NORMAN, Okla. - As a result of the Luxaire® brand of Johnson Controls’ donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation®, the company sent Christian, a six-year-old from Paterson, N.J., and three members of his family, on a six days and five nights all-expenses-paid trip to Walt Disney World Resort®.

A portion of the sale of Luxaire equipment enabled the company to underwrite Christian’s trip with a check for close to $8,000. When Christian and his family returned from Florida, Geri Heppel, product manager with Luxaire distributor Luce, Schwab & Kase Inc., Fairfield, N.J., company CEO Jim Luce, and Sales Manager Brian Houser, treated the boy and his grandmother to lunch at a local restaurant and a special bag of toys.

“We heard all about Christian’s encounters with his favorite Disney characters, including those from the movie Shrek,” said Heppel. “Everyone at Luce, Schwab & Kase Inc. is very proud of our relationship with Make-A-Wish, because we can see all of the good it does and we are very happy that Luxaire has created this partnership with such an amazing organization.”

Christian is the fourth child that Luce, Schwab & Kase has supported through the sale of Luxaire equipment.

“We’ve kept in touch with them and have their pictures framed and hanging in our lobby,” noted Heppel. “Our customers see the pictures and just love the idea that their purchases are making something worthwhile happen for a child that has an illness. The fact that they are local children makes the program even stronger. We are proud of our involvement and look forward to continuing our support of Make-A-Wish.”

Luxaire has a network of distributors and dealers nationwide that have been committed to the partnership with the Make-A-Wish Foundation since the fall of 2001. “At Luxaire, our partnership with the Make-A-Wish Foundation is in its sixth year and it has been a great success among dealers and distributors on both a national and local level,” said Jeff Hurt, Luxaire brand manager. “It makes them feel good about the work they are doing, especially when they know they are helping children in their own communities.”

For more information, visit www.luxairebelievesinme.com or www.wish.org.

Publication date: 03/17/2008