Houston mattress store that housed hundreds in severe winter weather debuts highwater rescue truck
Houston’s Mattress Mack debuts rescue vehicle with start of hurricane season
Houston's Mattress Mack, the furniture salesperson who opened her doors to hundreds of displaced Texas residents due to severe weather last winter, debuted a high-water rescue truck this week, according to local reports.
“We are here to benefit the community which we have always done and we have a responsibility for the well being of the community, we are trying to live up to that,” Jim “Mac” McKingvale told “Fox End.” friend" in February
The terrible weather event left millions without electricity as temperatures dipped below freezing – and the estimated death toll passed 100.
"If we have any other problems in Houston, we can go to the rescue people and bring them to the gallery furniture," he told Houston-based ABC 13. "I don't know if I'm a man enough to drive it, but someone I can drive it and I'll sit there and sit in the back with all the guys."
The truck is capable of driving through 55 inches of deep water, and the sides of the black bedding include a portrait of McKingvale and the phrase "Mattress Mack's Got Your Back".
"We have a responsibility for the well-being of our community," he told the station. "And this truck will help us meet that commitment."
The McKingvale family is famous in Houston. In addition to raising large sums of money for charity and gambling at high-profile sporting events, Mack's wife, Linda McKingvale, also played a role in helping find the missing tiger that terrorized Houston for more than a week last month.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, the family also held a Thanksgiving party for more than 4,000 people in 2019.
Mack, who shares daily Bible verses on Twitter and has been known for charity work over the years, uses a portion of his proceeds in gallery furniture for what he calls a "community effort."
According to the store's website, "Building a strong community is Mattress Mack's passion, which is why she has built a high school, an adult trade school, and a childcare center at Gallery Furniture, which is absolutely free to students and staff. " “These efforts by Mattress Mack and Gallery Furniture, as well as all outreach initiatives past and future, are made possible by our amazing Gallery Furniture customers.”