Forrest Anderson Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning Inc, a family-owned business in the Phoenix area since 1961, announced the winner of the company’s “Military Hero A/C Giveaway” contest. Jeremy Koehler, a veteran of the U.S. Army.

The goal of the contest was to honor the men and women in our community who have served by donating and installing a new air conditioning unit for a local veteran or active military member and their family. Dozens of nominations were submitted, followed by two weeks of public Facebook voting for the top five finalists. Koehler, who is currently living with a broken AC unit, received the most votes from the public to win the contest.

“Our current A/C unit was twenty years old and happened to give up the ghost this month. A new unit would be a great surprise and blessing,” said Aubrey Koehler, Jeremy’s wife, in her nomination of Jeremy for the contest.

“We are so honored to make life a little easier for local military hero like Jeremy by providing a brand new air conditioning unit and installation this Veterans Day,” said Audrey Monell, president of Forrest Anderson. “We truly loved learning about our local veterans through this competition. This is just a small way for us to express our gratitude for their service to our country.”

Jeremy Koehler served active duty in the United States Army for six years and had one 11-month tour in Afghanistan. He inspired his wife to join the military, as well. They spent most of their service overseas in Germany. While in Europe, the Koehlers adopted a special needs orphan from Ukraine. Jeremy and his wife Aubrey are both veterans and reside in Mesa with their four children. Jeremy currently works as an Electrical Apprentice with Rosendin Electric.

“Winning this air conditioning unit from Forrest Anderson takes a huge burden off our family,” Jeremy said. “I’ve been working overtime recently to make up for the summer electric bills, and then the summer just killed our unit. We feel so blessed by the support we received from our friends, family, and the community to win this contest.”

The other finalists of the Military Hero A/C Giveaway will not walk away empty handed. Each finalist will receive a free A/C Tune Up for one unit.

The generous donation is made possible in part by Sigler Wholesale Distributors, which is providing a Carrier 14 Seer Heating and Cooling system, Empire Metal Products, which has graciously donated the sheet metal, and Smiley Crane Service.