[ back ]
Wheatley in running to win Sears store
(by Kristy Zurbrick, Madison Editor - September 01, 2010)
|
 Dave Wheatley
|
London resident Dave Wheatley could win a Sears Hometown Store.
He is one of two finalists in “Operation Stores and Stripes,” a national contest Sears launched earlier this year to award a store to one U.S. military veteran.
Wheatley served four years in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War era. His last year of service, he was stationed at a radar site at Thule Air Force Base in Greenland above the Arctic Circle. The other contest finalist is Edward Schrank, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran from Illinois.
Americans will determine the contest winner by casting votes on the Sears Hometown Stores Facebook page in a poll located on the Causes tab. Information submitted by Wheatley and Schrank, as well as a video clip of each, is available for viewers to browse. The voting period is open now and ends on Sept. 15.
Starting in May, qualified military veterans from across the country entered the contest for a chance to win their own Sears Hometown Store. The prize includes not just the store location and license, but also merchandise, renovation, the first 90 days of the lease and 90 days of operating cash flow.
Entries to the contest included an in-depth online application followed by a screening process, until the candidates were narrowed down to 15 finalists. The next round required contestants to submit photos or videos of themselves in uniform, letters of recommendation, and proof of community service. Round three brought the top five contestants to Sears Holdings’ corporate headquarters in Illinois for face-to-face interviews with a panel of Sears Hometown Stores executives.
Wheatley entered the contest because he has been out of work since last year when state budget cuts led to the elimination of his job as director of operations for the Madison County Board of Developmental Disabilities. He has submitted dozens of applications but has yet to find another job.
“When I found out about this contest, I thought, ‘If I can’t find anyone to hire me, I’ll hire myself,’ ” said Wheatley, a resident of London since 1976 and an active member of the local business and civic community.
For 19 years until 2000, Wheatley operated London Truck and Tractor with his business partner, Gary Butts. They owned farm equipment stores in London and Wilmington and, at one time, Washington Court House. From 2000 to 2005, Wheatley worked as business and facilities manager for St. Patrick Catholic Church in London. In 2006, the Board of Developmental Disabilities hired him as transportation supervisor. He later was promoted to director of operations.
Wheatley and his wife, Linda, have three children, Rusty, Jenna and Brian.
Wheatley is a member of the Huntington Bank board, a member of the St. Patrick Church finance committee, and president of the Madison Energy Co-op Association. He is a past president of the Chamber of Commerce, London Rotary Club and St. Patrick School board of education, and served as a deputy grand knight and 12 years as treasurer of the Knights of Columbus. He is a past member of the Madison County Hospital board, Tolles Career and Technical Center advisory board, London City Schools business advisory committee, Madison County Extension Service advisory committee, Madison Correctional Institution mechanic advisory board, London Country Club and the Ohio/Michigan Dealers Association.
In 1990, Wheatley and his business partner were named finalists in the Ernst & Young Central Ohio Entrepreneur of the Year program. Additionally, Wheatley was named the Chamber’s Bell Ringer winner in 1991, Rotary’s Paul Harris Fellow in 1997, and Rotary’s Four-Way Test Person of the Year in 2002. In 2004, he became one of the first inductees into the Tolles Hall of Fame.
In the video clip Wheatley recorded for the contest, he explains why he would like to be chosen to win the Sears Hometown Store. Primarily, it’s because he likes to work. Wheatley, 63, summed it up with an original poem:
“There is no golden or magic age, just time in one’s life to turn the page.
To use God’s gifts and do your best and to live life fully with excitement and zest.
So, make the effort and go all the way and try to ignore those people who say:
Are you crazy? Are you out of your mind? It’s time to retire and sit on your behind.”
For more information about the contest, visit www.searshometownstores.com or www.facebook.com/SearsHometownStores.
[ back ]
