Adventures of Ben & Cow

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The Adventures of Ben & CowHow a Deployment turned into an amazing adventure


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About this book

This book was born from despair andrejection, but shows that by the simplestactions those situations can be turned joyand celebration. In the summer of 2009,I lost my job, my house, my car, my

dog, and my girlfriend. My life was asad country song! However, the notes ofmy life changed when I stepped into aChick-fil-A to claim a free sandwich. Iwas met with the warmest smiles and themost welcoming of people. After Ibecame a team member of Chick-fil-A,the president, Dan Cathy visited ourstore. He said, The reason we alwayssay, How may we serve you? is becauseyou never know what people are goingthrough. This is a book about how thosewords forever changed my life...


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It was the worst day of my life!!! Within a period of amonth, I lost my job due to economic downsizing, my house, had to sell my

car, get rid of my dog, and my girlfriend broke up with me. My life wasquickly turning into a country song. And then I saw a commercial about a

free chicken sandwich. Little did I know the lasting impact it would have onmy life!


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After my girlfriend broke up with me, I timed my eight hour drive back to South Carolina withthe start of the Chick-fil-A sandwich giveaway. Each lonely mile passed and the weight of all I

had lost made me feel a huge sense of rejection. However, as I drove, I stopped at manyChick-fil-As, and I could have never felt more welcome and accepted...

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The positive experience of the customer service left a lasting and wonderful impact on my life.I no longer wanted to be just a customer. I wanted to give others the same experience I had, so

I applied to the last Chick-fil-A I visited on my journey home.


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I was hired four months before I deployed to Guam and I wanted to take my Chick-fil-A storyand their care for people with me. I even got to bring a friend along on the deployment that

turned out to be an amazing adventure!

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After twenty-one hours of flying, Cow and I landed at Andersen Air Force Base. And this is

where the story begins...


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Cow and I found a local elementary school to volunteer with. The kids LOVED story time, soI brought my favorite Dr. Seuss book, To Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street. They were

captivated and so excited!

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I later took a trip with them to the library and found that it was almost completely destroyed bya typhoon. The empty bookshelves in their library limited their imagination for new

possibilities and made it hard to dream bigger dreams for themselves...


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Because when this is your reality, its hard to even dream at all. Sadly this is the road the

children walk every day and this is what they call home.

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Cow and I met with the principle, Mr. Rob Malay, and asked if we could do a book drive tohelp out. We knew just who to call... our fellow team members at the West Columbia

Chick-fil-A. And did they ever come through for us!


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Our team got the word out and was able to get over 600 books donated for the cause. Chick-

fil-A does more than just sell sandwiches, they believe in helping kids grow from the inside out!

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The effort even made the local State newspaper!


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The books traveled half way around the world. It took all of us to get them inside the library.

Once the kids saw them, they knew just what to do!

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The librarian, Mrs. Rado, brought in her helpers to put away the books. They instead dove

right into the stories and couldnt put them down!


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Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imagination, our

possibilities become limitless! ~ Jamie Paolinetti

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Our adventures were many... like when we helped plant a church on the base called

Emerging Worship. (And yes, that is Rick Heil, the lead singer of Sonic Flood)

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And the time we got to hang out with the chief of Chaplains -

Major General Cecil Richardson...


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And the AMAZING rides we got to see!

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But really, the Adventure was about the people we met and being able to serve them!


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And what better way to be welcomed home?! My operator, Britt Simms, and MarketingDirector, Katie Harris, meet me at the airport with Cow and a spicy chicken sandwich. It truly

is my PLEASURE to work for such a great organization!

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The Adventures of Ben and Cow

by Ben Skelton

Documents

Adventures of Ben & Cow