Albuquerque man gifted new truck

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) - Arturo Francisco Olivas is a busy guy.

"Visiting our members who are home bound, sick and continuing my activities in my church delivering food and clothing to the needy," he said.

Olivas does all that while battling terminal lung cancer, the retired teacher also does it without a car.

"I couldn't afford it anymore  with the cost of my medical treatment which is rather expensive, it comes to about $10,000 a year now," said Olivas.

His friends and family wanted to change that, so they nominated him for the Car & Truck Gallery Dealership's Car Giveaway.

"We know times are tough for everybody including our family and we just decided hey lets give way a car since we have a car lot," Dealership Owner James Zanios said.

In all Zanios said they received about 30 names and each person including Olivas was nominated many times over on the dealership's Facebook page.

"Our main criteria was we wanted to give the car away to someone who was giving back to the community even though they needed things as well," said Zanios.

Olivas was told he was selected as a finalist and would need to be interviewed, the interview was set for Friday afternoon.

"Car or no car, I hope to continue to do my work to the best of my ability because as you say there are so many people who are so needy," Olivas said.

Before he could finish his segment though, Olivas was let in on a big surprise.

Zanios told him they were not there to interview him but to give him a truck.

Overcome with emotion and gratitude Olivas humbly accepted the gift, a 2000 F-150 pick up truck.

"Oh my gosh, this is amazing, oh for heaven's sake, it's beautiful, you are so kind," he said.

The truck is perfect for all the deliveries and home visits Olivas plans to make with the time he has left.

"We're here for a purpose, we're here to help other people to live a better life to give them hope," said Olivas.

It is a mission he can continue to fulfill with his new wheels.

This is the first time the dealership has held this type of contest, Zanios said they are already working on another one for next year.