North Hollywood’s Jose Mendez was one of 45 veterans across the country who received a vehicle from the Progressive insurance company this week.
A ceremony on Tuesday, Nov. 9, marked the ninth consecutive year Progressive Insurance hosted its annual Keys to Progress vehicle giveaway in advance of Veterans Day.
Like years prior, Progressive officials said they worked with Enterprise Rent-A-Car to locate certified vehicles from the latter’s U.S. fleet of late-model used cars, vans and SUVs that could be purchased and given away with funds provided by Progressive.
Mendez said he didn’t know his name would be announced when he gathered with his family and company officials in Pasadena this week to celebrate Veteran’s Day alongside his peers from La Mesa, Pasadena and Lodi, according to company officials.
But this week’s donations brought the total number of donated vehicles through Keys to Progress to more than 800 since the program’s inception.
