An Oakland resident took top honors in a statewide snowplow naming contest put on by Caltrans. More than 3,000 California residents participated in a “flurry of fun” to name the new snowplows, according to Caltrans.
The grand prize went to Caltrans District 4 (Bay Area) resident Scott Johnson of Oakland for his submission, “Snowtorious B.I.G.” Other notable submissions included “Pepe Le Plow,” submitted by District 9 (Eastern Sierra) resident Lina Martensson, “Plowzilla,” submitted by District 10 (Stockton) resident Angel Eldred, and “Sir Plows-A-Lot,” submitted by District 6 (Fresno/Bakersfield) resident Thaddeus Ashford.
One name that received an avalanche of submissions was “The Big LePlowski,” which was submitted by three people: District 1 (Eureka) resident Ryan Rafferty, District 2 (Redding) resident Scott Anderson, and District 7 (Los Angeles) resident Shiree Swenson.
“Snow doubt about it – we received a blizzard of creative and fun names for our snowplows. Our 872 snowplows statewide play a pivotal role in clearing what is standing in the way of safe travel for drivers. Please take care out there and give our scooper friends space,” said Caltrans Director Tony Tavares.
Here is a complete list of district winners:
- District 1 (Eureka): The Big LePlowski submitted by Ryan Rafferty
- District 2 (Redding): The Big LePlowski submitted by Scott Anderson
- District 3 (Sacramento): Scoop submitted by Christopher Torpie
- District 4 (Bay Area): Snowtorious B.I.G. submitted by Scott Johnson
- District 5 (Central Coast): Yeti Redi submitted by Elizabeth Jackson
- District 6 (Fresno/Bakersfield): Sir-Plows-A-Lot submitted by Thaddeus Ashford
- District 7 (Los Angeles): The Big LePlowski submitted by Shiree Swenson
- District 8 (San Bernardino/Riverside) Buzz Iceclear submitted by Kendra Sweeney
- District 9 (Eastern Sierra): Pepe Le Plow submitted by Lina Martensson
- District 10 (Stockton): Plowzilla submitted by Angel Eldred
- District 11 (San Diego): Darth Blader submitted by Jacob Stanley
All the winners received a $50 gift card. Grand prize winner Scott Johnson will get an additional $100 gift card. Winning names with multiple submissions (we’re looking at you Big LePlowski!) used a random drawing to determine the winner. Prizes were courtesy of iHeartMedia, according to Caltrans.
