Universal Forest Products (Nasdaq: UFPI) is proud to award Amy Spoonhower of Gordonsville, Va., the Grand Prize in the 2014 ProWood Desperate Deck Contest. Amy and her fiancé took a leap of faith when they made an ambitious commitment to a foreclosure in the rolling hills of the Virginia Piedmont. Deciding to give a moldy, leaky house a second chance at being owned and loved, they worked diligently for more than four years to restore it and make it a home again. As energy and budgets dwindled, however, a telltale sign of its former state of disrepair remained: its two ramshackle decks—if that’s what you could call them.

But as the Grand Prize winners of ProWood’s Desperate Deck Contest, this couple will soon be the envy of their charming southern town in time for a glorious Virginia fall deck party. The contest invited people to submit their desperate deck photos and stories on Facebook for a chance to win a $20,000 custom-built deck made with ProWood professional grade lumber from Universal Forest Products, the leader in pressure-treated lumber. Amy did. And her efforts will be rewarded.

“I’ve worked since I was 15 years old. I’ve earned everything I’ve ever had in my life that’s of any value—and I’m proud of that. Getting a gift like this feels a little … peculiar. I didn’t earn it or work for it so it’s a peculiar feeling, but a wonderful feeling,” Amy explained. “It’s a huge reward. I’m still kind of in shock. I was literally shaking for a whole day.”

Amy added that, “As I think back over this whole journey, it’s the best! Buying a foreclosed home is an expensive option for a divorced mom and schoolteacher. All the essentials took precedence—and basically all of my budget. So this is truly unexpected—a gift I feel so incredibly fortunate to have been given.”

Thanks to Universal Forest Products and its ProWood brand of professional grade lumber, Amy and her fiancé’s dreams are coming true. Her $20,000 custom ProWood deck will be built soon and construction updates will be posted online at www.ProWoodLumber.com/DesperateDeck, as well as on ProWood Lumber’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

“It’s a good feeling to award a custom-built ProWood deck to the best entry. I’m very happy and excited for Amy and her fiancé,” said Chris Fox, product manager for ProWood. “We’ll work with Amy, as well as her local ProWood dealer and deck builder to design and build a custom deck that fits her needs. We’ll also let her add custom railing accessories such as post caps and balusters from Deckorators®. It’s going to be an exciting project, and we look forward to the reveal in a few months.”

For more on ProWood or for retail locations, go to www.ProWoodLumber.com.

ProWood—from Universal Forest Products (www.ufpi.com)—is the leader in professional grade pressure-treated lumber used in decks, fencing and other outdoor projects. Options include ProWood Dura Color® lumber, which is color-infused during the treating process and features a 2-year color assurance warranty. Dura Color combines the natural color characteristics of cedar and redwood with the technological advantages of less-expensive, pressure-treated lumber that resists rot and insect damage.

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UNIVERSAL FOREST PRODUCTS, INC.

Universal Forest Products, Inc. is a holding company that provides capital, management and administrative resources to subsidiaries that supply wood, wood composite and other products to three robust markets: retail, construction and industrial. Founded in 1955, the Company is headquartered in Grand Rapids, Mich., with affiliates throughout North America. For more about Universal Forest Products, go to www.ufpi.com.