By Staff
DRILL PRACTICE Tim Lee practices his drilling Wednesday as others take their turns racing against the clock during the DeWalt's "Million Dollar Challenge" at Marvin's Building Materials and Home Center. Photo by Paula Merritt / The Meridian Star
By Chris Allen Baker / staff writer
April 11, 2002
Despite a challenge from 30 other people, Tim Lee held on Wednesday to become the fastest person in Meridian to drill five screws flush into a wooden board.
Lee's win in the DeWalt's "Million Dollar Challenge" at Marvin's Building Materials and Home Center earned him a trip to Atlanta the next stop in the national contest that has a $1 million grand prize.
Lee, a city of Meridian maintenance employee at Bonita Lakes, drilled his five screws in 14.99 seconds at about noon. By the time the contest was over two hours later, no one else posted a better time.
David Harvey, a regional account manager for DeWalt tools, said Wednesday's competition was the first of three rounds participants must pass to have a chance at the $1 million grand prize.
The next round will take place later this year in Atlanta, one of 16 regional sites. The winner of that round will take home a 2003 Chevrolet van and $2,000 in DeWalt tools.
The regional winners then will advance to a final round at the Winston Cup NASCAR races in Phoenix where the national champion will be decided and awarded the $1 million prize.
Harvey didn't know the dates of the second and final rounds of the contest.
Harvey said this is the first time DeWalt tools has sponsored a national screw-driving contest. Meridian was selected as one of 400 first-round sites across the nation and the only one in Mississippi.
The contest began at 10 a.m. and lasted four hours.
The contest featured a platform where participants stood before a wooden board, a clock, a red start button, a drill and a cup of screws.
Participants hit the red start button for the clock and with the same hand grabbed the drill and reached for 1 1/2-inch screws. The contestants drilled with a 14-volt cordless power drill.