Surprise leaf blower 'dream come true' for special needs lawncare buff

A Saskatoon lawn care fanatic is on cloud nine.

Twenty-one-year-old Warren Gillies has Williams Syndrome, which is a medical condition that causes cardiovascular disease and developmental delays.

But that hasn’t stopped Gillies from having a love affair with lawn care.

“It keeps me out of trouble,” he said. “It keeps me focused and I just love doing it.”

Cervus Equipment, a John Deere sales company in Saskatoon, got wind of the passion Gillies has for the industry and that’s why they gave him a brand new STIHL BR 600 blower.

“We wanted to make a feel-good story out of this,” said lawn and garden salesmen, Norman Hoeflicher.

“It doesn’t come around very often, but a great opportunity to support a great guy.”

Cheers and tears erupted from the crowd of people when Warren got his new toy.

He wasn’t expecting it either. He thought he and his Marion Graham Collegiate classmates were on a field trip.

“I’m in shock,” said Gillies. “It’s really made my day.”

His Mother, Darla Jansen, on the other hand, was speechless.

“I’m just overwhelmed that this actually happened,” she said.

“This is like a dream come true for Warren, he’s wanted this machine for so long.”

The education coordinator at Gillies’ school and set everything up for the surprise presentation.

Gillies is a student in the Transitional FLS program, which is set up for special needs students to help them with an opportunity to work in the community through work training.

He has been saving up for the blower, but he said now he’ll use the money to buy his mother something nice.