Generous Man Donates $1 Million to Save Local Fire Station
At the end of March, Mark Hardin, chief of the volunteer Calhoun, Missouri, fire department sat at his desk, staring at the balance in the department's bank account: $169. We're broke, he sighed.
Mark and other volunteers had already been using their own money to fix two of their five broken trucks. With their gear, from the 1980s and 1990s, desperately needing to be replaced, Mark figured he'd be going into his pocket again.
But then, just days later, the firehouse phone rang. Sam Sloan, 91, who lives two miles from the station, introduced himself to Mark and asked, "Could you take me out to breakfast?" Mark didn't know Sam, but he seemed nice, so Mark said, "Sure."
Over a four-hour breakfast, Sam asked Mark about how the fire department operated. Mark shared that when he took over in 2021, there was just one volunteer and none of the trucks worked. After Mark used his own money to fix one up and get it running, he put out a call on Facebook for more volunteers; now there's 29, he told Sam proudly.
Mark was surprised when Sam invited him to breakfast again the next week. Then the following week, Sam asked Mark to come over to his house, and what happened next completely shocked the fire chief.
Mark was greeted by Sam, his wife and their bookkeeper, and as he stepped inside the house, Sam handed Mark a check for $500,000! Stunned, Mark was unable to speak.
Sam, who had owned and sold seed companies, cattle ranches, car dealerships and property, earned a lot of money over his life but lives simply.
He'd been saving for decades with the idea to give back, and he'd always admired firefighters and decided his local fire department would make the perfect beneficiary. He had no idea they were down to their last dollar.
The firefighters used the gift to buy new uniforms and three used fire trucks. Deeply grateful, they made a helmet for Sam and named him honorary chief.
But the nonagenarian wasn't done giving just yet. In July, Sam donated an additional $330,000 to purchase a larger building for their second firehouse, which they plan to name the Samuel A. Sloan, Jr. Fire Station—and another $200,000 for remodeling.
The town of about 400 will show its love for Sam with a BBQ on October 18th. "I would never have imagined this ever," says Mark. "It's hard to put into words how grateful I am for Sam. I don't think amazing is an adequate word to describe him."
This story was originally published September 22, 2024, 11:30 AM.
