May 2010

Justin House, P. Eng. of Stephenville, wins international contest

Justin House with son Adam
 

Justin House is a professional engineer who, on weekdays, is Area Manager for the provincial department of Transportation and Works in Stephenville but, in the winter, he spends every other minute on his snowmobile, with his family or his friends in the Lewis Hills.

He co-founded a snowmobile website [www.lewishillbillies.com]; is past president and current volunteer of the local snowmobile association; and has used his engineering skills to prepare a proposal to replace bridges and culverts used by snowmobilers to access the back country.

In January 2010, Bombardier Recreational Products [BRP] launched the Ski-Doo Summit Drop Contest, offering “talented and passionate riders” the opportunity to win a trip to one of the most spectacular ride areas in North America, on a new Summit snowmobile.

Snowmobile riders were asked to visit ski-doo.com and create a profile of themselves, convince the Ski-Doo jury that they should be chosen, and link it to their riding photos and videos on YouTube or Flickr.

Four finalists were invited to Club Ski-Doo dealer meeting in February in Orlando, Florida where their profiles and videos were reviewed again and Justin was named the grand prize winner!

Here’s how Justin describes it:

We arrived in Orlando on Monday, and from Tuesday to Thursday, we had to present our cases to dealers in the showroom using a computer for visual aid.

At the final banquet on Thursday night, we had to give a final speech in front of BRP dealers from all over the world (1,000+ people) ….to show how passionate we were about the sport.

They proceeded to give the results of the voting…. and announced #1, Justin House.

It was a totally amazing feeling, and I had a great sense of pride in representing our Province on internationally.

First prize was use of the new Freeride snowmobile for a year; a trip for two to West Yellowstone; and the title Ultimate Rider.

The entire experience was amazing, from meeting the Bombardier Recreational Products staff; making new sledding friends; and experiencing some of the best snowmobiling North America has to offer.

 House said he appreciates all the support he received when entering the contest, but he’s glad to be back on familiar soil, “riding in my favourite place, the Lewis Hills.”

Justin has since been recognized on the cover of Sledworthy magazine, and MP Judy Foote made a speech about his accomplishments in the House of Commons.

To view Justin’s showcase page on the Bombardier International site: http://www.ski-doo.com/en-CA/ultimate_rider/Index.htm

© Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Newfoundland and Labrador