Allen Mills, the owner of Mills Mechanical, poses for a photo with Angie Austin, the winner of last year’s furnace giveaway. (Mills Mechanical Ltd./Facebook)

Allen Mills, the owner of Mills Mechanical, poses for a photo with Angie Austin, the winner of last year’s furnace giveaway. (Mills Mechanical Ltd./Facebook)

Shuswap HVAC company giving away free furnace to someone in need

Mills Mechanical plans to help keep a deserving individual warm this winter

A local company is hoping to ensure a deserving person is warm through the winter by giving away a free furnace replacement.

For the second year in a row, Mills Mechanical Ltd. in Sorrento is taking nominations for someone whose home could use a new furnace. Allen Mills, owner of the company, said nominations are open to anyone from Kamloops to Vernon and the entire Shuswap in between.

Mills said the idea for the giveaway came from a desire to help out someone in need, in line with the example set by a Salmon Arm roofing company, which has given a free roof replacement to an individual or family in need in recent years.

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Last year Angie Austin was the winner. Mills said Austin received multiple nominations which described how she was a single mom making it work with four kids; he added that the furnace eventually replaced was probably not safe to run.

Mills said more than 300 entries were received last year, impressing on him the importance of bringing back the giveaway for another year. Anticipating an early winter, Mills is running the giveaway earlier this year with an Oct. 31 deadline for nominations.

Nominations can be submitted by email to millsmechanical@hotmail.com or through a private message to the company’s Facebook page. They must contain the name of the person being nominated and their address as well as reasons why the person is deserving of a free furnace. People cannot nominate themselves and the name and contact information of the nominator is also required.

Mills said Meister Electric has agreed to help with covering the cost of the new furnace and with the installation.

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