When it comes to being a handyman, Independence Township resident, Bruce Quigley has earned a little bit of bragging rights after winning Irwin Tools Ultimate Tradesman challenge, held on Nov. 11 in Phoenix Arizona.
‘It was exciting,? said Quigley, owner of Bruce A. Quigley Construction Co.
‘I really wasn’t as nervous as I was in the first one. The first one I was really nervous, I was shaking so bad.?
Quigley faced off against Marc Williams of Seattle, Washington and Zach Snider of Charlottesville Virginia. Quigley pulled off a winning time of 20.40 seconds. In that time, he had to accurately measure, mark, and drill a piece of wood.
Quigley either wanted to be the first guy or the third guy, he said. He got picked to go first.
‘At first I was like crap, then I said ‘it’s alright? because all the pressure’s on them. Because once I drill, they got to beat my time,? he said. ‘After we did the practice run, I was feeling pretty good. I think that’s why I wasn’t as nervous then.?
Quigley said he only beat Williams by 6/10 of a second and Snider actually had a faster time of 18.54 but was disqualified after his jig did not fit in the holes.
After winning, Quigley said the stage was setup like TV game show ‘Deal or No Deal.? There were 26 tables each one had a tool bag. 12 of them had $10,000; 13 of them had $20,000, and one of them had $1.26 million. Quigley was debating picking bag number 13 or 14. He chose 13, which contained $20,000, but found out later 14, had the $1.26 million. His buddy Ken told him he thought the $1.26 million was in 14.
‘I had in my mind 13 the whole time, so I was kind of torn, I thought better go with my first instinct or I’ll be upset if it’s not there,? said Quigley. ‘You have to look at things in perspective, I was real upset at first. Probably for about an hour, I was really disappointed, (and) then I had to really look at it and say ‘what I am disappointed about, I won.?
Quigley said ‘You can’t complain with $95,000 worth of winning,? which not only includes the cash prize, but he won the Irwin branded F-150 truck customized by Roush Performance, and the barbeque with NASCAR’s Jamie McMurray.
They haven’t worked out the details for the barbeque yet, said Quigley. If it’s in Michigan they will try to coordinate it around the NASCAR Michigan race. If they decide to have it before summer Quigley might take a group of people down to Charlotte North Carolina to have it.
‘As long as it’s the same monetary value, I don’t care, its cold here. I rather go down there anyways,? he said.
The night before the competition Quigley and the other contestants had a nice Steak dinner with Irwin Tools president and family.
‘It was a real good time. They are real good people, the Irwin people,? said Quigley. ‘They treated us like family.?
Prior to the competition he had gone to Home Depot to buy practice wood.
‘I was Practicing in the hotel room at 6:00 in the morning, I am sure the people below me loved it,? he said.
Quigley was thankful to his friend Ken and his family for their support.
‘My oldest son, when I was leaving left me a note saying ‘Have fun, good luck. The only thing you need to worry about is picking the bag with the millions,?? he said. ‘I told my wife Amy, ‘Obviously, I was meant to win the contest, but not meant to win the million bucks, there must be something else in store for me I guess. We don’t know what the big picture for us is. Just enjoy it while we got it.??
What exactly is he going to do with the money?
‘I’m a contractor in Michigan. I’m going to pay bills,? he said with a laugh.
If he had won the $1.26 million, Quigley said he would have liked to have bought a 4-wheeler.
?$20,000 is a lot of money, but it’s not like its a million dollars. It’s a lot of money, but it doesn’t last long,? he said.
He probably spent about $500 in practice wood said Quigley.
‘I went through a lot of wood. I even wore out the drill. I had to drill out the side of the drill where the handle goes and then put a three inch bolt in it because I stripped it from drilling so much,? he said.
Quigley said he would like to talk to Irwin Tools about using the Ultimate Tradesman logo on his business cards, as well as setting up a website that would contain links to both Irwin Tools and NASCAR.
‘I hope this can be the start of a good relationship with them,? he said.
Quigley said he is not sure if he will be able to compete in next year’s competition or not.
‘The president (of Irwin) said I should, but the marketing people haven’t worked that out yet. If they let me compete, oh yeah I will go again,? said Quigley.
He said he will enjoy his Ultimate Tradesman Title while he has it.
‘Next year I think it’s going to be a lot more competitive. I think you’re going to see some times down around the 16 seconds, what I was doing in my garage.?