The largest single prize in the history of the independent retail channel has officially been awarded. During a Facebook Live event on Thursday, November 5, Nationwide Marketing Group drew Nationwide Southwest member store Ron’s Lumber & Home Center from a pool of nearly 500 retailers, making the Howe, Oklahoma-based dealer the sole winner of the Virtual PrimeTime $100,000 store-makeover giveaway.

“I want to thank everyone at Nationwide Marketing Group for working so hard to make PrimeTime a success. We all need fresh ideas and training now more than ever because of the current situation of the country. Thanks for thinking outside of the box and for making it enjoyable for everyone,” said Matt Blake, president of Ron’s Lumber. “The entire team at Ron’s Lumber & Home Center is absolutely thrilled to be the winner of the $100K Grand Prize Store Makeover. We are extremely excited to accept this opportunity to better serve our community in providing trusted advice and quality materials. Big things are in store for Ron’s Lumber & Home Center in Howe, Oklahoma.

Supported by Nationwide’s premier PrimeTime vendor partners, Ron’s Lumber can use the winnings on a complete physical store makeover, an overhaul of their web presence or a combination of both.

“This giveaway represents a tremendous opportunity for Ron’s Lumber & Home Center to reimagine its physical or digital storefront — or both — and enhance its standing as the premiere shopping destination in the Howe, Oklahoma, area,” says Tom Hickman, Nationwide’s president and chief member advocate. “An enormous amount of gratitude has to be given to our major vendor partners who came together to help make this giveaway a possibility. In a year where we’ve all faced so many challenges, it’s refreshing and reassuring to see their commitment to the independent retail channel shine bright.”

All Nationwide members who attended the recent Virtual PrimeTime event were able to qualify for the giveaway based on how they engaged with the digital show’s web-based platform. Points were awarded for every engagement with the platform, which included virtual booth visits, educational sessions watched, chat messages sent to other attending members and vendors and more. Each engagement was worth 25 points, and any member attendee who surpassed 1,000-points earned was automatically entered in the drawing. In all, 488 members qualified for the giveaway.

The Facebook Live event drew more than 100 viewers for the 6-minute video, including Sharina Martindale, the marketing manager for Ron’s Lumber. Martindale, who attended Virtual PrimeTime and secured the winning entry for the store, was among the most-engaged attendees during the course of the three-day event, earning more than 9,000 points.