We have a winner!!

The Buckaroo and I were picking up some feed in town and decided to swing by Station #3 to see what my “little buddy” Rhett Fleitz (The Fire Critic) was up to.

The Buckaroo just happened to be wearing his turn out gear so he decided to add his name to the run board….LOL

I didn’t even know the little fella could write (that’s what Rhett says about me as well …LOL).

Anyway, we had a very nice visit. It got a little “touch and go”  there for a minute because the Buckaroo was gonna bump big Dave Lucas off the rig to get a seat. We sat him down for a minute and explained to him how running with 4 vs 3 made the rig more proficient and safer.

After considering the facts, the Buckaroo agreed and decided to let Big Luke ride as well (of course the Buckaroo took the nozzle position..LOL).

For the first time in a long time, the boys were running with 4!

We had the usual chit chat and then the conversation turned to the Black Diamond X2 Boot Give Away. The deadline for entries ended at midnight last night and I need to draw and announce a winner today. Drew came up with the idea to video the drawing and let the Buckaroo “pull” the winner. Wingnut (Mulford) seconded the motion and Chief Gardner gave his nod of approval.

Chief Gardner? What …..you guys didn’t know that Station 3-A’s junior member got the big bump in promotions? Well, neither did any of the guys on A-shift but it just so happens that Ironfiremen.com has the proof (beating Dave Statter and the FireCritic to the story once again…LOL).

Oh yea… that’s JG .. Jason Gardner in a white shirt!

Who cares that Jason stopped by my station yesterday dressed for his 2nd job?

As far as I’m concerned, JG has a “white shirt” on so he holds rank on Rhett…LOL

Either way, it was unanimous to finish out the 2011 Black Diamond X2 Boot Give Away in style.

WOW!  What a GREAT Give Away.  I have to admit that this is the largest “contest” or “give Away” that I have attempted on my own (well ..ok .. Rhett has been a HUGE   help as always but I did do a lot of this one by myself)

BLACK DIAMOND FOOTWEAR  has been a great company to work with. After I won the 2011 Black Diamond Fire Blog of the Year, I began discussions with the company about wanting to give back to the readers. In winning the Blog of the Year, I received a pair of X2 boots so we decided to give a 2nd pair away to the voters / readers. That’s a value of over $300!!

The contest was simple. Send in a pic of yourself by your rig and you were entered!  Andrew Thomas was the first entry and had his pic up loaded in a matter of minutes. Thanks for keeping a close eye on the happenings of Ironfiremen.com Andrew.

We had 104  entries total. They came from all around the Country and World for that matter. We had entries from Alaska (Matt Mokracek and Steven Schreck) to South Africa (Iain Fourie)!

It was a blast seeing all the entries. More than fun … it was an honor. I seen a ton of PRIDE in the submitted pics. I also got a few laughs …. the creativity of firemen…

I’m glad we decided to “pull a chip” for the winner vs trying to pic the best because they were all GREAT shots. Thanks to everyone who entered. That said, there has to be a winner so lets see who it is ….

That’s right folks …  Patrick Lynch, St. Michael’s College Fire & Rescue, Colchester, VT. Alumni Member/Board Director http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.smfronline.org%2F&h=9f8cf is our WINNER!

Congratulations to Patrick on winning a new pair of Black Diamond X2 Boots!

With all the snow the folks in the North East received this year, Im sure he’ll put them to good use.

Thanks again to Black Diamond for giving me this great oppurtunity to give back to the readers.

Thanks to Rhett ( The Fire Critic ) for all his support and technical assistance and THANKS to all of YOU … the READERS … the FOLLOWERS!

And hey … don’t get discouraged. We have a LOT MORE planned here on Ironfiremen for the upcoming year. This Give Away is just the “kick off” to our best year yet! You’ll truly be amazed at what we have in store for ya. Stick with us … you wont be disappointed.

Until next post, stay safe and in house. Train HARD … work SMART. Are you Battle Ready? If not … then GET YOU BOOTS ON! BLACK DIAMOND X2

Captain Wines