Longview Fibre supports local family through tragedy
Zeke, Treyton and ShaNelle Longstroth pose in front of the tree purchased by Longview from the Festival of Trees in memory of ShaNelle's son, Trevyn Farley, at Longview Fiber in Spanish Fork on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011. SPENSER HEAPS/Daily Herald
Craig Hill, Bob Fuhriman, and Ben Neal, of Longview Fiber in Spanish Fork on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011. SPENSER HEAPS/Daily Herald
Bob Fuhriman, Craig Hill, Ben Neal, LaRae Stevenson, Bruce Stevenson, Tracey Sorensen, ShaNelle Longstroth and Zeke Longstroth at Longview in Spanish Fork on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011. SPENSER HEAPS/Daily Herald
Trevyn Clint Farley was killed on July 15, 2011, when a dresser and television fell on him while he was getting clothes to wear. Longviewin Spanish Fork has been honoring Trevyn by educating their employees about furniture safety and purchasing Trevyn's Christmas tree from the Festival of Trees. Photo Provided.
SPANISH FORK — When ShaNelle Stevenson lost her son Trevyn Clint Farley in a tragic accident on July 15, she never imagined that some of the greatest love and support she would receive would come from a business in Spanish Fork. Trevyn, 4, was killed when his dresser and a television fell on him while he was trying to get clothes to wear for the day.
Longview Fibre Paper and Packaging Inc. employs five of Stevenson’s family members including her stepmother, LaRae Stevenson; her brother, Ruston Stevenson; her brother-in-law, Dustin Peck; her fiancé, Zeke Longstroth; and her sister-in-law, Kristen Deuel. When the company’s safety manager, Ben Neal, heard about the accident, he felt bad for the family and empathized with them.
“I have a 6-year-old little boy, and I couldn’t imagine not having him in my life,” Neal said. “This gave us the opportunity to help our employees bring safety into their lives, so that they were not only safe at work, but they were safe at home too.”
Neal, along with Bruce Thompson, Longview’s voluntary protection program coordinator, decided to focus on home safety during one of the company’s monthly safety meetings.
“Our goal has been to really personalize safety for our employees,” Neal said. “We want safety to move from being a priority to a value. We also wanted to prevent this type of tragedy from happening to anyone else we knew.”
At the safety meeting, Longview dedicated the training to Trevyn, presented a Power Point presentation and provided brackets, bolts and drywall screws for each employee to attach their furniture to the walls.
“I was really impressed by the safety presentation,” LaRae Stevenson said. “This tragedy has affected so many people and really made them think about safety at home. We have had family and friends who have gone right home and taken their televisions off of dressers or other cabinets. I am just so thankful to Longview for this training.”
When ShaNelle found out about the training, she too was grateful to Longview.
“It made me really happy to find out that they provided this training,” ShaNelle said. “I couldn’t believe that they would do that. They are an awesome company.”
ShaNelle has made researching and educating others about the tragedies that can occur when furniture falls on a child a priority in her life.
“When we were at the hospital they told us that this doesn’t happen often enough to make a big awareness campaign about,” ShaNelle said. “But when I researched it I found that one child dies every two weeks because of furniture falling on them. I really want others to realize how easy it is to just brace furniture to the wall to avoid a similar tragedy. I don’t want anyone else to have to be the one to make that 911 call. I have to live with the what-ifs every day and it is something I will live with for the rest of my life. I encourage everyone to re-check all the furniture in their home, anything that could topple over if a child were to climb on it.”
Longview didn’t stop in helping ShaNelle and her family. When Neal found out that ShaNelle had made a tree for the Festival of Trees, which benefits Primary Children’s Medical Center, he spoke with various committees at work and everyone agreed they wanted to purchase the tree to support not only the family, but the hospital as well.
“We really wanted to solidify what we have been teaching our employees,” Neal said. “We were able to purchase the tree for $5,000 and then put it in our office upstairs. This has been a great opportunity for us to rally around this family. It was the right thing to do and it has done a lot of good.”
The tree brings awareness to employees but also has helped educate customers and visitors.
“When customers or visitors come into the office, they are able to see the tree and read about Trevyn,” Neal said. “Many of them walk away in tears and with the awareness of how simple it can be to incorporate safety into their homes.”
Knowing where the tree is and being able to see it each day has been a comfort to Trevyn’s family.
“It made me feel unbelievably touched,” said Bruce Stevenson, ShaNelle’s father. “When we found out that Longview purchased the tree, we didn’t know a company that would do something like that. Our family was really touched. This tragedy has sure changed our lives, but to know that others will do things and come together for my grandson is such a great feeling. Longview is such a great company.”
“When I see the tree at work each day, it really gives me a comforting feeling,” LaRae said. “It is nice to know where the tree is and to know that others know the story behind it. It really means a lot to us.”
