When Ingeburg Morrison found out Friday she won a gift certificate for a mattress at Rock Bottom of Warsaw, she couldn’t believe it. “She kept saying, ‘A bed? A bed? A bed?’ Didn’t you?” recalled Warsaw Housing Authority Executive Director Pam Kennedy, sitting beside Morrison before the City of Warsaw Common Council meeting Monday night. “Then you said, ‘Me? Me?’” Morrison said she never won anything before, and Kennedy said Morrison’s response to winning Friday made everyone cry. On Friday, Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer drew the name of a family to win a gift certificate toward a mattress at Rock Bottom of Warsaw. The winner was one of 37 who received Good Housekeeping Awards through the Warsaw Housing Authority. Monday night, at the city council meeting, the winner, Morrison, was introduced. WHA administers the Housing Choice Voucher Program, which is federal dollars from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to assist with rent and utilities families earning under 50 percent area median income. For the families that keep up a rental unit, they earn a Good Housekeeping Award, signed by the inspector and Thallemer. The landlord is notified of the award, which lets him or her know that the tenant is keeping the unit nice. This assists future families in having more choices of units to rent in the future, according to a previous WHA press release. This year, 37 families out of 175 received Good Housekeeping Awards. Rock Bottom of Warsaw is owned by Max and Mary Carroll Jones and Tyler and Jenny Pequignot. Morrison knew the Joneses years ago, going into their grandparents’ hardware store in Pierceton, Kennedy said. “But we didn’t tell them she won, and we didn’t tell her where the bed was coming from until today. So it was all a surprise,” Kennedy explained. Currently, Morrison has a twin bed that she often falls out of while sleeping. “She wants a double,” Kennedy said. “But I couldn’t afford it,” Morrison added. “Now you don’t have to worry about it,” Kennedy told Morrison. During the council meeting, Thallemer said, “Personally, I’d like to thank Rock Bottom Warehouse for their participation and donation of a mattress. It’s a very thoughtful and comfortable gift. And again, we’re very much appreciative of your collaboration with Housing Authority, so thank you so much.” Kennedy told the council the housing program runs on being able to have rentals available in the area for people to rent. Over the years, sometimes there has been stigma that if someone had assistance they wouldn’t be a good renter, she said. “That’s not true. It’s just like an open market. We have people that take care of places and people that do not,” Kennedy said. WHA started the Good Housekeeping program years ago, but it got to the point where almost everyone got an award so it was stopped about 10 years ago. This year, it was started back up. “We go into a unit every year once a year. If they kept the place clean, they haven’t damaged it, they keep their smoke detector working, or if something breaks they told the landlord it was broke so they can fix it before it got into more disarray, they get a Good Housekeeping Award,” Kennedy said. “And the participants have been thrilled. They have been getting a piece of paper with the mayor’s signature on it all year, so that’s what they thought they won.” But Rock Bottom had gotten together with WHA and was willing to donate a mattress to one winning family. Morrison won Friday’s drawing, and Kennedy said there were only three people older than Morrison in the program. Morrison has lived in Kosciusko County since 1952. “We were just thrilled that she had won and that she was just so happy, and she was just totally taken offguard when we stopped by her house Friday to tell her,” Kennedy said.
