Charles Keenum, Jr., janitorial division manager for the Charlotte office, had no idea that The Budd Group was so well known that someone would actually recognize the logo in Moscow. But that’s exactly what happened earlier this year while he was sitting in a McDonald’s there.
It was just one of a number of pleasant surprises for Charles and his wife, Cindy, on their two trips to Russia this winter. The biggest reward came in the form of 1-year-old Dawson Reece Anton Keenum, whom they adopted from an orphanage there.
The long process began in February 2003, when Charles and Cindy began filling out papers and going through a home study and various background checks. After months of waiting, the Keenums received the letter and photo of healthy 11-month-old Anton Ogilvich Valkovskyi in January 2004.
The Keenums traveled 18 hours to the impoverished town of Tyumen in Siberia to visit their new son for three days. They know little about Anton’s background other than that his mother surrendered him for economic reasons, a common occurrence there. “The plane ride there from Moscow was an experience,” Charles said. “It was an old jet, and people were smoking and drinking vodka on the plane. The town had an old Communist look to it – dull cinderblock buildings.” There was only seven hours of sunlight in the middle of January, and the temperature never rose above 9 degrees.
Meeting their son for the first time was “pretty awesome,” Charles said. “He looked at me a little odd because I don’t think he’d ever heard a male voice before! But he was already walking and playing.”
After visiting with Anton for three days, Charles and Cindy had to head home for another waiting period of filling out paperwork and waiting for a Russian court date. “It was really, really tough to leave him, because we didn’t know when or how long it would be before we could see him again,” Charles said. They stopped off in Moscow for some sight-seeing. “I was wearing my Budd Group shirt, and an American guy actually came up to us and said he knew of our company. I couldn’t believe it!”
The Keenums returned home and anxiously did the things most expectant parents do, decorating the nursery and attending baby showers. In March, they learned that everything was clear for them to return to get little Reece, but the court date was less than two weeks away.
English-speaking adoption workers were always with the Keenums to help them communicate with the Russian officials, and they had coached them carefully on how to answer the judge’s questions. Finally, the judge looked at the Keenums and said, in Russian, “You are welcome to go get your child.” Elated, the Keenums rushed to the orphanage and brought their son back to the hotel with them. “It was a great relief and a blessing to have him back with us,” Charles said.
The Keenum family arrived in the Charlotte airport to a fanfare of friends and family holding banner, which was a bit overwhelming for little Reece, Charles said. “In the car back to Winston-Salem, he kept squinting. We finally realized that he’d probably never seen such bright sunlight before!” Since then, Reece has settled in to his new home and is developing just like any American baby would, he said.
The Keenums took photos of Tyumen and the women who work in the orphanage to show to Reece when he’s older, and they would like to eventually take him back for a visit. “The Budd Group was very supportive and good to me through the whole process, and I’m very thankful for that,” he said.
