2020 International Groomer of the Year - sponsored by Arrowhead Groomers, Track Inc. & Pisten Bully : Don Wild, Antigo, Wisconsin
Don Wild started grooming snowmobile trails in 1968 when the Antigo Sno-Drifters club was formed. Back then he did it with only a snowmobile and built a homemade drag with parts and pieces of old farm machinery. Today Don still grooms at least 3 days a week on some of the most modern commercially made grooming units you will find anywhere. Don is an excellent mechanic on heavy equipment and keeps the club’s groomers and drags in top condition. Don has been Trail Boss for the Antigo Sno-Drifters 40+ years and running. He coordinates with the groomer operators as to when and where to groom as snow conditions warrant. Don has developed several grooming techniques, one his club calls “Snow Management” a unique way for holding snow in open areas which helps establish a solid deep base in the “flats” where grooming is often difficult. Don puts in countless hours so snowmobilers can have a fun, safe and memorable ride. Over 50 volunteer years of grooming snowmobile trails makes Don Wild a very worthy choice for International Groomer of the Year.
2020 Edgar Hetteen Memorial Award of Merit : James Lewis, Springfield, Missouri
Jim graduated in 1958 from the engineering program at LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas. In 1962, he took a job with Dayco Corporation in Springfield as an applications engineer. In his career with Dayco, Jim shared the honor of having six U.S. patents, including an asymmetric belt transmission, which he helped Dayco patent. Then he was granted patents on design applications built for snowmobile testing and patents for the design of several types of snowmobile belts. By 1964, during his time with Dayco, Jim worked with Polaris Industries testing and evaluating variable speed drive belts on their snowmobiles and eventually in 1991 did the same with Bombardier. Jim was the first engineer to design “Top Cog” belts for snowmobiles which are today’s standard on all snowmobiles. Jim retired from Dayco in 1992. Throughout his 30 years at Dayco, Jim worked with iconic snowmobile legends from Polaris and Arctic Cat such as Edgar Hetteen, Allen Hetteen, Bob Eastman, Leroy Lindblad, Larry Rugland, Roger Skime and Charlie Lofton. It is because of these distinguished accomplishments, we are awarding the 2020 Edgar Hetteen Memorial Award of Merit to James Lewis.