Community-minded Brandon couple rewarded with a free furnace

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This article was published 10/10/2017 (3098 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Marg and Brian Hodgson won a furnace for being themselves, a community-minded couple with a love for sports and being there for others.

It also helps to have a concerned sibling.

“It’s my younger sister, she looks after her older sister very well,” Marg said.

“She was worried that we’re getting older now,” Marg added with a laugh.

Her sister, Liz Roberts, had said her mind would be at ease if the Brandon couple had a furnace that wasn’t decades old.

As such, Roberts knew exactly who to nominate when she read about Heat UP Manitoba in The Brandon Sun, a program by furnace manufacturer Lennox to donate a gas furnace to deserving people.

Her nomination worked. The Hodgsons were outfitted with a new gas furnace Saturday before the temperature begins its wintry descent.

“I was so surprised I couldn’t talk for two days. I was going around with this big smile on my face,” Marg said.

“We’re telling everybody we see that we won a new furnace,” Brian added.

Held throughout Western Canada and the northern United States, this is the first year the furnace donation program was offered in Westman. Locally, Brandon Heating and Plumbing gathered nominations, interviewed finalists and installed the furnace, with a retail value, including installation, of $3,000 to $4,000.

“They told me that they like giving back to the community,” said Kraig Peterson, who works in sales and service for Brandon Heating and Plumbing, of the chosen couple. “Part of the program is that we’re helping them and we want them to help get the word out to families in need — seniors, single parents, military families — that may need a little bit of help.”

“It’s not just the financial part,” said Kris Heskins, territory manager for Lennox, “it’s also people that have volunteered in the community.”

This year, Brandon Heating and Plumbing only had a few weeks to publicize the contest. They hope increased exposure will give more deserving families a chance next fall.

The Hodgsons, grateful to have a reliable furnace for the cold days they’re cooped up inside, already have people in mind to nominate, they said.

For years, the couple has been involved in baseball, whether that’s competing, volunteering on baseball boards, scorekeeping or running the canteen.

Among their other community efforts, Marg is a mental health proctor, providing support to a client with mental illness, while Brian volunteers at Wheat Kings games as a goal judge.

“Everybody says they can never find us at home,” Marg chuckled.

Peterson and Heskins said the old gas furnace at the family’s home, manufactured in 1978, degraded to the point where only 50-60 cents of usable heat was provided for every dollar spent.

The new furnace has a much higher efficiency, with 93 cents of every dollar becoming heat. Thus, the family’s electricity bill, in the hundreds of dollars in the coldest months, will be slashed.

To nominate someone for next year’s contest, visit heatupmanitoba.ca. The furnaces being provided will be “Forced Warm Air” LP or natural gas units. A complete ductwork system must be in place.

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