For this year’s flotilla on Lake St. John, Kathy Rowzee and a small band of friends livened up the competition with their theme — &uot;She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy,&uot; from a song by country singer Kenny Chesney.

&uot;You see John Deere tractors over here every day if you live on the lake, so I thought – it’s right there in front of you,&uot; Rowzee said. &uot;I called my ‘crew’ and they thought it was great.&uot;

After deciding on a tractor theme, Rowzee’s &uot;crew,&uot; her fiance Mike Cook, friends Lori and Randy Cowart and Dallas Cooke (no relation) needed a song to go with the tractor.

&uot;We finally hit on ‘She Think’s My John Deere’s Sexy’ because it was funny, and that’s exactly what we wanted – to keep the humor going,&uot; Rowzee said.

The &uot;crew&uot; went right to work, and the humor started. &uot;Most people take their boats out of the water to work on them, but we take a boat ride every day after work,&uot; Rowzee said. &uot;It made for some interesting stares and I’m sure a few comments.&uot;

The crew’s theme became better known on Lake St. John, adding to the comments. &uot;As we worked kids would come along look at our dilapidated little tractor and ask, ‘Is that the sexy tractor?’&uot;

Once complete, the tractor float came complete with a smoke stack that worked. &uot;Dallas Cooke is our smoke man&uot; she said. &uot;He put it together with duct pipe and smoke bombs.You use whatever you can find to keep expenses down.&uot;

Although she advises cutting costs on some items, Rowzee refused to take less than the real thing when it came to paint, buying paint from John Deere manufacturers. &uot;Everybody kept telling me to go with something close to John Deere green, but I said no, it has to be the actual color.&uot;

The one bit of advice that Rowzee would like to pass on is to start early. &uot;And then no matter what, you’re up until one o’clock the night before the flotilla wondering if your idea is actually going to work.&uot;

After winning fourth place with this year’s entry, Rowzee is still able to laugh. &uot;I haven’t actually received my check yet,&uot; she said. &uot;I heard that all this year’s prizes ended up in the lake.&uot;