Two veterans receive vehicles through Keys to Progress program

HARRISBURG, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - Two veterans received vehicles Tuesday through the Keys to Progress program, which is helping them get back on the road.

Andre McDavid has relied on a bicycle to get around Sioux Falls, where transportation is available but limited. A car means more opportunities to work and get where he needs to go.

McDavid said transportation in Sioux Falls is “limited at best.” With a car, he said, “I can branch out to get a job.”

Audie Hill, an Army veteran from Wahpeton, North Dakota, also received a vehicle. Hill has relied on a borrowed vehicle to get to work and to make the 56-mile trip to Fargo for appointments.

Bearon Dixon, a supervisor with Progressive Insurance, said seeing someone receive a car is meaningful.

“It is such an amazing thing to see someone get a car,” Dixon said. “To hear a story like Andre’s today of, ‘Hey, I’ve never owned a car.’ That’s the moments to me that matter.”

McDavid said the vehicle means “doors are opened up that were closed before.”

The program selects recipients through local nonprofit nominations. More than 100 vehicles are being given away across the country this year to help veterans get back on the road.