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Community: Winnebago CEO Writes Letter to 12-Year-Old Boy

A year or two ago, the now 12-year-old Jacob Davies became interested in traveling and decided he wanted to live in an RV.

This story by Gloria Knott originally appeared in the Arizona Daily Star.

But when he realized it was too expensive for his family, and after seeing old school buses being converted into RVs, he thought of the next best thing.

If he can’t live in one, why can’t he design one?

A few days after Christmas, Jacob, with the help of his uncle John, decided to send a letter to the CEO of Winnebago, Michael J. Happe.

Jacob, a sixth-grader at Leman Academy of Excellence in Marana, Ariz., wrote to Happe that he wanted to work for his company one day.

Not only that, but the Tucson-area native also sent Happe some drawn-out designs for a double-decker RV — complete with a pool and submarine station. He says some of his design ideas came from YouTube — others came from his own home.

Jacob expected a letter back — but nothing personal, just something “typical,” he says. Maybe they’d send him some brochures or something, he thought. But that changed when the mailman rang the doorbell of his Marana home in early February. Jacob simply thought it was a normal package.

His mom, Sara, opened the door and picked the package off the porch. When she held it, she recognized the logo — Winnebago. Inside the box was a personalized letter, signed by Happe himself.

Beyond Jacob’s passion for Winnebago and RVs in general — he has countless model RVs made out of LEGOs in his room — he’s also thought about possibly becoming an engineer, just like his dad.

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