Bronco Award.jpg
Colorado Classic Broncos would like to send out a big Congrats to Gunnibronco, aka Chad. Chad was born and raised in the great state of Ohio and graduated from The Ohio State University in 1995 with a degree in Marketing. After graduation he immediately left his buckeyes (poisonous Ohio nut) and headed West in search of the great white slopes of the Rocky Mountains. He opened up a retail store selling fireplaces, hot tubs, and one other thing I missed...umbrellas??? Either way, a few years later he got out of the umbrella biz and got into body work. He’s been there for the last 4 years and really enjoys working on cars and trucks. Due to the economy he may be seeking out another venture in the Gunnison area (I guess I should have told you that Gunnison + Bronco= Gunnibronco). He’s been there for 17 years and doesn’t seem to want to leave anytime soon (although it’d be cool to be closer to the Broncos on the front range).

Here’s a little about the machine behind the man. He bought his 74’ Bronco his first year in Colorado. He says it was pretty stock with a roll mod (it had been rolled). Since the purchase he has put in a 3 ½ JD lift, power steering, power brakes, 4 barrel Edelbrock , NP435, Full width axles, and fuel injection. His long term plan is to put in his 351 after it’s been rebuilt. He gives the club a lot of credit for rekindling he interest in his Bronco. At first he thought it was just another forum but is impressed with all the cool stuff we do and how much we help one another.

So what’s up with the General Lee avatar? Is it a Bo or Luke Duke kinda thing? “No, it has to do with the Chinaman’s Gulch Trip. I pushed the pedal a little bit more than I wanted on a pretty rocky area and next thing I knew I was boosting (see definitions below). When it was all said and done, my door panel had a “01” on it. Yeeeeeeeee------haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaww!!!!!!
His Good Bronco Story: “Yeah it was when we were putting in the lift. Both front corners were held up with HiLifts. When I hit the lever to lower it the weight of the bronco went through the arm and packed (see definitions below) me in the face. Yeah, it was an emergency room visit with a lot of stitches.”


His Hobbies: Snowboarding. Chad is an avid snowboarder. He has shredded most of Colorado, other snow states and is headed up to a trip of a lifetime in Alaska. In March he will be headed up there for a snowboard trip that includes bailing (see definitions below) out of a helicopter. He hopes he won’t Roll Down the Windows or crater (see definitions below). Make sure you get a pic of your drop with a CCB sweatshirt on!,

In case you ever want to have dialogue with Chad I have included a snowboarder dictionary
• Bail: A term used to describe crashing or falling. For example, “He bailed and landed on his head.”
• Beat: A term used to describe something that is not good. For example, “It’s pretty beat that we have to....”
• Bonk: The act of hitting a no-snow object with the snowboard (e.g., a tail bonk could be hitting a chair-lift with the tail of your board.)
• Boost: A term used to describe catching air off a jump. For example, “He boosted ten feet out of the pipe".
• Bust: Used interchangeably with the verb “to do” only with more emphasis. For example, “He busted a.....”
• Crater: A term used to describe a crash or fall. For example, “He fell off the lift and cratered into a snow bank.”
• Flail: A term used to describe riding badly and out of control. For example, “He flailed off the jump and hit a tree.”
• Hucker: One who throws him/herself wildly through the air and does not land on
his/her feet.
• Pack: A term used to describe a crash or fall. For example, “He packed into that parked snow cat and broke his leg".
• Rolling down the windows: A phrase used to describe when someone is caught off balance, and they wave their arms.
Quick Answers

Black Jack or Poker------------------ Poker
Farrah Fawcett or Pam Anderson----- Farrah
Bill Cosby or Eddie Murphy-----------Eddie
Brad Pitt or Matt Damon--------------YES!!!
Dirt Bike or ATV--------------------- Dirt Bike- but I’d kill myself
Fishing or Hunting------------------- Hunting
All My Children or General Hospital---- No
Iron man or Captain America--------- Iron man
Basketball or Football-----------------Go Bucks!
Pool or Foosball-----------------------Pool (1903 Brunswick Table!)
Gas or Charcoal Grill-------------------Gas
Taco or Burrito-----------------------Gluten free taco
McDonalds or Burger King------------- No (I should have asked Wendy’s- Ohio boy)

Way to bust out that January Member of the Month Chad! Congratulationsbronco jump.jpg

Gunni - really excited to have ya in the club and a very well deserved honor. It was great to learn a little more about you. Hope to someday meet ya in person - hopefully on a trail ride. Congrats for the big honor. Thanks so all of the contributions and helping to make the club what it is today. Congrats!

Congrats Gunni! I always enjoy your posts and hope to meet you sometime soon. I do go float the Gunni through the gorge every summer so who knows, might even meet for a cold frosty beverage!

Congrats Gunni. Good to have you in the club. It was great to chat with you like we were old friends when we hit Chinaman. Hope to get down your way this summer.

Right on Gunni! Congratulations as the member of the month. Love the "Shreddin' the Knar" over the Bronco pic. Looking forward to wheelin' with you again in 2012.

Thanks guys, this was a huge surprise, and a real honor. There are so many great guys, great mechanics, with great rigs in this club.

The last year of being a member and getting to meet some of you guys has been so cool. This club has amounted to so much more than what I expected. I'm really looking forward to getting back in gear for the summer and hitting some more trails, and meeting more members. I get jealous when I see all the cool activities and wrench sessions I miss out on. But that is the price of living in Paradise. Anyone traveling through Gunnison or Crested Butte should give me a call, my number is in the members list. I love showing people around my neck of the woods.

Thanks for all the help along the way with my projects. Hopefully my rambling, confused posts will help others when it comes time to tackle their own projects.

Thanks to Shawn for taking the time to do the interview & post up the cool pics. I thought of Wendy's too after the fact. I trick-or-treated from Wendy herself once when I was a kid, she lived just a few blocks away.

Congrats Chad! Glad you are MOTM! Good to get to know a little more about you.

I'd like to hear more about your plans for your AK trip!

Oh, and watch out for them hi-lifts - they bite back! Cracked my uncles skull once!

J.D.

Congrats chad. Hope to get together and do some camping and wheeling with ya.

Congrats Gunni!

Thanks guys you will see me out on some trips this year. I count my 3 CCB runs as some of the best weekends from last year.

My AK trip is over a year in the planning, I'm going with a couple guys from Denver, and an old ski buddy who now lives in Houston. It is a 7 night/6 day heli trip based out of Cordova AK (last time I checked, they have received over 14' of snow @ sea level since November 1- they are calling it the "snowpocolypse"). The company is called Points North Heli, http://www.alaskaheliski.com/, they are one of the companies you'll see carting the pros around AK, if you watch the skiporn movies (like Broncoporn, but different). Pretty straight forward, the plan is to ride unbelievable terrain. I've been dreaming of a trip like this for 15 years, so to say I'm excited, is the understatement of the year. I've only done one other trip this big, I went to Chamonix, France 10 years ago. I had guides set for Cham, and a place called La Grave, but I showed up during the worst winter in their history & no off area skiing was happening. So I sat around Chamonix for 10 days waiting to come home. Huge bummer. I'm trying to keep my head level & not think about the trip too much.

There will be tons of pics, and I bought a Contour helmet cam to capture the insanity.

Wow, that sounds incredible and if you've never been to AK, stop and smell the roses. The views that I have seen are simply incredible! CO is beautiful, but AK is on another level.

I've not been in that area of AK, but I have been to Wittier, which is just across the PW sound from Cordova.

Can't get enough of this graphic!YeeHaaaaw.png

Congrats Gunni !

I really enjoyed following your EFI thread and learned lots from it.

I look forward to wheeling' and camping with you again next year. Hoping you host something in your neck of the woods.

You had the quote of the year when you said something to the effect that "CCB members are seemingly trying to "out nice each other". I agree with you and believe you to be one of the nicest guys on here !

JD, I have been to AK, about 10 years ago I spent a week or so in Anchorage, Seward, & Lake Louise in early September. You are right, it is a whole 'nother world up there. Takes your breath away. I got to watch a 30+minute northern lights display that even blew away the locals.

Jeff, unfortunately I have more to learn on EFI apparently, my thread was just updated with some "bad" news. Thanks for the nice compliment. The guys are great here, and I know everything I give will be returned 10 fold. It is so true that you get back, only as much as you give.

Shawn the pics are sweet! Yeeeeeeehaaaaaaw!

I've been to Anchorage and Shemya island. Neither was very picturesque but the land in between sure looked nice.

my SIL and BIL live on the Kenai Penn. They've taken us to some amazing places!

Congrats on winning MOTM!

I thought this was an appropriate place to post this up.

On Monday I'm handing in my 2 weeks notice at our body shop.

I've been offered the opportunity to run the local Avis Rental Car location at the Gunnison airport. It is a contract position, no franchise, no up front costs, just a commission based payment plan. I'll be incorporating and employing a part time person to help me keep the doors open 7 days/week 365 days/yr.

I've absolutely loved learning body work, and didn't come to this decision easily. I'll have new headaches of dealing with customers, and employees, and a big corporation. But, the additional income made the decision necessary. This new job will not make me a millionaire, but will make a significant difference, and ultimately keep me comfortably living the good life here in Gunnison. Unfortunately, 6 months after I entered the collision business, the economy went down the toilet. Gunnison locals are still hurting, there is almost no building going on right now, and the economy here depends on carpenters, electricians, and plumbers being busy. After the economy tanked, our shop's business fell off about 50% and hasn't rebounded. And my income never reached the levels that I expected.

I've learned some incredible skills, and have a bad ass set of tools that will get to come home. I could never have learned what I did without this job, and I'll get to use the knowledge for my hobby for the rest of my life. I just bought a 39 Plymouth that will be my hotrod project and now I'll really be able to build something great.

Thanks for your support, and I hope to see you all this summer. Maybe I'll see a few of you guys in March when I come to Denver to fly to Alaska. I'll need to drop off and pick up some stuff.

Chad

That's rarely and easy decision Chad. Seems it'll take some setting up, but I hope you can get your part time help to work the nights/weekends so you can still come out and play. Congratulations too.

Sounds like a great opportunity! Congratulations and we'll be waiting for the updates to your future endeavors.

OK, the body shop manager just called and he's asking what it will take to keep me. I thought this was over, but maybe its not. My brain hurts.

Ok, Avis it is. It wasn't ever really a close call, but it got a little closer.

something like 80% of people that are retained at their current gig by way of a counter-offer leave within one year of accepting the counter-offer..................

something about "if I am worth it when someone else is looking to steal me away, why wasn't I worth it when they weren't?"

you seem like a guy that likes new adventures to me so I think your making a great move

Good luck Gunni. Sounds like it's going to go in your favor.