Page 18 • July 17, 2019 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT GUIDE

Ring Power Hosts Cat Operator Challenge in Tampa, Fla.The best-of-the-best heavy equipment operators in cen-

tral and north Florida descended on Ring Power CATfor a two-day operator challenge June 19 and 20 at the

company’s Tampa, Fla., location.On both days, the overall challenge event provided friend-

ly competition among operators from various constructioncompanies, opportunities to see and operate the newestCaterpillar products, win some great prizes and enjoy acatered barbeque lunch with representatives of Ring Powerand Caterpillar. The challenge is part of the overall Cat 2019 Global

Operator Challenge in which the winner advances to theNorth American Regional Finals in Clayton, N.C., inOctober to compete with other regional finalists. The region-al champions then advance to compete against operatorsfrom other regions and contestants from around the world atthe Cat Global Finals at ConExpo in Las Vegas in 2020.Operators must pass a pre-qualifier course first to partici-

pate in the competition. If they do, they are then put to thetest on three different tasks using a Caterpillar compact trackloader, Caterpillar wheel loader and Caterpillar excavator,with each task providing various challenges and varyingdegrees of difficulty. Ring Power provided each contestantwith a special edition 2019 Operator Challenge commemo-rative coin and ballcap in appreciation of their participation.Over the two-day challenge, 38 operators put their skills

on display during the finals. Awards were given out each dayand the overall scores for both days were announced at theconclusion of day two. Theodoros Fetsis of AAA Services, Clearwater, Fla., took

first place and was awarded the $500 prize and a Cat cooler.However, he elected to opt out of the regional competition,which resulted in the second-place finisher, Kenny Billingsof Cypress Gulf, Tampa, Fla., becoming the contestant thatRing Power will send to the regional finals in Clayton.Coming in at third place in the competition was Mike Myers,of Lakeland, Fla. The highest participation in the competitioncame from Team RIPA of RIPA & Associates, Tampa, Fla.;QGS Development, Plant City, Fla.; and Cypress Gulf,Tampa, Fla. CEG

Safety is a foremost consideration at these competi-tions. Day two started with assembling the competitorsfor a thorough safety briefing.

Ready to tackle the course challenges are Mike Myers(L) and Robert Legg of the city of Lakeland, Fla.

Caterpillar backhoes and wheel loaders lined thecourse for contestants to check out during break timesfrom the competition.

They call themselves Team RIPA and they came to the competition with a big teamwith big operating experience. (L-R) are Joshua Phillips, Caleb Brinn, KennethGriffin, David Drew, Kevin Acorn, Nate Baker and Tommy Pridemore, all of RIPA &Associates, Tampa, Fla.

Part of the competition included an agility challengeusing a Caterpillar 299D2 compact track loader.

Another powerhouse team (L-R) included Cody Harris, Aaron Tillet, HarrisonCumbie, Ryan Donley, Jordan Haranda, Maiko Velazquez and Jon West, all of QGSDevelopment, Plant City, Fla.

see RING page 32