Kickin' the Tires with Jerry Jordan: 10/26/08

By Jerry Jordan

JUSTIN, Tx — Hale Hughes knew he had to enter when he read about a contest created by the Williamson-Dickies Company, the maker of Dickies work clothes and accessories — it brought together many of the things he likes the most; NASCAR, bull riding and work.

The oilfield roughneck and safety manager, who came to the Southeast Texas town of Woodville through his job, figured he had to enter.

“My wife and I, we get the NASCAR magazine, it used to be the Winston Cup Scene and all, and we saw the Dickies ad,” said Hale Hughes of Woodville. “NASCAR, the PBR and the Dickies 500. I was raised around rodeo. It was like they knew my spirit and they don’t even know me yet. I could not, not enter this contest. So, I put my name in the hat. I typed up a 100-word paragraph, sent my picture in and here we are three months later.”

Hughes said he was first named a weekly winner (Week 6) of the 12-week contest that began in June. He was selected out of thousands of entries in the nationwide contest to represent Dickies. And, then Hughes was notified by phone that he was chosen by the Dickies Co. as one of six regional winners and would be headed to Las Vegas and the Professional Bull Riders World Finals on Halloween night.

For Hughes and his wife, just being chosen as the weekly winner was exciting enough but possibility of being named the Dickies 2008 American Worker of the Year was indescribable.

“We were dancing around the living room, dancing a jig, it was very exciting,” Hughes said. “I’m sorry I’m as country as corn. I can’t imagine it getting any better than this. I am so hillbilly, I never would have imagined you could do this kind of stuff.”

The past five years had been hard for Hughes and his wife, Danyell, with him suffering a near-crippling injury in an oilfield accident, the result of an oilrig that collapsed on top of him, breaking his back in five places, rupturing his spleen and shattering several ribs. And just a few months before, Danyell was forced to prematurely give birth to their son, Hawk, so that she could receive life-saving chemotherapy treatments to combat breast cancer. And that doesn’t even include the financial hardships from medical bills and more recently, having to endure the wrath of Hurricane Ike. Despite all of the struggles Hughes and Danyell have endured, they said they have been made stronger, are closer now than ever before to themselves and their children Hawk, 5, and Holly, 7.

So, when Hughes was announced the Dickies 2008 American Worker of the Year at the PBR World Finals in Las Vegas on Halloween night, you might think he took it all in stride — but you’d be wrong.

“We got to Vegas and met with the other contestants and really struck up a good friendship with a couple of them,” They said we are going to have you up on the Jumbo-Tron and it was right above, so I couldn’t see anything. And then I heard my name and you are like, ‘is it really me or am I imagining it’ and I balled like a baby. It was kind of embarrassing because I am supposed to be this tough roughneck but this is who I am. I am passionate, I about NASCAR and I am passionate about my family, so when I do something I go all out.

“This is just so great.”

And the next thing Hughes knew, he was leaving Las Vegas on the Dickies corporate jet headed for the race at Texas Motor Speedway and the final leg of contest that could change his life.

So, just what does Hughes get for being selected as the Dickies 2008 American Worker of the Year? To begin with, he gets a chance to win $1 million. In a contest format similar to the game show Deal or No Deal, Hughes picked one case from 45 cases each containing a car number of the drivers in Sunday’s Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Hughes, whose favorite driver is Ryan Newman, chose the case No. 39 in honor of Newman’s 2009 car number when he goes to Stewart-Haas Racing. It wasn’t a bad choice as Case No. 39 contained the No. 24 of Jeff Gordon, who just happened to have the fastest car in qualifying and will sit on the pole for the start of the race.

But regardless of whether Gordon finishes first in the Dickies 500 and picks up his first win of the 2008 season to give Hughes $1 million, he is already a winner with Dickies presenting the couple with a 2009 Ford F-150, a Yamaha Rhino 700 FI 4x4 and $5,000; along with VIP treatment in Las Vegas and at Texas Motor Speedway. And last but not least, Hughes will give the command for the drivers to start their engines prior to the race on Sunday.

Danyell said the couple needed a new truck but have put off buying one until their financial situation was better. She said this weekend’s experience is beyond her wildest dreams.

“I am speechless. I really am,” Danyell said. “We both had to give up so many of our dreams because of the cancer and then when he broke his back. We kept talking about a new truck and I was like, we can’t afford the payments. And this happened, I am so happy for him because he has been trying real hard to make our dreams come true so I am glad that his dreams can come true too.”

Hughes was still trying to take it all in on Saturday when he was presented to the media at Texas Motor Speedway as the contest winner but through it all, he said he remains humbled and thankful for all that he has been blessed with.

“It is just a blessing, it really is and I really mean what I say,” Hughes said. “I tried to thank the Lord for all of this because without him none of this is possible. We have been through some tough times but the shoes on the other foot now, and I am not bigheaded about this. I couldn’t have done none of this without God or my wife and my dad has been a big influence on me. This isn’t just about me there are a lot of people that helped us.

“I am just beside myself that we get to do this. But remember what I told about arrogance and I find myself looking for humility because I am humbled that I am here and this really could have happened to anybody. And I just want to be a good representative, as a NASCAR fan and for my employer and my family and these people at Dickies. I want to represent Woodville. I am proud for them. I want to represent my church and my mom and dad. I am proud to represent my company. I am just trying to be a good ambassador for all those folks right now.”

Hughes promised that regardless of whether Gordon crosses the finish line first on Sunday, he will be content with the experience he has had, vowing that winning or losing won’t change the way he is. “I really think that Jeff is due for a win here,” Hughes said. “Maybe, I can share some of my good luck with him. What I am going to do is take one of these patches off my jacket here. I have a drill bit patch and I am going to ask the crew if I can put that on his dash.

“I can barely get my head wrapped around what I am experiencing now, I can’t imagine winning a million dollars. I know we would pay off the medical bills and get rid of that but I haven’t even thought about that. I know one thing and that is that I will keep working. I won’t ever not work. There is a Trent Willmon song that I like a lot and in it there is a line that goes, ‘if I was a rich man, I know just what I’d do, I’d be the same old, same old guy, you always knew.’ That is me right here. It don’t matter, I am still just me. I promise this won't change me.”

Representatives from Dickies said Hughes personifies everything the company was looking for in an American worker and that his story was truly inspirational.

“Hale is a role model and leader to anyone privileged to know him and we are honored to have him along with the rest of our regional winners represent the Dickies brand,” said Misty Otto, public relations director for Dickies. “Superior workers deserve to have their outstaying drive leadership and perseverance acknowledged and rewarded."