PLANO, Texas – March 5, 2010 – Thirty ColorTyme customers recently cashed in as names were drawn for the $30K Giveaway, and countless others won in-store prizes.
Held in celebration of the company’s 30th birthday, ColorTyme’s $30K Giveaway gave customers a chance to win $1,000 along with instant prizes in local stores. Rent-to-own customers registered for the grand-prize drawings Sept. 1 to Oct. 31 at their hometown ColorTyme store.
Out of 30 winners from 14 states across the U.S., four of them registered in Texas stores owned by TLH Enterprises. Vice President of South Texas Region for TLH Enterprises, Donald Salais, was very happy to see long-time customers win in Beeville, Corpus Christi, Rosenberg and Cuero.
“Many of our customers didn’t think they had a chance at winning, so it was refreshing to see the smiles on their faces when they did,” said Salais. “I think the Giveaway really encouraged our customers and showed how much we value their business.”

As part of the Giveaway event, ColorTyme also provided customers with a winning serial number that matched various prizes. Many customers automatically received big savings off a new rental or walked away with one of the store’s newest appliances, furniture, computers or electronics such as a name-brand TV.

“Our $30K Giveaway was a way for us to give back to our customers and thank them for all of their support over the years,” said ColorTyme Director of Marketing, Amy Woods. “Our customers are like family, so it was important that everyone who visited ColorTyme during the promotion came out a winner.”

Winners
Dorothy McKown – Opp, AL
Teri Pike – Woodland, AL
Lidia Abaloyan – San Diego, CA
Neille Logan-Underwood – San Diego, CA
Judith Ann Archer – Temecula, CA
Frank Welcome – Panama City, FL
Robert Higginbotham – Middleburg, FL
Christopher Cooper – Jacksonville, FL
Sacoya Proctor – Hephzibah, GA
Micky Jimison – Fairfield, ID
Danny Shannon – Hutchinson, KS
Carlos Heredia Liudres – Garden City, KS
Lee Jones – Oxford, KS
James Kelley – Lexington, KY
Lee Lyons – Raceland, LA
Susie Moore – Baltimore, MD
Denise Fletcher – Landover Hills, MD
David Rogers – Waterville, ME
Shaun Bennett – South Paris, ME
Sheila Hobbs – La Grange, NC
Beatrice Bennett – Roanoke Rapids, NC
Paula Ramos – Beeville, TX
Abram Mendoza – Corpus Christi, TX
Jackie Hahn – Cuero, TX
Bobby King Jr. – Richmond, TX
Katrina Trimiew – Richmond, VA
Carlton Davis – Norfolk, VA
Nikkia Clayton – Fredericksburg, VA
James Howard – Richmond, VA
Dennis Francis – Aberdeen, WA

However, Curtis Mathes wasn’t looking to compromise the quality of his product to meet ideal selling prices. When Curtis Mathes began manufacturing televisions he had one major goal in mind; to have the most well-built, reliable and expensive television on the market. He did. And, they were. The televisions were so well built that each set had a four year warranty, which was unheard of at the time – and today for that matter. But, if consumers wanted the best they were going to have to pay for it.

So, by the end of the 1970s Curtis Mathes had perhaps the finest color television set in the world, but because of its price tag most Americans couldn’t afford to purchase it. That’s when Willie Talley stepped in and partnered with Curtis Mathes. Willie had an ingenious concept, “ColorTyme.” Willie believed at the time that it was “tyme” for all households to have “color” television…hence ColorTyme. While he didn’t expect the name to become so quickly dated, it has stuck over the years.

Willie’s idea materialized in Athens, Texas in 1979, where the first ColorTyme rent-to-own store opened. With the store’s opening came the opportunity for every average American family to purchase the finest color television available. Curtis Mathes didn’t have to sacrifice quality, and any American household could now afford to move from the era of black and white into the time of color.

Today, ColorTyme is the nation’s oldest franchisor of independently owned and operated rent-to-own stores and offers not just TVs and electronics, but also appliances, computers and furniture. Thanks to the most expensive television set in America.

“The Waterbury YSS called me, asked me to host the event and they brought the food to hand out,” said ColorTyme rent to own Franchise Owner, Steve Dwyer. “Yesterday, families from around Waterbury came to our store and we provided them with a full meal that they later took home to prepare.”

The Youth Service System is supported by grants from city, state and federal agencies. This includes support from foundations, such as the United Way, and the generosity of corporate and individual donors. The non-profit agency serves 4,000 clients annually through a broad spectrum of programs that address issues impacting today’s youth and their families.

“This was an opportunity to help people here in the community. It also gives us the opportunity to help the YSS – an organization I believe in and support,” explained Dwyer. “This was a very heartwarming experience and my team and I really enjoyed all the visiting families that stopped by the store.”

Meals were also distributed at the YSS headquarters at 95 North Main in Waterbury. Combined with ColorTyme’s efforts, more than 70 families were provided meals for Thanksgiving.

“We formed a relationship with Steve and ColorTyme a few months ago,” said Kelly Cronin, executive director for the Waterbury YSS. “He’s been very good to us by giving the YSS furniture for our safe homes and the agency itself. We always give turkeys away for Thanksgiving and we thought it would work to have Steve give out turkeys at his store. Initially, Steve helped us store the frozen turkeys, which we really appreciate. This was a very successful day for everybody involved.”

Our flexible, rent to own plans include customizable payment options, great quality appliance rentals, rental electronics, and reliable service agreements that cover each item you rent to own from ColorTyme. However, our commitment to superior customer service doesn’t stop there.

Every chance we get, ColorTyme takes “treating you like family” one step further and lends a hand to our neighbors. Here are just a few examples of how ColorTyme touches the lives of individuals and families in the communities we serve:

• When the town of Malakoff, Texas was hit by Hurricane Ike in September 2008, Hometown ColorTyme store in Mabank, TX came to the rescue. The store’s manager and staff donated a wide-screen TV rental to the local evacuee center so victims of the storm could stay entertained and up to date with the storm’s progress.
• The Boys and Girls Club of Charlottesville, VA asked the community for contributions to their new clubhouse in November 2008. The Hometown ColorTyme store pitched in by providing brand new TVs, PlayStations, and Xboxes from their rent to own inventory for students in the after-school program. Read the full article here.
  
• For the last five years, the Hometown ColorTyme store in Waipahu, HI has served a traditional, Thanksgiving dinner. Anyone who came by the rent to own store was welcomed with open arms and fed until their heart was content. Their Thanksgiving outreach program ensures the holiday is complete for many families and elderly residents in the neighborhood. Read the full article here.
  
• In April, a Hometown ColorTyme customer’s family was battling their son’s heart disease in Hanover, PA.  The local ColorTyme store’s manager and staff came to the rescue by organizing and collecting donations to help defray costs of the boy’s medical treatment. Read the full article here.

These touching stories only scratch the surface of the great work each HomeTown ColorTyme rent to own store performs in service to the customers and neighbors in their communities. Our commitment to active participation in your community is just one way we ensure every customer feels like family.

Treating people fairly is at the core of the way we do business at ColorTyme. We believe that doing business with people who truly care about your family and neighborhood makes all the difference in the world to our valued customers. We take our responsibility to be active participants seriously and hope you never regard us as a faceless corporate entity.

To learn more about ColorTyme’s rent to own policies and the products available for rent in our stores, visit ColorTyme.com today.