Chane Buys Truck For Employee

When it was time for Lonnell Waters’ annual performance review at work this week, his boss called him outside. What happened next at Studio Chane Screenprinting can only be described by Waters as “freaky.”

“He just threw me the keys to a truck,” Waters told of his boss, Ron Chane. “You don’t hear about bosses taking care of their employees like that.”

True, Chane gave Waters a 2001 Ford Ranger pickup as a two year anniversary gift, free and clear. “The title is in my name, the bill of sale is in my name,” Waters said. “Crazy!”

The New Orleans native can be seen in a video reacting to the surprise, putting his head on his hands on the steering wheel. “Y’all are trippin’,” he can be heard to say, still in disbelief. Moments later, his wife gets in, hysterical, as she and Waters take a ride around the block.

“We have been through a lot and a vehicle is one problem we’ve had for a while,” Waters said. “Chane either felt that or saw that and fixed it. He fixed a lot of things with that truck.”

Though he lives just down the street, being without a reliable vehicle has been a strain for his family of six. “My son was having a baby shower and we paid someone to take us there,” he explained. “I was about to take my vacation check and get a car when this happened.”

A screen printer by trade for nearly two decades, Waters says the last two years with Chane have been wonderful. “I think he is beyond a person, the greatest thing the world ever had,” Waters chuckled. “And I’m not boasting on him as a person because of this truck, but he just stands up for everybody.”

Why did Chane do what he did? He says it’s simple: “In reality, this is how I designed my job to be and the standard I would have expected,” he explained. “I never saw that when I was working for others. It was a payment of gratitude for a guy that allows me to have blind faith in him.”

As for Waters’ future plans, he says he’s not going anywhere. “I told Chane he couldn’t melt me and pour me out of here.”

See the surprise video here (contains some strong language):