YARD-MAN" MOWS LAWN (TEXAS); NEARS ½-WAY MARK ACROSS U.S.

College Soccer Coach Found Elvis; Survived Death Valley & Mowed Over the Hoover Dam, Worlds Most Crooked Street & the Ice at a NHL Game - All Atop a Lawnmower

LAWN, TEXAS (PRWEB) April 17, 2003 -- Brad Hauter will spend today mowing almost every blade of grass in Lawn, Texas (population: 348), as he approaches San Antonio, the half-way mark of his second world record breaking journey across the United States on a Yard-Man lawnmower.

Hauter, who established a Guinness Book World Record with his 1999 trek 4,000+ miles cross-country on a lawnmower, set out from San Francisco on March 19 to break his record, as well as raise awareness and money for Keep America Beautifuls Great American Cleanup.

Today, Hauter will mow the yards of Lawn, Texas local justice of the peace, mayor and a handful of other community residents. He will also trim around the Lawn, Texas, city limits sign and Taylors Cafe, the only restaurant in town.    

He is the Yard-Man
Nicknamed Yard-Man" by friends and family, the 37 year-old college soccer coach and father of 4-year-old twins from Indiana will travel more than 5,500 miles aboard his Yard-Man mower. Hauter hopes to reach New York City in early June.

Its been an unbelievable journey already," Hauter said. In Vegas, the city threw a parade for me through downtown where Elvis joined me on a mower ride down Fremont Street. In Phoenix, I mowed the ice between periods of an NHL game and weve also rode over the Hoover Dam, through Death Valley and down crooked Lombard Street in San Francisco."

In order to top his 1999 mark, Yard-Man will spend the next three months on his mower, traveling an average speed of 10 mph.

Clean Cut Across America
Hauter and his six-member support crew already mowed through San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Albuquerque. Next Monday, Yard-Man will reach the 2,800 mile marker in San Antonio. Hell continue through Dallas; Houston; Bentonville, Ark.; Atlanta; Memphis; Charlotte; Baltimore; Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia. The route will culminate in New York Citys Battery Park where Hauter will present the Keep America Beautiful donations he has collected in route.

Stopping to Beautify America
In addition to raising funds for Keep America Beautiful, Yard-Man is stopping along the way to help volunteers beautify parks, ball fields and vacant lots.

Whether volunteering in a local cleanup event or making a donation, everyone can participate in this years Yard-Man Mow Across America. Commemorative T-shirts are available for $12 at www.yardman.com. Proceeds from each shirt will benefit Keep America Beautiful. Hauter hopes to raise $200,000.

To purchase a T-shirt, simply log onto www.yardman.com or send a check made payable to the Yard-Man Mow Across America, P.O. Box 368022, Cleveland, Ohio 44136.

Background
Yard-Man products, available at Wal-Mart and hardware stores across the country, provide power and durability as well as comfort and versatility. The revolutionary Yard-Man riding lawn
tractor is designed to make mowing a lawn easier and features innovative Briggs & Stratton INTEK overhead valve engine, Auto Drive transmission, a TightTurn steering system and a FastAttach tool-free attachments system.

Keep America Beautiful, Inc. is a national, nonprofit public education organization whose goal is to form community partnerships dedicated to empowering individuals to take greater responsibility for enhancing their community environments. In 2003, Keep America Beautiful will celebrate its 50th anniversary.

Keep America Beautifuls Great American Cleanup is the nations largest annual community improvement program, held March through May. Last year, nearly 2.3 million people volunteered for Keep America Beautifuls Great American Cleanup.

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