northern today 7 News NORTHERN THEY MADE THE DECISION on a Monday in July, Carmen said, and by Wednesday, they had already signed a contract to rent a twin home in Aberdeen. The Meyers are thrilled that their Prairiewood house will benefit NSU, which has been wonderful to them. “It’s been like a second home to us,” Carmen said. And while others commend the generous act, Carmen said it was actually selfish – donating the house made their lives easier. Her husband has trouble with steps and had recently fallen and hurt his left leg. Don Meyer lost part of his left leg in a serious car accident in September 2008. The couple’s daughter Brooke Napier was visiting from Tennessee and told her mom they couldn’t stay in the house. But Carmen said there was so much she would have had to do to get the house ready for sale. Since her husband’s accident, she hadn’t been able to keep up with household maintenance such as yard work. They also travel so much that it would have been difficult to have their home on the market. That’s when their daughter suggested giving the house away. The Meyers’ other children, Jerry Meyer and Brittney Touchton, who also live in the Nashville area with their families, agreed. The couple decided they would love to give the house to Northern. The Meyers had lived in the home for 12 years. While they don’t miss the house, Carmen said they do miss the wonderful neighbors they had when living there. DIVINE INTERVENTION CAME INTO PLAY IN CARMEN AND COACH DON MEYER’S DECISION TO DONATE THEIR HOME TO NORTHERN STATE UNIVERSITY. But the new home has been a blessing, Carmen said. There are no steps. They don’t have to worry about yard work or snow removal. Along with simplifying their lives, Carmen said, donating the home was also a way for them to give back after receiving so much help from others throughout their lives. That includes when the couple was living in Utah years ago. They had two babies, and a fire in their apartment building left them temporarily without a home. Friends from church let the Meyers live with them for two weeks until they could get their feet back on the ground, she said. The Aberdeen community, too, was wonderful after her husband’s accident. The donation was another way to say thank you for all that people have done. Along with donating the house, they also gave away a lot of household items to local organizations such as Safe Harbor, The Salvation Army, New Beginnings and Roncalli Nearly New. They also donated a collection of children’s books to O.M. Tiffany Elementary School. They wanted the house donation to specifically go to the Barnett Center project. The facility houses Don Meyer Court, where Coach Meyer in 2009 became the winningest men’s basketball coach in NCAA history. They have a contract on the house, she said, and a half lot already sold separately from the rest of the property for $15,000. Rumors that the donation and renting their new home means they are moving away are untrue, Carmen said. She grew up in Colorado and Don in Nebraska, so living in South Dakota, they are closer to their parents than when they lived in Nashville. “We have absolutely no plans at all to go anywhere,” she said. GivingBack “It was really a God thing because it all just fell into place,” Carmen Meyer said. “It was obviously meant to be.”
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