September 30, 2009

Messer to Receive Starfish Award

Mark Messer will receive the “Starfish Award” from the Happy Factory at the Gala Banquet on Wednesday October 14^th held in the Great Hall on the campus of Southern Utah University.

The Happy Factory has always operated on the premise that one person can make a difference in our community and the world. 

An old man walked upon a shore littered with thousands of Starfish, beached and dying after a storm.  A young man was picking them up and flinging them back into the ocean.  “Why do you bother?” the old man scoffed.  “You’re not saving enough to make a difference.”   The young man picked up another Starfish and sent it spinning back to the water.  “Made a difference to that one”, he said.  Mark has made a difference.

What is the one thing, without which, the Happy Factory could not operate?  Simply stated, it is the wood.  Mark Messer is Owner and President of Timberline Cabinet Doors and, beginning in 1998, he has donated virtually all of the wood the Happy Factory uses to make the little cars, sent all over the world.  Without the wood, there would be no building, no equipment, no volunteers cutting and sanding and finishing the little cars and the one millionth child would not be holding the one millionth car produced by the Happy Factory.

Previous winners of the Starfish Award are John Tews and Evan Vickers.

Mark was born in Cedar City and attended Cedar High School and Southern Utah University majoring in Business Administration.  Leaving SUU in 1994, before graduation, to open his business, Mark will tell you he has a Work PHD, not a Scholastic PHD.

Mark is married to Amanda, for 17 years and they have four girls, Makenzie 14, Brooklyn 10, Jacey 6, and Miley 1.  Mark is very involved and supportive in family/children’s activities and he loves mountain and road biking.

Tickets to the Gala can be purchased by calling the Happy Factory at
(435) 586-8352.

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Happy Factory Press Release
September 18, 2009

            Happy Factory Announces Gala Dinner

It’s “Gala” time!  The seventh annual fund raising gala for The Happy Factory will be held on Wednesday, October 14, 2009, in the Great Hall in the Haze-Hunter Conference Center at Southern Utah University at 6:30 p.m. We invite you to be part of this wonderful evening in support of The Happy Factory and help us celebrate the placing of the one millionth toy in the hands of a child somewhere in the world.

The Happy Factory is a non-profit charitable organization which produces high quality hardwood toys that are given to children around the world. The majority of the toys are small cars and trucks, but the Happy Factory has also fulfilled "special orders" for blocks, steam shovels and other toys. The toys are not simple playthings, but tools that can help stimulate a child's mind allowing them to think, become creative, and to cope with the world around them.

The number of toys delivered to children all over the world is now approaching one million in more than 125 countries.  The toys go to schools, hospitals, family shelters, churches, foundations and many humanitarian organizations around the world. Many individuals have carried toys to places around the world.  You could deliver toys during your next trip. All toys go to children in need.  Many of the children have never owned a toy or anything else.

You can be an essential part of this process by attending the gala, sponsoring part of the evening, and/or contributing an auction item.  It will be a great event, reminding us that we are truly blessed and can reach out to help others, especially the children of the world.

Tickets to the Gala are $50.00 a piece or $400.00 for a table of eight.  They can be purchased by calling or visiting The Happy Factory at 586-8352.  

Auction items will be sold in both silent and live auction formats.  Do you have an item or service you’d like to contribute?  Your generosity is very much appreciated!

Sponsorship levels for the evening are as follows:

     Dinner Sponsor, with a donation of $5,000, will receive eight tickets to the  

Gala, special recognition at the Gala and on the website and will treasure the blessing that come from sharing.  The Dinner Sponsor’s donation will cover most of the expense of the dinner so that almost all contributions go straight to the manufacture of toys!   The will also receive a matched set of cars personally made by founder Charles Cooley.

     Steam Shovel Sponsors, with a donation of $2,000, will receive eight tickets to the Gala, recognition at the Gala, one Steam Shovel, and recognition on the website and will understand the satisfaction of being a benefactor to the Happy Factory.  Steam Shovels are primarily used to stimulate a developmentally disabled child in many children's hospitals.

     Car Carrier Sponsors, with a donation of $1,500, will receive eight tickets to the Happy Factory Gala, recognition at the Gala, one Car Carrier wooden toy, and will feel gratitude for having allowed the making of over 3,000 new toys for children.   

     Hor d’oeuvre and Auction Sponsors, with a donation of $750, will receive four tickets to the Happy Factory Gala, recognition at the Gala and on the website and will experience the joy of creating over 1500 new toys for children.

      Table Sponsors, with a donation of $400, will receive eight tickets to the Gala, and know the peace of participating plus recognition on the website and the creation of over 800 new toys for children. 

Thank you for considering The Happy Factory as a beneficiary of your time, effort, and hard-earned income.  You can make a child’s life brighter!  For more information please visit www.happyfactory.org or call 586-8352. 

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August 2, 2009
Happy Factory
Cedar City, Utah

Senator Hatch Announces Happy Factory Award 

Utah Senator Orin Hatch and his wife Elaine announced that the Happy Factory, located in Cedar City, Utah is being recognized for their efforts in making high quality wooden cars for children all over the world. In the first six months of 2009, the Happy Factory shipped 57,766 toys to 22 countries. To date, the Happy Factory has made and shipped over 975,000 toys all over the world. Charles and Donna Cooley will be in Midway, Utah to pick up the award, which also comes with an as yet undetermined monetary figure. 

Sheri Sorensen, Executive Director, of the Utah Families Foundation (UFF) stated the funds are generated by the 2009 Utah Charities Golf Challenge, hosted by Senator Hatch. This is Utah Charities Golf Challenge’s 19th year of contributing to charities all over the state of Utah. To date, the Utah Families Foundation has given over $9 million dollars to families in need. This year the event is being held August 16-18 at the Zermatt Resort located in Midway, Utah.

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July 2009 - Annual Banquet Announcement!

The Happy Factory annual banquet will be held on Wednesday October 14th in the Great Hall in the Haze Hunter Conference Center on the campus of Southern Utah University. 

More details will be issued shortly.

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