Three Dot Foods warehouse employees lassoed trips to Key West, Cancun, or one of four other vacation destinations by maneuvering through an obstacle course on a sit-down forklift, mule (pallet jack), or narrow-aisle reach truck at the company’s Forklift Rodeo Grand Nationals recently.
Dot crowned winners for each piece of equipment during the event, which encourages safe and efficient operation of material handling equipment. Competitors carried a trash can with a basketball balanced on it through a timed obstacle course, with penalties for safety infractions or contact with the course boundaries.
Tony Grimes from the Williamsport MD warehouse and Mike Chilbert from the Liverpool NY distribution center won on mule and narrow-aisle, respectively. Michael Rose, representing the Ardmore OK distribution center, was the forklift champion. The Oklahoma warehouse accumulated the best overall score to earn bragging rights as all-around distribution center champion.
“Our judges score the participants on speed and safety, taking into account any bumping into or upsetting the pallets that outline the course,” said John Long, vice-president of warehousing.
Each year, Dot Foods holds Warehouse Appreciation Week at each of its distribution centers across the nation. As part of the week, employees compete in qualifying rounds of the Forklift Rodeo, and the top winner for each piece of equipment earns an all-expenses-paid trip to Mt Sterling IL for the Grand Nationals. (Visit http://budurl.com/DArdmoreiteRodeo for video from the Daily Ardmoreite in Ardmore.)
“With all of the excitement surrounding Dot’s 50th anniversary this year, there was an even greater atmosphere and sense of pride for the Grand Nationals,” said Matt Carey, Illinois warehouse support manager and 2010 Forklift Rodeo coordinator.
Dot Foods carries 92,000 products from 500 food industry manufacturers. With Dot Transportation, it sells and delivers foodservice, convenience, retail, vending, equipment, and supplies to distributors in all 50 states. Dot Foods operates eight distribution centers in Mt Sterling, Williamsport, Liverpool, Ardmore, Modesto CA, Vidalia GA, Burley ID, and Cambridge City IN.
For more information, visit www.dotfoods.com.
