When Lodi resident Jim Sanchez received a phone call from Tokay Heating & Air owner Ron Gutierrez telling him he’d be getting a new HVAC system, the 77-year-old homeowner was at a loss for words.
“I wasn’t quite sure how to think, because apparently my daughter submitted (my name),” Sanchez said. Then I got a phone call from Ron, and he told me I had been selected. And that was it.”
Sanchez was the second recipient of the Lennox “Feel the Love” program, which provides new equipment for residents who otherwise could not afford it — be it an HVAC system or water heater — at no cost.
The program came to Lodi when Beryl Rawlings, a 16-year employee with Lennox, signed on as managing partner at Tokay Heating & Air last year.
Rawlings had been involved with previous Feel the Love installations in Modesto, and wanted to bring the program to Lodi.
Earlier this year, Tokay Heating & Air put out a call for Feel the Love nominations, and Sanchez’s daughter believed he should receive the free installation.
Sanchez lost another daughter, as well as his wife, to cancer in the same year. His surviving daughter, who lives with him, said in her nomination that he helps take care of all his grandchildren, and never stops working to help the entire family.
Despite the loss of two women he deeply loved in a short amount of time, his daughter said Sanchez had strong faith and was deserving of a new blessing from Feel the Love.
On Wednesday morning, Tokay Heating & Air crews and representatives from Lennox converged on Sanchez’s Columbia Drive home to remove the existing HVAC system from his roof and replace it.
Sanchez said he bought the home in 1990, and the existing HVAC system was a little more than a decade old.
“I’ve never received anything like this before in my life,” he said. “It’s really overwhelming and hasn’t really set in yet. Just the idea of Feel the Love… it’s a good thing, because it has to do with not just being a recipient, but also because there’s something behind it having to do with love of neighbor.”
Elias Omar, Northern California sales manager for Lennox, said once crews arrived, they saw other needed repairs in the Sanchez home, and went to work making adjustments.
Along with changing the HVAC system, Omar said, crews replaced the water heater, raked the backyard, cleaned the roof gutters and cleaned interior vents and filters.
“It’s an incredible thing,” Omar said. “Jim has been a very welcoming host. He’s opening up his house for us to do this. He’s been generous, very nice. its an incredible story… the resilience he has. It’s pretty impressive to see.”
Sanchez said the work crews were doing on his home reminded him of President Jimmy Carter’s work with Habitat for Humanity. The 98-year-old former president has partnered with the nonprofit organization since 1984, and still visits work sites to lend a helping hand.
“He gave his time and energy, and that’s how I felt about this,” he said. “These people gave their time and energy… and that word ‘love,’ it tells me that it is so natural for them. They actually call each other brother because they’re all united, and working together for a one-time cause. It’s a unique way of displaying love of neighbor.”
The Feel the Love program was created in Wisconsin as Heat Up. The name was changed to Feel the Love in 2009, and in 2018, Lennox implemented its official feel the love program.
The company will install 220 systems across the country this year, Omar said. Since the program’s inception, 1,500 have been installed.
Last year, Jeannette McGarry was the first Lodi recipient of the Feel the Love program when Lennox and Tokay Heating & Air replaced her 20-year-old air conditioning unit.
“We’re just blessed to be able to be part of this,” Rawlings said. “To have such an amazing nomination story for Jim and have the opportunity to get to know him, and just share the fellowship with him today, it’s a very emotional experience to be able to see guys volunteering their time and do what we’re doing.”
