Gary has been a consistent blue ribbon winner at the International Woodcarving Congress, Dayton Artistry in Wood Show, and his home show at Dollywood. Gary won a Second Best of Show at the first CCA National Caricature Competition at Branson in 2002 and was the Best of Show winner in the 2003 CCA competition at Dollywood.
Gary is a very versatile carver. Not only has he been a consistent winner in the whittling competition at Dollywood but also a regular winner in Dollywood’s Great Pumpkin Carving Competition. In addition, he demonstrated pumpkin carving at Dollywood’s Harvest Festival for five years. He has become nationally known and was a featured carver in the book “Carving Found Wood” and has also written two step-by-step articles, “Pass the Bacon”, for Woodcarving Illustrated Magazine.