BRIDGEPORT — A local woman received a free furnace Tuesday as the result of a contest through Elite Heating and Cooling in Morristown, and the business will offer another giveaway when fall rolls around.

Steve Williams, install estimator, and his crew were at the home of the winner Tuesday afternoon.

“We’re a Bryant authorized factory dealer, and having that title as a Bryant distributor they give us a free furnace every year to do this. We ended up donating the labor and the additional materials,” Williams said.

He said the firm the furnace from the Bryant distributor Habegger.

“We’re going to start doing these annually because we’re getting these free. To have a furnace changed out, it’s anywhere between a $4,500 and $5,500 job,” he said.

At the beginning of March, Elite held an online event that quickly became popular.

“You had to nominate somebody who you felt deserved a new furnace and tell us about their story. We got a huge response there. A lot of videos shared. A lot of likes and comments,” he said. “We got it narrowed down to our top five and we drew the names out of the hat and chose a winner.”

More than 40 people were nominated, as their neighbors thought they were deserving. The company announced the winner March 8.

“We had a pretty good response,” he said.

Danielle Glavaris was the winner. She was not at home during the installation, but Williams said her particular story made her a finalist.

“It’s a single mother down there in Bridgeport,” he said, “working hard … and taking care of her daughter, and she had some support behind her.”

While the giveaway will be an annual one, this year Elite will have a second furnace to offer.

“I had a second one from last year where we didn’t use it, so I’m probably going to do it in the fall, then every year after I’m probably going to hold the contest in the fall, right before heating season.”

Williams said the family-owned business has been in operation locally for about 10 years. He said he was happy for the chance to hold the event.

“We’ve just had an overwhelming amount of support from the communities of Belmont County, so we definitely wanted to give back once we had this opportunity,” he said.

Elite Heating and Cooling is located at 66148 Belmont-Morristown Road. For more information, visit EliteServicesHVAC.com or the firm’s Facebook page.