Scout’s owner (WeatherTech founder and CEO David MacNeil, shown above with Scout and UW chancellor Rebecca Blank) was so grateful that he created a commercial called “Lucky Dog,” featuring Scout and promoting donations to the UW it ran during the second quarter of the Super Bowl. He came under the care of the UW School of Veterinary Medicine, where staff worked to prolong his life and improve its quality. In 2019, Scout was diagnosed with a malignant tumor on his heart. The seven-year-old golden retriever was the face of WeatherTech, a company known for creating automotive protection equipment and pet accessories, and though he died in March, his life’s final chapter included an appearance on national television and an effort to promote better lives for all animals. Bryce RichterĮarlier this year, Scout inspired a nation with his battle against cancer. Visit the Chicago Tribune at Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.Scout’s final chapter included an appearance on national television and an effort to promote better lives for all animals. “It’s another form of protection, and it’s certainly very effective and usable under the right the Chicago Tribune “It’s really got nothing to do with being a Trump donor,” MacNeil said. The lack of a presidential seal of approval has not deterred MacNeil, who is bullish on the prospects for his new face shield. MacNeil’s latest venture seems at odds with Trump, who has been less than supportive, and at times dismissive, of wearing face coverings to prevent COVID-19 transmission. He remains an active Republican donor, most recently contributing $2,800 to the Trump presidential campaign and $35,500 to the Republican National Committee in July, according to Federal Election Committee records. But in 2018, MacNeil took a stand against the president’s decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, vowing not to fund Republicans that opposed legislation protecting immigrants brought to the country illegally as children. MacNeil said safety protocols have been successful, touting that no more than two employees have been stricken with COVID-19 at a time since March.Ī Trump megadonor, MacNeil contributed $1 million to the president’s January 2017 inauguration. “I’m just following the rules and regulations and recommendations of the experts.” “I’m not questioning whether it’s a good idea or bad idea,” MacNeil said. This year, MacNeil invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in everything from automatic temperature sensors at entryways to touchless time clocks in an effort to keep the factory going and COVID-19 from spreading among his workforce. WeatherTech has been hiring people from other industries during the pandemic to keep up with demand, he said. The company has 1,600 employees at its sprawling Bolingbrook campus, and MacNeil said business across all lines has remained strong. As with all his products, MacNeil touts his Made in America mantra in ubiquitous TV spots, including an annual Super Bowl commercial since 2014. WeatherTech diversified its product line in 2018 with the CupFone cellphone holder and an ergonomic dog food bowl. MacNeil relocated operations to Bolingbrook in 2009. He began making floor mats using outside manufacturers, eventually bringing production in-house. MacNeil, who grew up in Oak Park and River Forest, started WeatherTech in 1989 out of his Clarendon Hills home. “We thought we could make a great face shield, right here in America, and not have those jobs exported overseas,” MacNeil said. No one accepted his offer, and MacNeil decided to shift gears and make plastic face shields using WeatherTech’s injection molding production line. He then contacted Ford and GM, which had been enlisted to make ventilators by the White House under the Defense Production Act, as well as ventilator manufacturers, to see if WeatherTech could help. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, MacNeil reached out to the federal government, initially offering to produce ventilators. Made in the same factory that turned Bolingbrook into the aftermarket vehicle floor mat capital of the U.S., WeatherTech’s latest addition to its eclectic catalog was months in development.
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