36 FEBRUARY 2018 ArcAd A News By Nick Smith When Jeremy Giles heard that Arizona Helping Hands was hoping to fill an entire 20x20 truck with toys for their annual toy drive, he immediately wasn’t on board with the idea. “I’ve got a bigger truck than that,” he responded. “And we can fill it.” Giles wasn’t joking about having a bigger truck. He’s a UPS driver in Arcadia, and he became determined to get as many toys as he could get his hands on for Arizona Helping Hands, which assists foster families and children with a variety of different needs. At first Giles was having trouble collecting large amounts of toys for the drive. Then he had an idea; why not ask his customers for help? “I went to eleven different customers on my route,” said Giles. “I explained what I was trying to do and asked if they’d be willing to donate some gift cards for a raffle. They immediately jumped on board.” A raffle began to get a lot of interest from Giles co-workers at UPS and the toys started piling up. His manager and supervisor set up an office for Giles to store toys in, and it was completely filled within eight days. He moved the stash over to the building manager’s larger office, and that was almost filled as well. Workers at UPS were a big part of the donation total, but so was the Arcadia community on Giles’s route. He drops off and picks up packages at several well-known locations, including LGO, Chelsea’s Kitchen, Even Stephens, Tacos Tequila Whiskey, Revolution Tea, Z’s Greek, Kim Anderson Design, MAME Soy Candles, FETCH Phoenix and Chaos Safety Supplies. Once he told them what he was doing, his clients went all in, giving him items to raffle and toys. “It really became this snowball,” said Giles. “Once we started the raffle, we started getting other things to raffle off. There were third row Cardinal tickets, coyote tickets, rounds at Dove Valley Ranch Golf Club. Customers donated gift cards, toys. I would drop off deliveries and then load more boxes of toys back onto the truck at so many stops.” By the end of the drive, UPS had donated over 1000 toys and was the largest new supporter of the holiday toy drive in 2017. “It was really a cool thing to be a part of,” said Giles. “It was amazing to see the community come together for something like this.” By Rachael Bouley In 2001, a Hollywood agency was on the lookout for the next big thing, or in this case, a talented musician who could ace a Bob Hope tribute in honor of the cherished military comedian. The agency found what it was looking for, and a whole lot more, in Arcadia resident Lynn Roberts. Fast forward 16 years, and Roberts has taken his entertaining career to new heights. He was already an established performer when he took on the role of Bob Hope impersonator, using his unique talents to enchant new audiences. His lifelong career as a musician and performer has paved the way for some pretty amazing experiences, including allowing him to touch hearts during shows on Navy ships and Army bases. “It’s such a heartwarming experience for me. When I do these shows, all these veterans come up to me and get so emotional,” Roberts said. “They talk to me as though I really am Bob Hope.” Through tears and hugs, Roberts makes a difference to military members and veterans, taking them back in time to the Hope era. “It’s very rewarding to be able to do that kind of a service for them,” he said. One of his favorite recollections is performing his tribute with Hope’s son Kelly in the audience. “I was so excited to meet him, and when the show was finished, he came up on the stage and said ‘ladies and gentleman, you don’t know what it has meant to me this evening to get to see my dad perform again after ten years,’” Roberts said. “It was such a validation of what I do.” His impressions also include Red Skelton, Jack Benny and Crazy Guggenheim. His dedication to his craft has earned him numerous awards, and he was most recently honored by Michigan Rep. Hank Vaupel for his leadership in performing arts and service to veterans. He was presented with the Bea Foggleman Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009. Originally from Iowa, he grew up in a musical family who encouraged his craft. He majored in music at University of Nebraska, before moving to Chicago, where he worked with big names like Tony Bennett and Bobby Darin. He started his own musical act in 1965, and soon after toured Germany and Italy, playing at military bases and giving service members something to smile about. He continued his career by finding success at nightclubs, school assemblies and corporate functions, which landed him several appearances on national television. He’s traveled coast to coast, enlightening audiences of all ages with his amazing abilities to play 12 instruments, including two trumpets at the same time. When he’s not traveling the country, and showing off his multitude of skills, Roberts enjoys gardening and spending time with his family. He has no signs of slowing down, as he truly loves what he does. “When you have something that’s so rewarding and fun, you certainly don’t want to retire,” Roberts said. “I have done so many rewarding things in the entertainment world that I won’t retire if I can still perform.” Local musician earns accolades for Bob Hope tribute “It’s such a heartwarming experience for me. When I do these shows, all these veterans come up to me and get so emotional.” Musician Lynn Roberts has been performing since 1965. Local UPS driver helps collect over 1,000 toys for foster families The community came together to fill 30 large boxes of toys to help UPS driver Jeremy Giles.

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