After he walked 20 miles to a new job, CEO surprises employee with his own car

published 18 July 2018

Walter Carr wasn't going to miss his first day of work, even if it meant getting up at midnight and walking 20 miles.

Carr, 20, lives in Homewood, Alabama, and he needed to get to Pelham, where he would start his job with the Bellhops moving company. His car had broken down, and he decided he would walk, so after just four hours of sleep, he set out on his journey. About 10 miles in, Carr had to take a break because his legs hurt, and a police officer pulled over to check on him. After hearing Carr's story, the officer and two others took him to breakfast, and he was dropped off at the home of Jenny Lamey.

When Lamey found out what Carr went through to get to her house, she asked him if he would like to rest, but he declined, and said he wanted to get to work. Carr told Lamey's children that when he was five, his home was destroyed during Hurricane Katrina, and also that after he earns his associate's degree later this year, he's going to start boot camp with the Marines. Lamey decided to start a GoFundMe to raise money for Carr to fix his vehicle, and she also shared his story with Bellhops CEO Luke Marklin, who was so impressed he drove from his home in Chattanooga to visit his "incredible" employee for lunch.

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Carr didn't just get to share a meal with his boss, though. The Lamey family, the police officers he met, and his new Bellhops colleagues were waiting for him at a hotel, where Marklin surprised Carr with the keys to the Ford Escape SUV he drove to Alabama. "Walter truly raised the bar," he told ABC News. Carr was shocked, and said he was grateful and happy to have inspired so many people. Catherine Garcia

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.