Jackson Free Press

Calling Delwyn Thornton "handy" is like calling Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt "quick." The Brandon resident, co-owner of Soles & Heels boot and shoe repair shop in Brandon, is a fast and precise craftsman, as he showed recently by winning the 2010 North American IRWIN Tools Ultimate Tradesman Challenge.

The challenge, sponsored by IRWIN tools, calls for competitors to measure, cut and drill two precise holes into a 2" x 4" board in as little time as possible. Thornton won the title Aug. 20, beating out 22 other challengers with a time of 28.5 seconds. He won a Ford Mustang and is headed to the World Finals in Bristol, Tenn., in March 2011.

Thornton heard about the challenge on the radio this spring and began training, building a table to match the specifications of the competition. No stranger to competitive craftsmanship, Thornton has previously won the Grand Silver Cup, a shoe-repair industry competition the Shoe Service Institute of America sponsors.

Thornton, 54, has lived in Brandon since moving there with his father in 1972. He graduated from Brandon Academy, now University Christian Academy, and attended Hinds Junior College for two years before entering the work force. He worked for Citibank, handling marketing in Louisiana, but never felt comfortable in the corporate world and left it in 1984 to help his father open Soles & Heels. Thornton now owns and operates the store with his wife, Pam.

"I like working with my hands, because I like the instant gratification," Thornton says. "When I was with Citibank, sometimes you would go out and work with other banks, and you wouldn't see a sale or progress for months, sometimes years."