KEARNS, Utah—An energy efficient home upgrade contest turned into a lot more than that when the company hosting it found the winner was a nurse from Kearns who ended up getting a lot more than she was hoping for.
Cindi Keane is a nurse, and she said this is the first time she’s won something like this.
"I entered a million drawings just because I always do it, just hoping that I would win, and I never have before,” she said.
Keane said she was shocked by the win.
"I was on the phone with my mom, so I put her on hold cause I said, ‘I have to scream. I'll be back!’"
Nate Di Palma of Action Plumbing said the upgrade couldn’t have come at a better time for Keane and her family.
"She had a heart attack in January,” he said. “She had knee surgery in February. In May, her full-time job that she's had for over 20 years as a nurse got reduced to part-time. She even sprained her ankle."
Di Palma said when they learned more about Keane, they decided they wanted to do everything they could to help her.
"She's done nothing but care for other people her whole life,” he said. “Not just in her nursing profession, but in her personal life. That touched us. That was something special we couldn't turn away from."
Action Plumbing and four other Utah companies combined to install a new air filtration system in the home. They also removed her old swamp cooler and put in a ventilation system. The upgrades are estimated to be valued at $20,000.
"If you had 10,000 people enter this, there couldn't have been somebody more deserving and more in need,” Di Palma said.
Keane said she is very grateful.
"I don't know how to thank them,” she said. “I say it in words, but it's so much deeper in here, and it's a miracle. Nothing short of a miracle."
The contest will provide five years of free maintenance to go along with the new equipment. It is estimated the upgrades will reduce Keane’s gas bill by about 50 percent.
