BILD and Toronto Star announce $35,000 contest winner

TORONTO, Dec. 21, 2012 /CNW/ - The Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) and the Toronto Star have proudly selected the Ferguson family as the winner of its $35,000 contest. The family will put the prize toward a home renovation that will transform the family's third-floor loft and former master bedroom into a therapy room for their young son, who was recently diagnosed with autism.

"This young family has already made so many sacrifices to get their son, Nicholas, the treatment he needs and this is something our industry can do to help," said BILD President and CEO Bryan Tuckey.

"We partnered with BILD to create this contest in celebration of the New in Homes section's 35^th anniversary. We asked people to tell us what $35,000 toward a new home or a renovation would mean to them and the 6,235 responses were extremely difficult to judge," said Sandy Muir, Vice President of Advertising at the Toronto Star.

Rosalie Ferguson penned a heartfelt entry, never expecting to win. She and her husband, Scott, have a two-and-a-half year old son, Nicholas, who was diagnosed with autism last year. While the Etobicoke family is on numerous waiting lists for treatment, they have spent their savings on in-home treatment for Nicholas. Rosalie and Scott moved all of their furniture out of the third-floor master bedroom so it can be used as a therapy room, but noise flows through the open concept home and there isn't a door at the top of a steep flight of stairs.

The Fergusons will work with a professional RenoMark™ renovator to close off the top floor loft, install a door and built-in cabinetry to store distracting books and toys during Nicholas' therapy sessions.

"Our son needs routine and for him, his home is his safe place and where he feels happiest," Rosalie wrote in her entry. "We want to stay here for a long time and adapt the house to suit him best."

With more than 1,400 members, BILD, formed through the merger of the Greater Toronto Home Builders' Association and Urban Development Institute/Ontario, is the voice of the land development, home building and professional renovation industry in the Greater Toronto Area.  BILD is proudly affiliated with the Ontario and Canadian Home Builders' Associations.

SOURCE: Building Industry and Land Development Association

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