Veteran contractor Don Hodge of North Little Rock, Ark., went online to look for a Lenox 3-inch hole saw and came away as this year's winner of the Site Commander Sweepstakes. He picked up the keys to his new truck at the Lenox 301 NASCAR Race in Loudon, N.H., at the end of June.
"This is just fantastic," Hodge said after learning of his good fortune, "I feel really fortunate." Hodge is a third-generation contractor who started his own remodeling business 30 years ago. During high school he won two bronze medals in the Skills Olympics vo-tech competition, finishing behind his brother both times.
These days his business specializes in siding, windows and doors, and licensed home inspections. A well-earned reputation for quality and craftsmanship has helped him ride out the recession.
"We've been pushing work related to the energy tax credits," Hodge says, "so we didn't really slow down in our market. But we've been at it for a long time here, and people know that our quality is second to none."
Now he owns a truck that has the same reputation. Over the past eight months, three identical Site Commanders have delivered resources and information based on the "Road To Recovery" theme to thousands of contractors, providing the latest information on tax credits, energy upgrade projects, and related new products that save time, increase quality, and reduce risks. This year's tour visited hundreds of Lowe's stores across the country and attracted more than 12,000 sweepstakes entries from contractors coast-to-coast.
But in the end, there's only one happy winner – and this year it's Don Hodge. "This is really exciting," he said as he prepared for his first NASCAR race. "I'd like to win another one tomorrow."
– Rick Schwolsky
