Tod took this picture of me getting on the 36 seater from Salt Lake City to Idaho Falls. After he took the photo, he said "Can you imagine Jim Voronin having to ride in one of these little planes?" Then he turned around and saw that Jim was behind him waiting to board the plane. We all laughed at that. Jim couldn't even stand up straight because the plane was so small. It was certainly an adventure, though!

Here's a pic of Jim Voronin on the 36 seater. Notice how he is seated in the center of the plane...that's probably for the purpose of balancing the plane! He was a good sport about the flights.

This is the platform they had in Idaho Falls. Micheal and Linda Higgins purchased the monolift themselves. The platform was built from donated plywood, and was built strong enough to hold the weight of a truck. This is definitely a national-calaber platform.

These are the trophies from the meet. There were sculptured tombstones with lifters on them for the powerlifters, and sculptured benchpressers for the benchers. Tod and I have never seen such nice trophies for such a small entry fee. Just another nice touch that made this meet that much more memorable.

Jim Voronin came to the meet to do seminars for the kids about training smart, and to do some exhibition lifts. Like myself, he had also just competed at the A.P.F. Sr. Nationals just five weeks before, so he wasn't here to max out. He squatted an easy 750 lbs, and is seen here benchpressing 600 lbs. His best bench ever is 644 lbs, which he did at the nationals this year, but you wouldn't know it by how easy he made 600 look!

Tod poses with me for a photo. Without him I never would have made it to this meet to accomplish a 308.5 lb benchpress. He has trained me since the beginning, has been patient with me and has traveled far and wide just to help me be my best in powerlifting. Thanks Tod.

Tod and I had a great time hanging out with Jim at the meet. He's a very generous man, has a lot of knowledge to share and has avoided becoming 'egoed out' like a lot of other big lifters. Look for more big lifts from this guy in the future!

Tod and I would also like to thank Linda and Micheal Higgins for a great meet. This was definitely a 'for the lifters' meet, with free food on both Saturday and Sunday, a free t-shirt from the meet, and the awesome trophies. But most of all, Tod and I were given a warm welcome from the Higgins, and we really appreciate everything they did for us while in Idaho. Anyone who's thinking of doing a meet around August of next year, consider this one! It's growing every year and I'm sure it will never lose its personal touch, making it a meet for the lifter.