Phillips family having a warm Christmas
Couple receive free furnace from Elite Heating & Cooling
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CENTERVILLE -- It's shaping up to be a very merry Christmas for John and Patty Phillips of the Smith Township Fire Department, who received the gift of a new Bryant furnace from Elite Heating & Cooling in Belmont.
Elite office manager Nichole Williams said her father, business owner Jerry Williams, has provided new furnaces to the Lafferty Fire Department and to individuals in need of furnaces in past years.
"It is a yearly thing. We are a factory-authorized Bryant dealer and they give us a furnace at no cost to do charitable things with, so we've done this in the past," she said.
She said Jerry Williams is from Centerville. He grew up in the Smith Township area and frequently does business with Smith Township entities.
"He felt that they deserve this," she said of the Philipses. "They're always doing for their community, and Jerry's big about giving. We are, too. We're a family business."
She added that Elite uses different methods to select recipients each year. Both the furnace and the installation are donated for a total savings of $4,500-$6,000.
The couple was provided with a free, residential natural gas furnace.
According to a social media post from Jerry Williams, John and Patty Phillips' devotion and longtime service to the community and the fire department stood out for him.
"This is what the program is all about giving back to the people like Patty and John that unconditionally give so much of themselves every day for others," Jerry Williams wrote. "Thank you Patty and John Phillips for your service. We at Elite Heating and Cooling and Bryant are honored to be able to offer this program to you both and again thank you both for what you do."
John Phillips serves as chief of the department and Patty Phillips is the fire captain. Patty Phillips said they are grateful for the gift.
"They were very kind to us. We just built a woodshop and were sort of looking at the price of a furnace and everything, and kind of had a little bit of sticker shock. We have known the owner of Elite - we all went to school together from grade school up through - and when he came out and looked and gave us the price, he got to thinking we would qualify for this program that they did, so we are very appreciative here in this house at Christmastime," she said.
Phillips said the furnace was installed about eight weeks ago.
"The guys who came out from the company and did the work did very neat and precise work, they didn't leave any messes. They've just been wonderful to work with," she said.
"It's working really well, especially right now. We still have some finishing work that we are doing ourselves in the building, so it's kind of nice when it's 30 degrees outside. I put the heat on before John gets home from work and by the time he gets home, it's nice and toasty and we can go out there and work and hang insulation and the particle board on the walls."