John Nicholas, a Vietnam veteran of Telford (center), poses for a picture with C&C Heating and Air Conditioning Managing Director Josh Hill and technicians Charles Eckert and Mike McConnell in front of his new HVAC system. Photo by John Worthington | The Reporter.
C&C Heating and Air Conditioning installed the system Wednesday, Nov. 27 at the residence of John Nicholas, a Vietnam veteran of Telford.
A local veteran and his wife will be able to stay warm this winter thanks to the donation of a new HVAC system by a Souderton furnace repair business.
C&C Heating and Air Conditioning installed the system Wednesday, Nov. 27 at the residence of John Nicholas, a Vietnam veteran of Telford.
“It’s a blessing,” said Nicholas. “I don’t know how I would’ve been able to afford this otherwise.”
Nicholas had been informed by a technician over the summer that his heating and air conditioning systems were approaching the end of their lifespans and needed to be replaced, a stiff cost for the retiree.
“I’m a retired guy on Social Security with a fixed income,” said Nicholas. “So I was thinking, ‘How am I gonna cover the cost of that?’”
But during a Telford VFW Post 508 meeting, Nicholas, the post’s vice president, learned that C&C was seeking local veterans for an HVAC system giveaway. He promptly submitted his name, and after a brief verification process, was approved.
“I’m so grateful to them,” said Nicholas. “This is a wonderful program they have. I can’t thank them enough.”
A family-owned and operated business, C&C was founded in 1972 by Will Cordero, a Vietnam veteran. C&C Managing Director Josh Hill said that the company wanted to honor its veteran roots by giving back to local veterans during the holiday season.
Veteran John Nicholas displays a photo of himself on deployment in Vietnam.“Going back to our roots with the owner, we’re trying to give back to another veteran that is in need,” said Hill. “We know that they are sometimes financially-strapped, so we want to help them.”
Originally from Harrisburg, Nicholas enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1967. He was deployed to Vietnam in February 1969, where he served as a rifleman and infantry soldier in the 173rd airborne brigade. He later spent five years as a parachutist in the Air Force, notably surviving a parachute failure while in jump school.
After being discharged, Nicholas attended Penn State University on the GI bill, graduating with a bachelor of science degree in 1978. He moved to Telford in 1979 after accepting a position at French’s mustard’s Souderton plant. The plant later closed in 1990. Nicholas then worked as Human Resources Manager at Webcraft Technologies and retired in 2014.
C&C plans to do a second giveaway around Christmas, said Hill. Nicholas encouraged the community to support the company, underscoring his immense gratitude for the donation.
“It’s heartrending to think of what they did for me,” said Nicholas. “They really did help my family with their gift of this system. I’m very grateful.”
This article appears courtesy of a content share agreement between North Penn Now and The Reporter. To read more stories like this, visit https://www.thereporteronline.com
