When it comes to receiving blessings, Tom Wangler of Batavia keeps his in an imaginary bucket.
And when his bucket gets full, he doesn’t keep the blessings to himself. Instead, he passes them on.
For the second year in a row, the owner of Confident Aire Inc. is taking the blessings he’s received from his company’s success and passing them on to others who are struggling just to make ends meet.
The Witeks of Geneva are the recipients of this year’s Ultimate Energy Transformation, which gives them thousands of dollars in free services to decrease their energy costs by increasing the energy efficiency in their home, compliments of Wangler’s business.
Local churches were asked to nominate families who deserved a bit of hope. Batavia Mayor Jeff Schelke pulled the Witeks family’s name from a box on New Year’s Eve, and the team at Confident Aire worked with family members to determine their specific needs and that of their home.
Services included in the makeover are a new furnace, air filtration system and other heating and cooling services.
“We feel totally blessed,” said Karen Witek. “It’s an honor to be chosen for this.”
The Witek family includes Karen’s husband, Brian, and their two sons, Garrett, 18, and Russell, 14.
Russell was diagnosed with leukemia at age 4, and the cancer relapsed at age 6. He had a bone marrow transplant in 2000 and was cancer free for seven years. But in July 2007, he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.
Wangler said he has met Russell several times over the years.
“He’s a super courageous young man,” he said.
Despite Russell’s illness, members of the Witek family have many of their own blessings in their imaginary buckets that they’ve poured out on others. After Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, the family forfeited their annual family vacation to Florida to go to New Orleans and help Hurricane Katrina flood victims in 2006. Since then, Garrett has gone back to help out.
While Wangler is happy he can provide the Witek family a few more blessings, he refuses to take all of the credit — his employees volunteered their time and labor to help during the energy transformation Jan. 31 at the Witek home.
He said it’s their enthusiasm that motivates him to do it again.
“It’s really humbling,” he said.
Last year’s recipients were Michael and Susan Weiss of Batavia.
Other contributions for the Witeks included a Trane high-efficient furnace donated by Midway Supply of Burr Ridge and 25 bags of insulation provided by the Menards Home Center in Batavia.
