the Red River Athletic Conference Championship game in five of the last eight seasons, winning the title in 2007 and 2010.  In four of the last seven seasons, his teams have finished no worse than third in the Region and reached the finals of the NAIA National Championship Opening Round twice.  Jeffcoat has produced 58 All-Conference selections and four All-Americans.

Coach Mike Jeffcoat (middle) breaks the bad news to Deaton & Schaefer that their playing days are over

Beauty, Mayra Leal is a Latina artist of Mexican and San Salvadorian descent, born in Houston, Texas was included in the all-star lineup.  The University of Houston graduate has discovered a passion for film and is garnering the attention of veteran movie producers, directors, and an emerging loyal fan-base.

Actress Mayra Leal chose Deaton over Schaefer to be in the picture with her

Mandy Williams, better known as “Black” of the sister duo “Red” (Tina Pennington) and “Black”.  Black is all business.   By the time she was 21 she had an Economic degree from Wilkes College (now Wilkes University) in Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. in International Finance from New York University and the London Graduate School of Business. After a short time in New Orleans, she moved to Houston during the oil boom of the 70's. She survived – no, she flourished – during the ups and downs of the oil and gas industry, and managed to retire from corporate life before she was 40. No longer with a day job when she married her second husband, her life didn't provide enough excitement and challenge. She began racing cars, first Porsches and then Ferraris, and became the first woman to race the road course at Indianapolis. She has been involved with The Make-A-Wish Foundation for over 20 years and has raised over $1 million. Black, the ultimate pragmatic, still lives in Houston where she approaches everything with high-speed intensity and determination.

Williams has co-authored two books What I Learned About Life When My Husband got Fired, and The Book Club Approach To Personal Finance and Life 101.

Schaefer, Tina Pennington, Mandy Williams, and Deaton discuss why there are not more pictures in the book

Kevin Craig Brooks a former professional American football defensive end in the National Football League. He was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the 1st round (17th overall) of the 1985 NFL Draft.

After graduating from Detroit's Mackenzie High School in 1981, Brooks starred as a 6'6", 273 lbs. defensive end at the University of Michigan. Brooks played in six NFL seasons from 1985-1990 for the Cowboys and the Detroit Lions.  Kevin is still a Texas resident. He currently does public speaking, and is also an Athletic Liaison for his own company Brooks Athletics.

Damien Robinson is a former safety of the NFL. He played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Jets, and Seattle Seahawks. He attended college at the University of Iowa.

During the 2000 NFL season, Robinson was one of the league's leading Free Safeties with 6 interceptions and 11 passes.

Both men joined the Wish-A-Thon celebration at Dodge City of McKinney.

NFL Stars Damien Robinson & Kevin Brooks show Schaefer & Deaton they still have a strong grip

“This event was so much fun to be a part of, and really puts priorities in perspective” says James Schaefer Chief Operating Officer of DeliveryMaxx.  CEO, Josh Deaton added, “To see the community come together for a great cause and make a little boys dream come true is a reward in itself.”

Great companies and great people join together for an important event.  Changing people’s lives for the better makes everyone smile.