Friday afternoon, the inaugural Big Boom Bracket Battle sponsored by the Perry Chamber of Commerce wrapped up, and to many’s surprise the result was a tie.

Thanks to an anonymous donation that came in at 11:58 a.m., just before the noon cutoff, the money raised in support of the two finalists made them even. The result was that both Hulgan Plumbing and Heating owner J.P. Hulgan and Perry DMACC Director Eddie Diaz got the honor of having a pie shoved in their face. The amount raised by each in the final round of the three week competition was $1,065, and all total the fundraiser brought in nearly $6,000 for the Perry fireworks drive.

The actual throwing of the pies was done in front of Perry Fareway Friday, alongside the Raccoon Valley Radio Big Red Radio which was on hand for a live broadcast. Diaz’s daughters did the honor of putting the pies in the faces of the two finalists, and both took the treat in good fun. Hulgan noted that it was an honor to make it to the finals, but a strange honor. “It’s like, who’s the winner? Are you a winner if you get the pie because you got more votes, or are you the winner if you didn’t get the pie? And I think what the unanimous decision was the fireworks donation was the winner, because we got to raise a bunch of money!”

Diaz agreed, adding that it was great to see the promotion be so successful in spite of the uncertain times created by COVID-19. “I never thought I’d be happy about a pie in the face, but it’s a really good cause and small price to pay. So I’m happy people donated (and) I love the innovation. This pandemic has made us have to be more creative, so I’m glad we’re able to make it happen!”

Chamber Director Lynsi Pasutti said the competition was a lot of fun for the community, and she was excited to see how everyone rallied together for a common goal of supporting the fireworks drive. She added, they’ll likely bring the tournament back next year, with a whole new crop of notable Perry residents as competitors.