Selfless Acts Rewarded With 'Vacation'
The Early Show's "Great American Vacation" Winnebago tour continued with a stop in Austin, Texas, "The Live Music Capital of the World" on Wednesday to give a deserving viewer a fabulous getaway.
Thanks to a letter to The Early Show from Margie Malone, Darla Evans and her son, Ian, are going on vacation!
Malone wrote that Evans, a single mom who has worked for the Austin Parks Department for 24 years, and Ian have never gone away on any kind of special vacation together. That's about to change.
William Peeper, president of the Orlando/Orange County Convention and Visitors Bureau, was on hand at Austin's Auditorium Shores Park to invite Evans, Ian, and two of their friends on a five-day, four-night trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla.
"It's always very special when we get to honor special people," Peeper said. "And they'll have a first-class visit to Orlando."
Airfare is courtesy of our "Great American Vacation" travel partner, American Airlines.
The surprise was music to Evans' ears.
"Shocking, I still don't believe it. We thought we were just going to bring Margie down here," she said of the trip to Disney World that will be Ian's first. "This is too good," she said while hugging her son.
Evans is described as an exceptional person — a lovely woman who gives of herself to her community.
"Her tireless energy continues to beautify Austin," Malone said. "She's the one that is responsible for not only the garden center, the botanical gardens, but on the streets of downtown Austin — all the beautiful flowers (you see). So she does a great service to the taxpayers of Austin."
for a night out at Austin's The Broken Spoke.On a personal note, "Even thought she works in this hot sun all the time, when she gets off work she still finds time to come over and plant plants in my yard," Malone, who is confined to a wheelchair, told The Early Show's Dave Price. "Recently, I redid my whole home and she's crawled around every inch of it, I think."
Malone said it's not uncommon for Evans to take people to the grocery store when needed or help an elderly neighbor move.
"She always gives of herself," Malone said. "She is a very deserving woman."
Do you know someone deserving of a "Great American Vacation?"
July 21: Waco | July 26: Baton Rouge, La | July 28: Little Rock, Ark.
Check out our map: if you live in one if the cities we're visiting, tell us about the one thing we just have to see and about someone there who's deserving of a "Great American Vacation."
E-mail us at vacation@cbsnews.com
Who knows... maybe we'll send them packing!