The winning photo
BECKLEY, W.Va. — It’s safe to say that Michael Linkenhoker’s new grill will be the envy of even the most diehard tailgaters.
The 20-year-old Fayetteville resident received the grill in November when he was awarded the title of America’s Finest Grillmaster by winning an Instagram photo contest from Ball Park hotdogs.
“I was scrolling through Twitter one day when I saw a Ball Park frank ad about winning tailgate grill by being the finest grillmaster,” Linkenhoker said. “I learned more about it and thought, ‘Wow, I think I could win this.
“I called my buddy Jacob Milam immediately and the next day we took the picture.”
Linkenhoker said he and Milam knew they had to be creative with the photo so they staged a tailgate setup, lit up a fake palm tree, mounted a deer head nearby, donned their finest red, white and blue attire, “and snapped a photo while they grilled up some Ball Park franks.
“We’d never won anything in our lives, but we thought we could do it,” he said.
The friends’ belief in themselves paid off…