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Camarillo Company Hopes To Give All-Terrain Wheelchair To Veteran In Need

CAMARILLO (CBSLA.com) — The founder of a Camarillo manufacturing company and his employees are hoping to give a wounded vet an all-terrain wheelchair this month.

Bill Neumann of Neuspeed told CBS2's Amy Johnson that he first saw the "Action Trackchair" on a news program months ago and proposed the idea to purchase the chair for a vet to his employees.

"I proposed this subject to employees at one of our meetings and everybody readily agreed," he explained.

He explained that each of his ten employees donated at least a thousand dollars from their year-end bonus to purchase the chair, valued at $14,000.

The all-terrain wheelchair has the ability to travel in the snow, sand, forest, and shallow streams.

"We picked out all the options that we wanted and the paint, upholstery, and everything. This is what arrived," he said.

Neuspeed employee John Franco, who works as the shipping and receiving manager, was one of the first to sign up to donate.

"I had no problem donating the $1,000 to a good cause," he explained. "I have a father who has been in the military for 30 years and he is a veteran."

Franco, a father now himself, said he hated the idea of a wounded father being isolated from his own children.

"To be able to go out with the kids and do something outdoor with the kids was very inspiring," he said.

Also inspired to donate was Jerry Tambayong, who is in charge of product development and marketing. Tambayong said they all wanted to help injured veterans.

"So a lot of our friends, customers, you know ... military guys. So it's just kind of nice to help these guys out," he said.

Neuman said they hope to give the chair to someone soon but have had a difficult time locating a veteran in need.

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