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 ...