Celebrating success

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By Mary Louise Speer | Wednesday, September 27, 2006 1:03 AM CDT | () comments

Kevin E. Schmidt/QUAD-CITY TIMES Edsel B. Ford II, the great-grandson of Henry Ford, was the guest speaker Tuesday during the Salvation Army’s Quad-Cities 2006 annual civic luncheon at the Golden Leaf Banquet & Convention Center, Davenport.

A man sat by the Kimberly Road exit to Interstate 74 Tuesday, holding a sign that said he was homeless.

Less than a mile away, the success of two men who fought their way out of homelessness and chemical dependency through Salvation Army programs was heralded at the Golden Leaf banquet facility in Davenport. The occasion was the organization’s annual civic luncheon, which was attended by about 300 guests and staff.

The keynote speaker was Edsel B. Ford II, who talked about his great-grandfather, Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Corp. Edsel Ford is chairman of the National Advisory Board of the Salvation Army. Members of the Quad-City community who serve on the board were honored at the luncheon.

Also saluted were former drug users Rick Trammel and Tony Zambrano.

“There’s a lot of men out there who are still lost, who don’t know where to go,” Trammel told the audience.

“I had no guidance or direction in my life. I had my first drink at age 10. I learned as an adult I was a follower and I would follow bad people and make bad choices,” Zambrano said.

“I was very comfortable there until I realized I was being devoured by bad choices.”

Trammel’s dark side lured him into the world of drug dealing as well as usage. “I didn’t want to follow the rules. I wanted to do my thing, and in doing that I found the world of the streets and the people who didn’t care,” he said.

Fortunately, the Salvation Army is run by people who not only care but also are ready to assist those in dire circumstances, said Ford, who lives with his family in Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.

He shared a family story about a drive taken by his great-grandfather in the 1920s. Henry Ford passed a group of college students clustered around a rusty Tin Lizzie (Model T) and watched as steam poured from the radiator.

“He did what any American would do. He leaned out the window of his brand-new car and screamed, ‘Get a horse,’ ” Edsel Ford said.

However, Henry Ford cared enough to do something more for the car’s owner. He wrote down the license plate number and arranged to have a new car delivered to the young person the next day.

Life was far more localized in those days, Ford said. Today, people watch tragedies such as 9/11, the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina unfold on TV and feel almost as if they are there. The Salvation Army stands ready make an immediate impact for both the victims of large-scale tragedies and those locked in their own individual misfortunes, he said.

“The Salvation Army helps people in need. It changes lives,” he said.

Contact the city desk at (563) 383-2245 or

newsroom@qctimes.com.