America Has Voted! Sears Blue Tool Crew Announces 'Unsung Heroes: Dads Making a Difference' Grand Prize Winner

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill., Aug. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The votes are in and America has chosen a winner!  Charles Muller from Rensselaer, N.Y., is the Sears Unsung Heroes: Dads Making a Difference contest grand prize winner. Mr. Muller will receive $30,000 worth of labor and materials from Sears to advance his work in the community. After the Sears Blue Tool Crew and a panel of celebrity judges narrowed the entry field to 10 deserving finalists, America selected the grand prize winner. While all of the finalists are very deserving of the grand prize, Muller received the most votes from the more than 125,000 submitted.

"Charles Muller is a true unsung hero who converted a run-down building into a center to feed children living below poverty levels in Albany, N.Y.," said Ty Pennington, Sears spokesman. "This contest has been about paying tribute to those dads who serve as an inspiration to their kids and communities – but don't necessarily get recognition for their efforts. Charles has stepped forward and made a true difference in many lives, and I am proud to work with Sears to help shine a light on his selfless service."

"I am truly honored to have been selected as the winner, and am touched by the overwhelming support and votes I received from friends, family and members of my community," said Muller. "I am very grateful to Sears for recognizing other dads and me for making a difference. I am excited to get started on restoring a building used by the local Boys and Girls club that is in desperate need of many repairs that they themselves cannot do alone."

Muller will be using the $30,000 grand prize from the Sears Blue Tool Crew to help restore a building that the local Boys and Girls club uses. If not for this prize, they would have had to close the building. Muller originally wanted to use the grand prize to finish a project that gave inner-city kids jobs at a bakery to help them develop a good work ethic, but when he heard that the Boys and Girls Club would shut down unless the building could be repaired, Muller opted to give the prize to them. Muller's story, along with the story of all 10 finalists, can be viewed at www.searsunsungheroes.com.

"The Sears Blue Tool Crew aims to help others achieve their project goals, and our Unsung Heroes Program is merely an extension of this. To that end, we are excited to present Charles Muller with the grand prize of tools and services from America's trusted tool advisors – the Sears Blue Tool Crew, to enable him to complete the project of his dreams in his community," said Bill Kiss, chief marketing officer, tools and hardware for Sears Holdings. "We are confident that America selected a very deserving winner, and that all of our finalists will continue to make a difference in their communities."

Celebrating Unsung Heroes

The "Dads Making a Difference" contest was the first program in the Sears Blue Tool Crew's new "Unsung Heroes" campaign, an ongoing effort to shine the light on individuals and organizations that are using their tools and talents to benefit the community. The www.searsunsungheroes.com website will be continually updated with information on upcoming programs and completed projects and visitors to the site can check back this October to see the next program in Sears' ongoing salute to Unsung Heroes.

The tools section of www.sears.com has helpful information and updates on the latest innovative products, great values and helpful solutions from the Sears Blue Tool Crew. Beyond the Sears site, the Sears Blue Tool Crew has plenty more on the Web.

• Become a fan of the Sears Blue Tool Crew page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SearsBlueToolCrew for the latest news, deals and contests, including great deals from the Sears Blue Tool Crew
• Follow the Sears Blue Tool Crew on Twitter @BlueToolCrew to stay in the know about upcoming deals, project tips and more

For more information on the full line of tools available from Sears visit www.sears.com.

About Sears, Roebuck and Co.

Sears, Roebuck and Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Sears Holdings Corporation (Nasdaq: SHLD), is a leading broadline retailer providing merchandise and related services. Sears, Roebuck offers its wide range of home merchandise, apparel and automotive products and services through more than 2,300 Sears-branded and affiliated stores in the United States and Canada, which includes approximately 929 full-line and approximately 1,200 specialty stores in the U.S.  Sears, Roebuck also offers a variety of merchandise and services through sears.com, landsend.com, and specialty catalogs. Sears, Roebuck offers consumers leading proprietary brands including Kenmore, Craftsman, DieHard and Lands' End -- among the most trusted and preferred brands in the U.S. Sears, Roebuck is the 2010 ENERGY STAR® Retail Partner of the Year. The company is the nation's largest provider of home services, with more than 12 million service calls made annually. For more information, visit the Sears, Roebuck website at www.sears.com or the Sears Holdings Corporation website at www.searsholdings.com.

SOURCE Sears, Roebuck and Co.