TOTALLY GEEKED!

DETROIT — After years of huffin' and puffin', logging 21 miles by foot to get to and from work, James Robertson can breathe a sigh of relief. He's getting a car: a shiny red, 2015 Ford Taurus. And it's loaded. New wheels aside, he's also getting a new nickname. Robertson is ABC's "Person of the Week." The 56-year-old factory worker will be featured Friday on World News Tonight, along with a college student who has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars on his behalf, and the man who discovered his story. USA TODAY Fundraiser for walker with harsh commute tops $300K An ABC crew came to Detroit Thursday and interviewed Robertson, along with 19-year-old Evan Leedy, the Wayne State University student who has raised $300,000-plus on his behalf after reading about Robertson in the Free Press; and banker Blake Pollock, the man who discovered Robertson while driving to work one day and then shared the commuter's story with the Free Press. DFP Robertson gets n (2).JPG James Robertson of Detroit looks over ads for used cars while riding the SMART bus along Woodward in Detroit on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015. (Photo: ryan garza Detroit Free Press) The story has landed Roberts in the middle of a media frenzy, with interview requests from CBC, NBC, People magazine and radio stations galore. "I think it's a great story. And I think it's kind of cool that someone else is telling it for me," said Pollock, an investment manager of UBS in Troy who spent months telling friends and colleagues about Robertson, but no one would believe him. Now, Robertson's story is known worldwide. "I've never picked up a hitchhiker in my life," Pollock said. "I don't really think I did anything all that amazing. I was curious." And his curiosity paid off. After Robertson's story about his 21-mile daily walk to and from work appeared in the Free Press on Sunday, a tsunami of support poured in. Leedy started a GoFundMe drive for Robertson that has raised $300,000-plus from more than 11,400 donors in four days. After hearing about the story of a Detroit man who walks 21 miles to work, a crowd sourcing campaign has raised over $100K to buy him a car. VPC Then there's the new car. Suburban Ford of Sterling Heights is giving Robertson a fully loaded 2015 Ford Taurus. As dealership manager Jim Elder noted, getting his own employees to work on time is often difficult, and they live in the same town as the dealership. Then there's Robertson, who lives miles from work and hasn't been late in a decade of perfect attendance. DFP Robertson gets n (3).JPG James Robertson, 56, of Detroit outside his workplace in Rochester Hills. In his commute to and from work, Robertson has taken two buses each way and walked 21 miles every day for 12 years. He has been named ABC’s “Person of the Week.” (Photo: Ryan Garza/Detroit Free Press) "There's nobody who deserves it more than him," Elder said. Folks nationwide agree. On the GoFundMe site donations have ranged from $1 to $100, with many leaving messages such as this one Thursday from $50 donor Barb Knapp: "Ever since I read this story last Sunday morning in the Detroit Free Press I have not been able to stop thinking about what James Robertson has endured these last 10 years. My heart was broken and I was brought to tears." "This is the kind of guy America needs," wrote Edward Klkotka, who donated $20. "Hardworking and dedicated. He has the type of character that every employer dreams about." An autographed copy of the Detroit Free Press with the front page story documenting James Robertson's 21-mile daily walk to and from work. (Photo: Ryan Garza, Detroit Free Press) Robertson started walking to work a decade ago after his aging Honda quit on him. His employer moved nine miles north from Madison Heights to Rochester Hills, and bus service was repeatedly cut back in metro Detroit, forcing him to walk longer and longer distances. Rochester Hills is one of numerous suburban communities that have opted out of the SMART bus program, so no fixed-route large buses run there, SMART officials said. Ever since his car quit on him a decade ago, James Robertson has walked 21 miles a day to get to and from work, because Detroit buses only cover part of the route. It's tough, but you won't hear the 56-year-old complain. VPC Robertson's plight shed light on the situation many in metro Detroit face daily in getting to work in an auto-centric region that has pockets of extreme poverty and no cohesive transportation system. Transportation and city officials have conceded more work needs to be done. "That story is heartbreaking and it's not necessary," said Michael Ford, the CEO of the Regional Transit Authority, which is trying to improve public transportation across metro Detroit. "There's more that we can do."

Nobody Just Nobody wrote:

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Well, that came out bad... But it's worth the read. Or click on the link.

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What a good person! I'm glad, he got some help.

IMHO, he deserved it.

Thank goodness, he got a Ford.

I won't spend a penny on GM.

They get our tax dollars, and still put out a sub standard vehicle.

JMHO.

I won't buy GM, for love nor money.