Canyon Media’s 2nd Summit Rock found

Canyon Media’s 2nd Summit Rock found

ST. GEORGE — Josh Brooks was bound and determined he was going to find the Summit Rock.

He listened to every clue on Canyon Media’s 99.9 KONY Country and positioned himself where he thought the clues took him every day.

Josh Brooks of St. George found the second Summit Rock and was presented a check for $10,000 Monday by Summit Athletic Club and Canyon Media. St. George, Utah, June 12, 2017 | Photo by Ric Wayman, St. George News

“I just was looking hard for it,” Brooks said. “I checked every trail, every morning I’d put myself in a central location and then when the clue came out on KONY, Marty (Lane, morning co-host on KONY) said ‘shade’ and I … realized you had to make a U-turn and follow the parking lot, that was one of the clues.”

Brooks was hot on the trail.

“I was just looking, and I found it at the Tonaquint Park under the Dixie Drive structure … The people say the clues don’t lead you to the rock? When you’re in the area it makes perfect sense. That’s the thing. You just have to be persistent with it.”

The second question: Was Brooks wearing the Summit Athletic Club T-shirt?

“I was,” Brooks said.

Brooks was presented a check for $10,000 by Callie Peterson, operations manager of Summit Athletic Club Monday morning.

“My wife’s eight months pregnant,” Brooks said. “We’re having a baby girl the second week in July. So we’re just going to put it away until that’s all taken care of.”

Brooks is a St. George resident, a Marine veteran and currently works for the Utah Department of Transportation.

Canyon Media and Summit Athletic Club have been running the “Summit Rock Hunt” for five years now. For each of the first two years a single rock was hidden, while the last three years, three rocks have been hidden throughout the community, each promising a potential $10,000 to the person who found it.

Clues are also shared on Summit Athletic Club’s Facebook page, with intrepid rock hunters over radio waves and social media daily on Canyon Media radio shows Planet 94.1 at 8:15 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., 95.9 The Hawk and 99.9 KONY Country at 8:30 a.m.; and on those shows’ Facebook pages and phone apps at 10 a.m.

Gymgoers can see the clues posted at Summit Athletic Club facilities on River Road and Sunset Boulevard as well.

Make sure you are wearing that Summit Rock T-shirt when out searching. Without it, the rock is worth $5,000; with it, $10,000 is in the bag for the finder. The T-shirts can be bought at Summit Athletic Club facilities.

Large groups of people wearing the red Summit Rock T-shirts have been spotted throughout the community as they search the areas they believe the clues are directing them to.

Since its inception, Canyon Media and Summit Athletic Club have given out an estimated $75,000 to winners, said Joe Levine, owner of Summit Athletic Club. It could have been more in certain cases, he said, had the winners been wearing the Summit Rock T-shirts.

In a sense, it’s a great way to trick people into getting outdoors and enjoying some exercise, Levine said. People are getting out and walking and biking around as they search for the Summit Rock and are having fun with it, he saidThe idea for the competition came from a similar event Levine and his wife heard on the radio many years ago in Las Vegas. They liked the idea so much they wanted to apply it to the athletic club and the community somehow and ultimately the Summit Rock Hunt idea was born.

“It’s the neatest form of exercise,” Levine said. “Exercise doesn’t have to be horrible and hard. This is something you can enjoy and have fun with.”

Aside from physical exercise, rock hunters also get to exercise their brains while trying to figure out the daily clues.

“It’s all about promoting a healthy lifestyle,” Levine said, adding that the annual event has turned into something more than just a hunt for a $10,000 rock – it’s turning into a community activity.

“I absolutely love this promotion,” KONY morning co-host Amy Chesley said. “It’s getting families together, out, and more importantly, who doesn’t love a scavenger hunt.”

Chesley has been involved in the Summit Rock Hunt for the last two years, but before she came to KONY she was an active participant.

“I was a rock hunter myself, just out like everyone else,” Chesley said. “That’s where I found the love for it, and appreciate Summit and Canyon Media for what they’re doing. It’s pretty awesome.”

Many people are not only coming together in groups to search for the rocks, but also to help figure out where the rocks may be as they exchange ideas online.

“We go out on Facebook Live every day, just for fun and just to go meet people and give our funny ideas,” Chesley said.

One more week remains for the search for the Summit Rock 2017 with one more rock to be found.

Stay tuned to the listed radio stations at 8:30 a.m., check the program Facebook pages and the apps at 10 a.m. for clues; and don’t forget to pick up a Summit Rock T-shirt so you can be eligible to win the full $10,000 when you find that rock.

St. George News senior reporter Mori Kessler contributed to this report.

Editor’s note: Josh Brooks was first described in this article as a Marine reservist. He is a Marine veteran.eorge

Credit: St George News