Ben Tire President Named Tire Dealer Humanitarian

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LAS VEGAS - Burnham E. Neal, president and CEO of Ben Tire Distributors Ltd. in Toledo, Illinois, was named the 2008 winner of the Tire Dealers Humanitarian Award, sponsored by Tire Business.

In its 15th year, the prestigious award is presented annually to a single recipient out of approximately 25,000 independent tire dealers, retreaders, and wholesalers in North America. It recognizes the charitable and public service work of an independent tire dealer.

Tire Business Editor and VP/Publisher David Zielasko presented the award to Mr. Neal on November 4 during the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show in Las Vegas. Mr. Neal received an engraved medal and a $1,000 donation from Tire Business to Mattoon Middle School in Mattoon, Illinois.

An independent panel of judges selected Mr. Neal, citing his decades-long dedication to giving back to his community, his willingness to help others, and his ability to find ways to improve the quality of life for people in central Illinois.

Mr. Neal is considered a go-to person in Toledo and surrounding areas. He is one of those special individuals who can be counted on to provide support, most often philanthropically, to any worthwhile project that comes to his attention. And even at age 86, he continues to provide wise counsel and keep a watchful eye over the many projects he’s supporting.

Greg Cramer, a warehouse manager for Ben Tire, has seen his boss help employees and their family members who are struggling with personal problems, medical issues or financial difficulties.

That help can be as simple yet meaningful as telling an employee to take all the time he needs to be with his daughter who was diagnosed with leukemia. These words are not just something said to be nice. Mr. Neal means them and backs them up with action.

For the 11 weeks this employee was off caring for his daughter, his paychecks never stopped and he was welcomed back to work once his daughter was better.

When a Ben Tire store manager died in a car accident, Mr. Neal also stepped in and paid for the entire college education of the manager’s then 18-year-old son and now a Ben Tire store manager. Mr. Neal has been “like a surrogate father to me,” the employee said.

At Mattoon, Ill., Middle School, when media coordinator and librarian Anieta Trame wanted to buy some books she thought would interest students who didn’t like to read, Mr. Neal provided the funds to make that happen.

He did the same when she wanted to acquire some (PDAs) personal digital assistants for curriculum, reading and to do paperless assignments.

“I don’t know how he found out about it, but he sent in a couple of members of his Neal Foundation to talk to me,” Ms. Trame said. She didn’t hear anything for some time until one day she was called to the school’s office and there was Mr. Neal and his late wife Nancy who presented the school with a $30,000 check to support the PDA program. A short time later he added another $3,000 check.

Mr. Neal also has left his imprint on healthcare in the Toledo area, where his generosity helped fund the Neal Nursing Institute at the Sara Bush Lincoln Health Center in Mattoon, Ill.

“Because of his gift, we can continue to provide the very best in patient service and, at the same time, attract the best in the nursing field,” said Mary Lou Randolph, vice president of patient care services at the hospital.

Through Mr. Neal’s ongoing support, the Institute also is able to bring in outside educators to help provide additional professional training to the nursing program, she said.

Mr. Neal supports many other worthy causes in his community. And at age 86, Mr. Neal has one more dream. He would like to see a community center constructed in Toledo that would benefit everyone in Cumberland County.

While the center is still in the design stage, Mr. Neal and the Neal Foundation have hired an engineer to redraw and conceptualize the project. Mr. Neal’s initial funding would get the $1 million-plus facility built. And the community and the Neal Foundation would then be involved in the center’s future funding.

The proposed two-story, 36,000 square foot center would include an indoor pool, gathering space, party rooms, basketball courts and space for after school programs.

“What we need is a place where all the county can go,” Mr. Neal said. “The way it is now, there’s nothing here. There’s no reason for people to come here for any entertainment of any kind.”