All-Star Kind of Love: Harlequin and Office Depot Announce 'Say Yes to a Winning Proposal' National Contest Winner

    CONCORD, N.C., May 16 /PRNewswire/ -- It's a proposal guaranteed to get
 a winning answer -- YES!
 
     Tomorrow night, Phillip Pruzensky and Janice Scarfe of Orange County,
 Calif., will have their marriage proposal featured on the back of Carl
 Edwards' No. 99 Office Depot Ford during the 2008 NASCAR Sprint All-Star
 Race at Lowe's Motor Speedway (SPEED, 7 p.m. EDT) and receive a VIP prize
 package worth more than $10,000.
 
     The couple were chosen as winners of the "Say Yes To A Winning
 Proposal" national contest sponsored by Harlequin, a leading publisher of
 women's fiction worldwide, and Office Depot(R) (NYSE:   ODP), the official
 office products partner of NASCAR. The contest, which ran from February 14
 to March 31, required entrants to tell Harlequin and Office Depot - in 50
 words or less - why their marriage proposal should happen at the All-Star
 Race and what winning the contest would mean to them.
 
     "I'm really excited to have Phillip and Janice's marriage proposal on
 the back of my No. 99 Office Depot Ford this weekend and to be part of what
 I know will be an amazing memory for them," Edwards said. "This contest is
 a cool example of the partnership between Office Depot and Harlequin, and
 gives fans a different and really personal opportunity to experience
 NASCAR.
 
     "Hopefully I'll be able to help the winning couple celebrate their
 engagement with a trip to Victory Lane!"
 
     More than 600 entries were submitted at www.GetYourHeartRacing.com, a
 Web site dedicated to the Harlequin NASCAR fan. The winning proposal and
 submissions from contest finalists are currently on display on the site.
 
     Pruzensky, 23, and Scarfe, 21, have been dating for more than three
 years and discovered their shared love of NASCAR on their very first date.
 Both are busy college students, but make a point to watch the races
 together most every weekend. And when they heard about the "Say Yes To A
 Winning Proposal" promotion earlier this year, Pruzensky knew he had to
 enter.
 
     "Our reaction was pretty much, 'How perfect would this be?'" Pruzensky
 said. "Not only are we huge NASCAR fans, but Carl Edwards is our favorite
 driver -- we've followed him since the beginning of his career.
 
     "We've been talking about marriage for awhile now -- the when, the
 where, the how -- but I honestly can't think of a more memorable way to ask
 Janice to marry me than at the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. Plus, this will
 be the first race we've been to together, which makes everything even more
 special."
 
     In addition to having their proposal highlighted on the back of
 Edwards' No. 99 Office Depot Ford, Pruzensky and Scarfe will also receive a
 diamond ring, customized stationery provided by the Office Depot Design,
 Print & Ship Depot(TM) and a romantic trip for two to REDROCK COUNTRY in
 Sedona, Ariz.
 
     Harlequin and NASCAR are currently in their third year of partnership,
 and Michelle Renaud of Harlequin said the company continuously looks for
 new ways to engage its loyal fans and leverage partnerships with NASCAR
 sponsors like Office Depot.
 
     "We are thrilled to provide a fairy-tale proposal for Phillip and
 Janice, who are great NASCAR fans," Renaud said. "And with the release of
 20 NASCAR-themed novels -- including a new book featuring Carl Edwards
 slated for release in June -- as well as the 'Say Yes To A Winning
 Proposal' contest with Office Depot, we are excited to introduce even more
 fans to Harlequin."
 
     About Harlequin
 
     Harlequin Enterprises Limited is the global leader in series romance
 and one of the world's leading publishers of women's fiction, with titles
 issued worldwide in 25 languages and sold in 94 international markets. The
 company produces over 115 titles monthly and publishes more than 1,300
 authors from around the world. Harlequin Enterprises Limited is a wholly
 owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation, a broadly based media company
 listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TS.nv.b). Harlequin's Web site is
 located at www.eHarlequin.com. Harlequin has offices in 18 countries,
 including the cities of Toronto, New York and London. For more information
 please visit www.eHarlequin.com or press.eHarlequin.com.
 
     About Office Depot
 
     Every day, Office Depot is Taking Care of Business for millions of
 customers around the globe. For the local corner store as well as Fortune
 500 companies, Office Depot provides products and services to its customers
 through 1,670 worldwide retail stores, a dedicated sales force, top-rated
 catalogs and a $4.9 billion e-commerce operation. Office Depot has annual
 sales of approximately $15.5 billion, and employs about 49,000 associates
 around the world. The Company provides more office products and services to
 more customers in more countries than any other company, and currently
 sells to customers directly or through affiliates in 43 countries.
 
     Office Depot's common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange
 under the symbol ODP and is included in the S&P 500 Index. Additional press
 information can be found at: http://mediarelations.officedepot.com.
 
     About NASCAR Library Collection
 
     A division of NASCAR's overall licensing operation in its Charlotte
 office, NASCAR Publishing oversees more than 40 licensed publishing
 partners. In 2004 NASCAR launched the NASCAR Library Collection, which
 provides a level of authentication and quality to NASCAR-licensed books.
 Representing a range of books as diverse and varied as the NASCAR fan base,
 the NASCAR Library Collection captures the NASCAR lifestyle from all
 angles. The NASCAR Library Collection includes books in a number of
 categories, including drivers and personalities, cookbooks, history,
 children, fiction and romance, and statistics, facts and reference. NASCAR
 Library Collection titles can be found in an array of retail outlets,
 including mass market, bookstores, NASCAR.com Superstore, specialty and
 more.
 
     About NASCAR
 
     The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR),
 celebrating 60 years in 2008, is the sanctioning body for one of North
 America's premier sports. NASCAR is the No. 1 spectator sport-holding 17 of
 the top 20 highest attended sporting events in the U.S., and is the No. 2
 rated regular-season sport on television. NASCAR races are broadcast in
 more than 150 countries and in more than 30 languages. NASCAR fans are the
 most brand loyal in all of sports, and as a result more Fortune 500
 companies participate in NASCAR than in any other sport.
 
     NASCAR consists of three national series (the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series,
 NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series), four regional
 series and one local grassroots series, as well as two international
 series. NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races at 100 tracks in more than
 30 U.S. states, Canada and Mexico. Based in Daytona Beach (Fla.), NASCAR
 has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Charlotte (N.C.), Concord (N.C.),
 Conover (N.C.), Bentonville (Ark.), Mexico City and Toronto.
 
 
 

SOURCE Harlequin