4th Annual Truck & Forklift Driving Contest

Thousands of dollars in prizes and giveaways were up for grabs at Wilco's main office and distribution center in Mt. Angel, Oregon during the Forklift and Driving competition. 31 participants from over 20 different locations represented their Agronomy Center, Retail Farm Store, Petroleum Department or the Distribution Center to compete for the top spot in three categories; Forklift, Class A Truck, and Class B Truck. The day began with registration, donuts, and the course walk-throughs.  The competition started at 9:00 for everyone; including a coloring contest for the kids. The forklift course included tight maneuvers around barrels and between pallets and ended with picking up a basketball and carefully driving it over and dumping it into a 5-gallon bucket. The truck course had backup obstacles, offset alleys, and tire accuracy where points are received based on how close you can get to cones without touching them. Both courses also had an "On the Money" (OTM) opportunity.  One of the obstacles was a gift card, and if the operator could put the right side front tire directly on top of the card they win a bonus $100 gift card.  Congratulations to Paul Moses (Class B Truck from Petroleum) and Mathew Bryson (Forklift from Downs Road Agronomy) for hitting the mark! It's also important to inspect equipment for safety before even starting the engine. As a result, not only are points scored during each course obstacle, but each participant also does a pre-trip inspection of a truck or forklift.  There are setup defects to be found in less than 10 minutes with points awarded for each item identified. After all the points were tallied up, door prizes given away and during a big helping of BBQ for lunch, we're proud to announce the winners. Class B Truck 1st Paul Moses, Petroleum 2nd Michael Haack, Harrisburg Agronomy 3rd Ed Bohm, Cornelius Agronomy Class A Truck 1st Walt Cooper, Transportation 2nd CJ Nicholson, Transportation 3rd Dustin Clausen, Stayton Agronomy Forklift 1st Kevin Rickel, Stayton Store 2nd Jason Williams, Bend Store 3rd Edward Gamez, Cornelius Agronomy