How do you get a new truck for $2? Ask Marvin Burrows, a Geneva Steel employee who won a new truck from Rick Warner Chevrolet, Buick, GEO Inc. in Provo.
Tuesday morning Mark Ensign, general sales manager at Rick Warner, pulled Burrows' name from a box that held the names of 2,700 Geneva employees.According to Kathy Bryson from Geneva Steel public relations, Burrows, who works in the blast furnace and has been a Geneva employee since 1976, was thrilled.
And he didn't really have to pay the $2; Geneva paid him. All he had to do to qualify for the drawing was to cash a part of his recent profit-sharing check into $2 bills, Bryson said.
Mary Kay Lazarus, Geneva spokesperson, said the idea behind the $2 bills is to both "celebrate Geneva's anniversary and show how Geneva and its employees are a big part of the community."
More than $1 million in $2 bills were exchanged, she said. This is the second year of the drawing and Geneva's third anniversary.
Craig Christensen, president of Rick Warner, said he believes Geneva Steel is trying to do something for the community and his company wanted to do something for Geneva.
"The employees are putting dollars back into their business," Christensen said. "And we feel having this drawing will put dollars back into ours."
Christensen said it has already been a good promotion for his dealership and people have purchased automobiles because of recognition through Geneva Steel.
Lazarus said the way the employees put money back into Geneva is that they have agreed to allow part of their profit-sharing income to be used in the plant for modernization.
"The steel industry is down," Lazarus said. And even though the checks this year aren't as large as last year, the fact that each employee who works more than 720 hours annually received about $3,000 is amazing.
The total profit-sharing last year amounted to 11.2 million. This year it was $9 million.
Other businesses in the community participated in the celebration by offering $2 specials or other discounts to Geneva employees.
"There is real big commitment to the community," Lazarus said.