Room For Those Who Inspire Official Contest Rules
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.
This is a judged contest, not a game of chance.
SPONSOR. The “Room For Those Who Inspire” contest (the “Contest”) is sponsored by GARDNER WHITE FURNITURE CO., INC., located at 200 East Long Lake Road, Suite 300, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304 (“Sponsor” or “Gardner White”).
CONTEST DESCRIPTION. Sponsor is hosting “Room For Those Who Inspire” (the “Contest”), a back-to-school campaign celebrating the educators who inspire our kids every day. Members of the Traverse City-area community are invited to nominate a local school deserving of a teacher lounge makeover. One winning school will receive a refreshed teacher lounge designed and furnished by Gardner White, along with a gift card for new student books, as described below.
CONTEST PERIOD. The Contest begins on Wednesday, September 9, 2026 at 12:00:00 AM Eastern Time (“ET”) and ends on Wednesday, September 23, 2026 at 11:59:59 PM ET (the “Nomination Period”). Sponsor's records shall be the official timekeeper for the Contest. Nominations submitted before or after the Nomination Period will be void.
ELIGIBILITY • Who May Nominate. The Contest is open to residents of the Traverse City-area community who are legal residents of the United States and at least 18 years of age residing within Michigan at the time of entry. • Nominee (School) Eligibility. Nominated schools must be public, private and/or charter schools, grades ranging K-12 located within the Traverse City, Michigan area, defined as: Grand Traverse County. • Exclusions. Employees, officers, and directors of Sponsor and its parent, subsidiary, and affiliated companies, and the immediate family members (spouse, parents, children, and siblings, and their respective spouses) and household members (whether related or not) of such individuals, are not eligible to submit a nomination. • Limit on Entries. Multiple nominations for the same school, submitted by different individuals, are welcome, but only one entry per person is permitted. Sponsor reserves the right to verify eligibility and to disqualify any individual who submits a nomination that does not comply with these Official Rules.
HOW TO ENTER. During the Nomination Period, eligible individuals may submit a nomination online at gardnerwhite.com (the “Entry Form”). No purchase or payment of any kind is necessary to enter. Each Entry Form must include: • School name, school district, and city; • Nominator's name, email address, and connection to the school; • A written response, 250 words or fewer, describing why the nominated school and its teachers inspire the nominator; • A written response describing what a refreshed teacher lounge would mean to the school's teachers and staff; and • An optional photo of the school's current teacher lounge. Incomplete entries, or entries that do not otherwise comply with these Official Rules, may be disqualified in Sponsor's sole discretion. Sponsor is not responsible for nominations that are lost, late, misdirected, incomplete, or otherwise not received for any reason, including technical or human error. Entry materials that have been tampered with or altered are void. If, in the Sponsor’s opinion there is any suspected or actual evidence of electronic or non-electronic tampering with any portion of this Contest, or if technical difficulties compromise the integrity of the Contest, Sponsor reserves the right to void any entries at issue and/on to suspend, modify or cancel or terminate this Contest, in whole or in part, at any time without notice and award the prizes among non-suspect eligible entries received as of the termination date.
JUDGING AND SELECTION • Judging Panel. All eligible nominations will be reviewed between September 28, 2026 and October 2, 2026 by a panel of Gardner White representatives (the “Judges”). • Judging Criteria. The Judges will select one (1) winning school based on the following criteria: ◦ 25% Strength and sincerity of the nomination story; ◦ 25% Demonstrated need of the school and its teachers; ◦ 25% Potential impact of the makeover on teachers, staff, and students; and ◦ 25% Feasibility of completing the makeover within the Contest's timeline and scope. • Tie-Breaker. In the event of a tie, the tied nominations will be reviewed by the Judges, and the school with the highest score for Demonstrated Need will be selected as the winner. If a tie remains, the school with the highest score for Potential Impact will be selected. If a tie still remains, the Judges will select the winning school based on the overall strength of the tied nominations, in Sponsor’s sole discretion. • Decisions Final. All decisions of the Judges and Sponsor relating to the Contest are final and binding in all respects.
WINNER NOTIFICATION AND ANNOUNCEMENT. The winning school is expected to be selected and notified during the week of October 5, 2026. Sponsor may announce the winner through a school visit, media event, social media, and/or press release. An authorized official of the winning school will be required to sign and return a winner acceptance and release form within 10 days of notification. If the winning school does not respond, does not sign and return the required form within the specified time, or is found to be ineligible, Sponsor may select an alternate winning school in its sole discretion.
PRIZE • Prize. One (1) winning school will receive: (i) a teacher lounge makeover designed and furnished by Gardner White, with an approximate retail value (“ARV”) not to exceed $5,000; and (ii) a Horizon Books gift card for new student books, with an ARV not to exceed $2,500. The maximum total ARV of the prize is $7,500. Actual value may vary, and Sponsor will not award any difference between the stated maximum and the actual value provided. • Prize Delivery. Following selection, Gardner White's design team will visit the winning school in October 2026 to develop the makeover plan, with the teacher lounge reveal currently anticipated in late November 2026. This timing is subject to change at Sponsor's discretion based on school scheduling, availability, and other factors. • No Cash Value; No Substitution. The prize is not redeemable for cash and is not transferable. No substitution is permitted, except that Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to substitute a prize (or any component) of equal or greater value if the stated prize becomes unavailable for any reason. • Conditions. The winning school, through its authorized administration, is responsible for coordinating school access for design and installation and for obtaining any applicable school district approvals. Sponsor is not responsible for any additional costs, expenses, or tax obligations associated with the prize, which are the sole responsibility of the recipient school/district.
PUBLICITY RELEASE. By submitting a nomination, each entrant grants Sponsor and its designees an irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free right to use, reproduce, publish, and display the entrant's name, nomination content (including written responses), and any submitted photos, in any media now known or later developed, for advertising, promotional, and publicity purposes related to the Contest, without additional compensation or notice, except where prohibited by law. The winning school further agrees that Sponsor may use the school's name, story, and images of the school and its staff (and, with appropriate parental/guardian and school consent, its students) in connection with the announcement, makeover process, and reveal of the Contest, across Sponsor's advertising, social media, and press materials.
GENERAL CONDITIONS • By participating, entrants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and by all decisions of Sponsor and the Judges, which are final and binding in all respects. • Unless an entrant has selected to "opt-in" to receive emails and other marketing information from Sponsor on the Entry Form, information collected from entrant is used only for the purpose of the contest, and will not be re-used, sold or shared in any manner by Owner or any third party. Once the Contest is concluded, all information supplied by entrants will be removed from the database, except as otherwise required by law. For more information please visit Sponsor’s privacy policy available at https://www.gardner-white.com/customer-service/privacy-policy • Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, suspend, modify, or terminate the Contest or these Official Rules at any time, including if the Contest is compromised by fraud, technical failure, or any other cause beyond Sponsor's reasonable control. • Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any individual it finds, in its sole discretion, to be tampering with the entry process, violating these Official Rules, or acting in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner. • To the fullest extent permitted by law, entrants and, where applicable, the winning school's authorized representatives release and hold harmless Sponsor, and its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, employees, and agents from any and all liability, injury, loss, or damage arising from or in connection with participation in the Contest or the acceptance, use, or misuse of the prize. • This Contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Facebook, Instagram, or any other social media platform. Questions, comments, or complaints regarding Contest must be directed to Sponsor, not to any such platform. • These Official Rules are governed by the laws of the State of Michigan, without regard to its conflict of law principles. Any disputes arising out of or relating to the Contest will be resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Michigan. • Personal information collected in connection with the Contest will be used by Sponsor to administer the Contest and in accordance with Gardner White's privacy policy,. • If any provision of these Official Rules is held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.
SPONSOR / CONTACT Questions about the Contest or for a copy of the official winner’s list should be directed to Sara Duschinsky at Sara.Duschinsky@gardern-white.com.
