The Unusual Way a Tennessee Man Brought His Favorite Movie Scene to Life
If you’re reading this, you might be wondering why an ordinary guy in Nashville gives away cars to total strangers.
You might think it’s a scam, but it’s not.
You might think I’m wildly wealthy like Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos, but I’m not.
You might think there’s something in it for me, but there’s not.
In fact, it’s a pain to do this. It takes way, way, way more time and effort than I ever imagined when I started.
This project was inspired by the opening scene of the movie Pay It Forward.
A reporter was panicking after losing his car in an accident. Suddenly a mysterious stranger appeared and gave him his car. When asked why he’d do that, he replied “Call it generosity between strangers”.
(Click here and fast forward to 3:00 to see that legendary scene.)
That scene captivated me.
So when I replaced my minivan in 2003, I gave the old one to a single mom I found through a local church.
It felt so rewarding that I made a commitment to give my older vehicle to a deserving person or nonprofit organization every time I buy a newer one, and have kept that commitment for over 20 years now.
If you’re in a position where you can afford to buy a newer car for yourself, I implore you to take the Pay It Forward challenge. Instead of trading in your old car, give it to someone in need
The premise of the movie was that when an 11-year-old boy performed a random act of kindness, it would inspire others to do the same. But he fails miserably and the Pay It Forward movement doesn’t take off until after his death.
I’ve tried to inspire others with this humble little version of paying it forward since 2003. But just like in the movie, I’ve failed miserably.
I hope it won’t take my death to inspire others.
In Servant Leadership,
About the Car Glenn is Currently Giving Away
This is a Jaguar XJ-8 Van Den Plas that sold for $70,000 new. It currently has 80,000 miles on it and runs perfectly. It even has a brand new set of tires on it.
Previous Cars Given Away
Pictured Above: Members of the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce with Melanie Clemons, a schools crossing guard who won Glenn’s wife’s BMW X5.
The School Crossing Guard Who Had to Uber to Work
The following is an excerpt from the winning nomination, submitted by Cheryl Millsaps at the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce:
“Mrs. Mel is the school crossing guard for Battle Elementary, an inner-city zoned magnet school that draws children from the surrounding inner-city neighborhoods and the children of suburban parents who work in downtown Chattanooga. The school sits at one of the busiest intersections on the Southside. Since many of the children live outside the school zone, parents have to provide their own transportation, adding to the traffic congestion at this intersection with four lanes of traffic on both streets.
Mrs. Mel cheerfully wades into zipping rush hour traffic to assist parents and grandparents walking kindergartners to 5th graders across this dangerous intersection. I’m horrified to say that as she has had canned drinks and hot coffee thrown at her and has even been clipped by cars deliberately harassing her.
Yet she’s there every morning and afternoon, merrily calling out good morning to everyone, recognizing both children and parents by name, giving hugs of encouragement, and sometimes even belting out hymns of gratefulness in a stage-worthy voice. I recently learned that her only vehicle has broken down and she is having to ride the bus or Uber from home, adding at least an hour each way to her commute.
Yet she’s there every day, spreading her particular brand of sunshine to these kids, modeling joy, hard work, and gratefulness for every day. She is such a wonderful example to the parents and children of Battle Elementary.”
Pictured Above: Vicki Keibler of the North Myrtle Beach, SC Chamber of Commerce, with her husband Rex, son Cory, and daughter-in-law Shaina.
This Newlywed Who Walked His Wife to Her Job at Walmart Every Morning
Glenn gave this Land Rover to newlyweds Cory and Shaina Keibler in North Myrtle Beach, SC.
Cory’s mom Vicki worked for the North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce and submitted his name. He’s unable to drive because of health problems resulting from oxygen deprivation at birth, but Shaina is. He works at Goodwill and she works at Walmart.
Because they had no vehicle, Cory would get up at 5:00 am every morning to walk Shaina to work. Vicki set up the reveal like on the TV show “Extreme Makeover Home Edition”, and had it covered live by the local ABC television affiliate. The CEO of Goodwill and Cory’s supervisor were also there for the presentation.
A Single Mom Trying to Help Others
Consuela Baker was a single mom raising a six-year old son by herself. While delivering food to people in her care group at Cornerstone Church in Madison, TN, her car became so unreliable that she had to ask someone to meet her halfway to get the meals delivered.
When Glenn donated his Jaguar XJ-6 to Cornerstone’s Pastor Maury Davis and asked him to find someone deserving, he knew Consuela was the one. In this video, you’ll see the assistant pastor actually driving the car into church during services.
Click here to see the live video.
Four Wheels for the Fur Babies
Glenn gave his Chevrolet G1500 to Corinth-Alcorn Animal Shelter in Corinth, MS.
In an odd twist of fate, he saw the story of a nonprofit in Kentucky that lost an identical vehicle and was desperately trying to raise funds for a replacement. He called and left a message that he’d like to replace the vehicle, but no one returned the call.
Next he called a chamber of commerce in Northeast Texas to inform them one of their members had won, and to coordinate the giveaway.
Again, no one returned the call.
Finally, he chose the Corinth-Alcorn Animal Shelter which promptly returned the call and was very excited to receive a free vehicle. Board member Rebecca Burcham picked it up in Nashville and delivered it to them in Mississippi.
In the first photo, Glenn is presenting the keys to Rebecca in Nashville. In the second photo, the first group of fur babies have just been loaded in Mississippi and are about to be transported to a sister shelter in Pennsylvania, where they have forever homes waiting for them.
A Single Mom Taking Care of Three Generations of Her Family
Glenn gave this GMC minivan to Nancy Westbury, who he found through the staff of Two Rivers Baptist Church in Nashville. She had recently moved to Nashville from Florida to take care of her aging parents. Because her father was wheelchair bound due to amputations from diabetes, she was in need of a larger vehicle.
She was a single mom who already had a daughter to take care of.
But to add to the fray, her daughter was pregnant, putting her in a position no one ever dreams of – taking care of three different generations of her family, all by herself. She was a perfect recipient of this van.
Customer Gives Mechanic His Cadillac
Glenn bought this Escalade, an exact replica of Tony Soprano’s in The Sopranos.
This was only intended to be a weekend driver to haul golf clubs and shotguns, but he soon fell in love with it – which is why he was broken hearted when the brakes went out. He took it to the mechanic who’d taken care of Glenn’s car collection over the years and had always been honest and fair.
But this time, the mechanic urged Glenn to trade it in for a newer one because the labor to replace the entire brake system would have been more than it was worth.
Instead, Glenn gave it to the garage owner, who gave it to one of his employees who’d been walking to work (ironically, to fix other people’s cars) because he didn’t have a car of his own. The garage owner worked with his employee over two weekends and helped him fix the brakes, and he no longer had to walk to work. (Glenn then bought a black Chevy Tahoe which he nicknamed The Batmobile.)
The Chevrolet That Floated Away
Glenn tried to give this Chevy Express van to a woman in Oklahoma.
She was informed of her good fortune in April 2010.
Unfortunately, she didn’t get the vehicle added to her insurance policy (which was a requirement before it could be picked up) until May 5th. But on May 1st of that year, a 500-year flood devastated Nashville.
Glenn’s company was completely destroyed. He lost everything, and the van literally floated away.
The Corvette Glenn’s Lawyer “Stole”
This one created what Dr. Laura calls a “Moral Dilemma”. When Glenn wanted to give away this Corvette, his attorney was concerned about liability because the car was so powerful. And to be fair, no one really “needs” a Corvette.
So to keep his promise to pay it forward each time he buys another car, he traded it in on a newer vehicle and donated the value of the Corvette directly to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis.