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ITD veteran, new comer advance
to national roadeo event in Colorado

Colorado in the fall. Changing colors. Chill in the air. And the spirit of competition.

Robin Freeman will be there… again. So will Dave Palmer.

They will represent the Idaho Transportation Department at the annual Western Snow and Ice Conference roadeo competition Sept. 25-29 in Estes Park, Colo. Freeman, a lead worker from District 3’s Council maintenance facility, returns to the national competition.

Palmer, also a lead worker from the South & East Maintenance facility in Coeur d’Alene, will represent ITD for the first time. He has competed in a number of district roadeos, but this year marked his first trip to the state event and first appearance at the national contest.

If either Freeman or Palmer is unable to participate, ITD’s third-place finisher at the state event, Ron Dammon, will fill the spot. Like Palmer, Dammon advanced to the state roadeo – held this year at Dworshak Dam near Orofino in District 2 – for the first time.

The June 13 state event was the culmination of a series of six roadeos held in each district this spring. In all, some 160 ITD employees competed; another 136 served as judges and 75 others visited the event. The top 24 contestants advanced from district competition to test their driving and troubleshooting skills at the state level.

“I would like to thank everyone who attended the roadeos this year for their support. I also would like to thank the district roadeo coordinators, judges, scorekeepers and everyone who cooked lunch, for their support and assistance,” said statewide coordinator Rex Hufford

“If it wasn’t for these individuals, the roadeos would not be possible.”

Hufford announced the top 10 finishers after the roadeo concluded. But he emphasized that all of the ITD employees who advanced to the state event should be proud of their accomplishment, “especially after competing against 160 contestants…. I try to explain to everyone that finishing 24th in the state event is nothing to feel bad about.”

This year’s state finalists and their place at the state event were:

Place	Individual	District	Total Points
1.	Robin Freeman	3	2,733
2	David Palmer	1	2,665
3	Ron Dammon	2	2,623
4	Sean Sargent	2	2,615
5	Bruce Dial	5	2,548
6	Allen Rainsdon	6	2,543
7	Craig Stewart	6	2,503
8	Mike Praegitzer	4	2,495
9	David Steen	4	2,485
10	Doug Thorpe	5	2,483
11	Jeff Kieker	1	2,475
12	Corey Finn	6	2,450
13	Cody Sellers	5	2,443
14	Jeremy Gregory	3	2,373
15	Don Gilstrap	6	2,333
16	Jerry Bauer	5	2,283
17	Kyle Way	2	2,275
18	Mark Shuster	2	2,260
	Brian Inwards	3	2,260
20	Miles Stevens	1	2,258
21	Pete McGuire	4	2,198
22	John Connell	4	2,195
23	Juan Salinas	3	2,183
24	Unable to compete

Published 6-23-06