20-year Pew Pal dream is revived for Newport News man
NEWPORT NEWS (2011) – To say it took Ron Burnett a while to realize his dream of selling dolls for girls to take to church is an understatement. The girls his creations were originally marketed for back in 1988 are all grown up now and many have children of their own.
But in 2011 an older, grayer and wiser Burnett finally believes he has the formula right and Pew Pals are poised to become a sensation. Last Friday at Newport News' Warwick Memorial United Methodist Church, Burnett showcased his new dolls on the pews.
Pew Pals were a dream the former Hampton house painter had when he was up a ladder in the 1980s. He was featured in the Daily Press in October 1988, but after that his financial backing fell through and he had some other falls, literally and metaphorically.
There were four marriages, the death of one of his wives in a car accident and a battle with substance abuse. He said he has raised his 6-year-old daughter Lindzee on his own for the last five years.
"I didn't know what I was doing and I didn't make the right connections," recalled Burnett who was 34 when he first worked with the Pew Pals concept. He is now 57.
"I knew it was a good product. I've had some setbacks in my life," he said. Burnett from Denbigh in Newport News, said he "wandered aimlessly for a while." He said he had a troubled childhood that left him feeling inadequate.
"All my life I was looking for somebody for validation. I finally came to the realization one day I didn't need anybody to validate me," he said.
Burnett said he was on a ladder in the 1980s painting a house when the idea came to him. "Things come into my head real quick," he said. "I realized immediately and put my tools up and told my mom who was a seamstress."
Burnett, who now works as a tree surgeon, a job that has led him to be injured in a number of falls, said his faith helped him and is a key part of the Pew Pal concept. He said he hopes a companion to sit on the pews with young girls will encourage them to regularly attend church.
Back in the 1980s Burnett's mother Mildred was making the dolls. She produced about 11. Today he has a contract with a Chinese manufacturer and is expecting 2,000 dolls to arrive on Oct. 20. He presently has two prototypes of the dolls, a black doll and a white one.
Burnett said he tried to get the dolls made in the United States but it proved too expensive. He says at one time he thought he'd never get anyone to listen to him and the idea would die. But people kept telling him it was a good idea. It all changed recently when he met Neil Hesketh, a businessman, and they set up Dreams of Hope LLC.
Burnett has written a companion book about a girl who takes her doll to church devoted to 3-year-old Emma Kate Sazonov from southwestern Virginia. Emma was born with a rare congenital deformity. The dolls are 21 inches tall and are likely to sell for $44.99, almost half the price they were to be sold at in 1988. Burnett says he has agreements to sell them at a number of local retailers including Becky's Hallmark. He hopes the Pew Pals will become popular like Cabbage Patch dolls or Beanie Babies. "We are hoping these will get children saying their prayers and more connected to their religion," he said. Hesketh from Hampton, who is a business consultant, said the idea is unusual. "I do not think a lot of things get marketed to a religious market," he said. "This is very specific and high quality. It's a traditional product that supports family values."