Persistence pays off.
Jason Stacks of Ashburn, Virginia, competed in the Pat Collins Snow Stick Challenge five times and made the finals twice — and on Tuesday he was declared the big winner.
Jason, 16, won his very own Pat Collins Snow Stick by building a giant mug of hot cocoa out of snow, complete with marshmallows.
He said he spent three hours on his creation and used a spray bottle filled with root beer to color the “hot cocoa” brown.
We've got the news you need to know to start your day. Sign up for the First & 4Most morning newsletter — delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.
“I was stirring it up with my fake Pat Collins Snow Stick,” Jason said about his winning photo.
After snowfall in the Washington, D.C., area starting Sunday, the contest this time was the "Stir-Crazy" Pat Collins Snow Stick Challenge. After being cooped up indoors during the COVID-19 pandemic, Pat asked viewers to get on sleds, build snow people and show their best while remaining snow-cially distanced.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
“Wow. It’s even better in person,” the winner of a Pat Collins Snow Stick said with a satisfied nod.
Jason beat one competitor who built an igloo for his dogs, another who reenacted a Nationals game and another who used a laptop while sitting in a snow-filled kiddie pool.
Photos: Finalists in the ‘Stir-Crazy' Pat Collins Snow Stick Challenge
An all-star panel of News4 judges used an Olympic-style scoring method, holding up numbers, to select a winner.
“You could tell he put a lot of effort in it. There’s a lot of joy in this entry as well. I love it,” News4’s Eun Yang said about Jason’s mug of hot snow-coa.
“I don’t even like chocolate but just seeing this made me wanna have a cup of hot cocoa,” News4’s Shawn Yancy said.
Jason was happy to get a Snow Stick of his very own.
“Wow. It’s even better in person,” he said with a satisfied nod.
Thank you to everyone who entered, and stay tuned for the next challenge!
