BONNYVILLE – Nancy Hite is this year’s recipient of the Lennox Feel the Love Program offered by local company Precision Heat & Cool.
The program recognizes deserving residents who are in need of some extra support, and gifts them with a new air conditioner, furnace, and smart thermostat.
While Lennox supplies the equipment, Precision Heat & Cool provides the installation and other supplies. The Precision Heat & Cool volunteers also spend the day helping around the house and providing lunch.
The team went to Hite’s house on Oct. 24, and aside from installing over $14,000 worth of equipment, they raked her leaves, cleaned her kitchen cabinets, and spent the day pampering her home.
Hite expressed her excitement for what she received, though she almost had to sit on her hands to keep herself from trying to help the volunteers, who laughed with her and said that she was not supposed to lift a finger.
“I had a lot of people nominate me,” said Hite. “Last year I got runner up – the lady who won it was in need . . . She was where I was 15 years ago. This year, I was blessed . . . My first gut instinct was to be excited and happy, but it can be really hard to accept help.”
But she was happy to have volunteers inside and outside her home helping with chores.
Hite spoke about a recent experience she had at church, that highlighted the importance of accepting help from others.
“One of the words in the psalm said, ‘You need to learn grace to accept service from other people.’ I’m good at helping. I will go help anybody . . . receiving can be hard,” admits Hite.
Precision Heat & Cool owner Brent Dutertre has been part of the Feel the Love program for five years. He said that programs like this offer the company an opportunity to give back to the community.
Dutertre took over the business from his parents Shelley and Glen Dutertre, who have participated as volunteers for the Feel the Love program.
Volunteering is something Hite has been heavily involved in and she shares a connection with Brent’s family around volunteering. Shelley’s Grandfather, Oscar Senecal, was a big influence in Hite’s father’s life, and convinced him to start volunteering. This led Hite’s father to begin volunteering with the Legion.
“We call my dad Mr. Legion. If you go back and look at pictures of the Legion, my dad is usually in them. He’s been doing it since ‘92,” said Hite.
Hite’s mother had always encouraged her to help and be of service to the community, and Hite spent a great deal of her life helping others. Though single parenthood forced her to commit less time to volunteering, Hite is still active within her church and the Legion.
“Fifteens years ago, I became a single mom. Raising two kids and having two older parents, my service to the community changed. Prior to that, if there was a need, people knew I would be there,” said Hite.
When asked ahat organizations she has volunteered her time with, Hite began citing a lengthy list, including a triathlon, Boy Scouts, Special Olympics bowling, the Bonnyville Historical Society, Search and Rescue, the Lions Club, the ag society, the Bonnyville Pontiacs, FCSS - and more.
As she listed them off, pausing for a moment to think, Tracy Ohland-Cintado, the marketing and service coordinator at Precision Heat & Cool, called from the kitchen. “There’s so many she can’t even remember them all!”
Hite told stories about the things she volunteers to do - things she finds so important in a community, such as offering an elderly neighbour a ride to visit her son when she was headed to Calgary.
Hite speaks highly about the Bonnyville community and the incredible work she sees happening in the area.
“There’s always been driving forces within the town trying to make a difference. It’s organizations, but it’s also individuals that are banning together . . . There's so many different people that make the effort, and it makes Bonnyville a real community.”
Hite said she has a “habit of finding good people,” and when you surround yourself with good people, they are usually involved in all sorts of interesting charity work and volunteering that they will call you up to help with.
Ohland-Cintado expressed how important she thinks the Feel the Love program is and hopes to get the word out about the program.
“It’s an amazing program that needs to get more recognition. It’s a good feeling being a volunteer, and it’s all about the recipient.”
