warn Dumper \@msgs;

##</code><code>##

    while ( my $thread = $sth->fetchrow_hashref() ){
        my (@data) = $thread->{id}, 
                       $thread->{name}, 
                       $thread->{date},
                       $thread->{subj},
                       $thread->{day_rate},
                       $thread->{msg};
        push @msgs, \@data;
    }
    return @msgs; # although i would likely return \@msgs ...

##</code><code>##

sub selectMsgFromDb {
    my ($self, %params) = @_;
    $self->checkRequiredParams(%params);
    my $sth = $dbh->prepare( $cfg->{retrieve_from_sql}->{msg} );
    $sth->execute;

    my $messages = $sth->fetchall_hashref({});
    # warn Dumper $messages; # in case you don't believe me ;)

    return $messages;
}