Irrigation Technician, David Cobb, and Maintenance Worker, James Mark, received 2nd place in Irrigation Installation Assembly at the Texas Recreation and Park Society (TRAPS) State Competition held in Lubbock on Wednesday, March 6, 2013.

“The annual TRAPS Workshop and Equipment Rodeo is a time for our skilled staff to showcase their talents against workers from other cities and also learn new techniques to further improve their skills,” said Kevin Beavers, Temple Parks and Leisure Services Assistant Director.

The Equipment Rodeo is a series of competitions designed to test the skills of parks maintenance staff. Cobb and Mark competed against several other teams from cities throughout Texas to install an irrigation system and were awarded second place.

“We competed against many other skilled teams. It was a fun competition,” said Mark. “The workshop and rodeo is a great opportunity for us to improve our skills, learn different ways of doing things, and also teach others our ways.”

“It is remarkable to place at the state level. We are very proud of their work,” said Beavers. “It is great to have one of the best irrigation teams around working for Temple.”

Cobb and Mark advanced to compete in this state competition after Cobb and Maintenance Worker, John Young, won first place in Irrigation Installation Assembly at the TRAPS Region 5 Equipment Rodeo held in San Antonio on November 9, 2012. Young was recently promoted to a position with another department within the City of Temple, so James Mark volunteered to fill in and compete with Cobb at the state level.

“The City of Temple will be hosting the next TRAPS regional workshop and rodeo later this year. We are excited to bring this competition to Temple to showcase our city, compete in the rodeo, and provide a great learning atmosphere for all the attendees,” said Beavers.

For more information about this award, please contact Kristi Sykora at 254.298.5586.