Blog: Meeting the Humanitarian award winners

AKRON — Let me sing you a little ditty, about Ricky and Dianne. While John Mellencamp's song was about Jack and Diane, I think he should have told the story of the Bentons instead.

Before I dive into why their story is so moving, I want to give a little background on myself. I wanted to become a journalist to be able to write the stories of amazing people. Because of this, my favorite story each year here at Tire Business is the Humanitarian award piece. I was thrilled at the idea that one day — just maybe — I would get the opportunity to be able to write it.

So that's why this year, when my editors asked me if I was interested, I jumped at the opportunity, no matter what I had to do to maneuver it into my schedule. I found out the winners were Ricky and Dianne Benton, owners of Whiteville, N.C.-based Black's Tire & Auto Service, so I went ahead and set up my flights. Then I took a week and a half off work — to get married. Just eight days after saying “I Do” —to a clearly, very understanding husband — I got on an airplane to fly to North Carolina to meet the Bentons.

As I sat on the airplane, recovering from a flu/sinus infection and leaving my brand new husband at home, I honestly couldn't have been more excited to be able to do this interview.

While eating a chili cheeseburger for the first time, driving down the road to look for alligators with Ricky and stepping foot on more farms in one day than I previously had in my entire life were all fun experiences during my trip, those are not the experiences that compelled me to write this blog.

Every day we hear stories about incredible people doing incredible things. But I have spent the past month or so focused on a story about “ordinary” people doing incredible things, even though they didn't want to tell me about it. Like, they really didn't want to tell me about it. I am so thankful they have many kind and chatty people in their lives that would tell me their story for them.

It is easy to get caught up in everyday life — to get wrapped up in something and just push through the workday so that you can sit on the couch and catch up on your favorite show. It is easy to complain about what you don't have and only speak about what you wish you did have. However, once in a while you have a day that puts that all in perspective. Meeting the Bentons and hearing about everything they do for their community was one of those days for me.

During my time in North Carolina, I got to tour the Boys and Girls Home of North Carolina; speak with various Black's Tire employees who were helped out significantly by their employer; and drive around with Ricky, visiting the homes of people he has known all his life.

Touring the Boys & Girls Home of North Carolina, was not just a humbling experience for me, it was a fascinating one because I got to watch Ricky tour the facility too. While I had just recently met the man, I could tell he was a hard man to keep still. He was always on the move and always talking. I heard all day long from people around town that even as a boy, he had a real go-getter attitude and that was evident to me after 20 minutes.

But since I had to get a tour of the campus for my Humanitarian award story, Ricky hopped on the golf cart with Gary Faircloth, CEO of the Boys & Girls Home of N.C., and I and took the tour as well.

This is a man who, along with his wife Dianne and the Black's Tire family, committed a lot of time and money to this organization. While he said he had been to the campus and saw some parts of it previously, he had never been in the cottages where the children stay or around the whole campus.

Every time we crossed paths with someone who thanked him for what he does, he thanked them back for what they do, from the VP of education of the campus-based Flemington Academy to the janitorial staff. That is why it was great to see him be able to understand how much his efforts help this organization.

One of the points him and Dianne made prior to our trip there was with the Boys & Girls Home, you can really see where the funds are going and why it is needed. I think even Ricky got a better understanding of how true that is when he took the tour. After spending all day with Ricky, I got to spend the evening with the whole Benton crew and they treated me like I was just a part of the family. While discussing our tour, he said he wondered what they could do to give more to the Boys & Girls Home.

When I boarded the airplane on my way home, I was thankful. Thankful for the family I was born into, for the one I just married into and for being able to build a life that allowed me to have such wonderful opportunities as this one. But maybe more importantly, I was thankful to the Benton family, who, by just being themselves, reminded me to be thankful for everything I have and to give my time to those who have not been handed the deck of cards in life I was dealt.

In my few days with these wonderful people, I learned a lot about life and the person we should all strive to be by hearing amazing stories about their Humanitarian efforts (check out the Nov. 9 edition of Tire Business for the full story). Thank you again to Ricky and Dianne and the whole Benton family for your kindness and congratulations on being this year's Humanitarian award winner. 

For those concerned, this reporter will be traveling WITH her husband for their delayed Honeymoon early next year.