Dot Foods hosted its 8th Annual Forklift Rodeo National Championship on June 20, 2013, and Ryan Mangold and the rest of the Illinois Dry Warehouse captured top honors.
Mangold earned an all-expenses-paid trip of his choice by safely posting the best overall time of 2 minutes, 3 seconds in the Narrow Aisle category, besting the Illinois Frozen Warehouse's Bobby Harris by 12 seconds, to capture his first championship.
"I run the narrow aisle almost every day, so I'm used to it," said Mangold, a Rushville, Ill. resident who captured his first rodeo championship in more than five years with Dot. "I think I'm going to Jamaica. I've never really been out of the country, so I figured I'd go to a place with nice, big beaches."
A second-place finish on the Forklift by Noah Sheckler, a second-place finish on the Order Picker by Michael Horney and a ninth place finish by Derrick Baze on Pallet Jack helped anchor the Distribution Center Championship for the Illinois Dry Warehouse. Sheckler has been with Dot for over eight years, Baze is in his sixth year of service, and Horney was in his first month at Dot when competing in the nationals.
Each of the four categories featured 10 contestants, one from each Dot Distribution Center and Illinois warehouse temperature.
Elliot Thompson of Ardmore, Okla. captured the Forklift championship, Miguel Sanchez Jr. or Stockton, Calif. won on the Pallet Jack and Omar Morales of Rushville, Ill won the Order Picker class. The winners from each category will enjoy their choice of one of seven all-expense paid vacations: New York, N.Y.; Riviera Maya, Mexico; San Diego, Calif.; Charleston S.C.; Jamaica; Phoenix, Ariz.; Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
The Distribution Center Championship was determined by the distribution center whose four representatives combined for the lowest score based on their finishing rank. The Illinois Dry Warehouse finished with 14 points, besting the California Distribution Center's 15. The top four distribution center finishers are given the privilege of staying in Mt. Sterling's luxurious Twin Hollows Lodge prior to the 2013 competition.
Contestants were penalized for contacting course barriers, improper stops, horn usage and dropping a basketball that was loaded on their machine. This ensured that contestants practiced the same safe habits in the competition that they use daily in the workplace.
"The top priority of this event is to get our employees practicing safe habits while in a fast-paced situation," said Greg Parrish, Georgia assistant warehouse manager and National Forklift Rodeo coordinator. "We put together one of our most challenging courses and everyone did a fantastic job of practicing safe habits while racing against the clock."