By Brian McBride
Associate Editor

Going up against some pretty heavy hairy hitters, including a filmmaker, a governor and a former NBA great, Osceola County Fire Rescue Lt. Brian Sheets was crowned  Dec. 4 as American Mustache Institute’s Robert Goulet Memorial Mustached American of the Year for 2010.

The News-Gazette first reported in October that Sheets, who’s been with Fire Rescue since 1999, was a competitor in the contest, hoping to finish with the leading lip sweater. According to institute officials, Sheets received 22 percent of the more than 500,000 online votes.

The award was announced in St. Louis at the American Mustache Institute’s annual 'Stache Bash charity benefit. Sheets was handed the Goulet Award plaque and a tongue-in-cheek $3 crown was placed on his head in recognition of winning the honor.

“There's no other way to describe it than it was a real honor,” said Sheets, who works at a Poinciana fire station. “I'm a local firefighter. I'm nobody important. I didn't expect to beat out all those well-known people.”

Sheets outdistanced a strong group of candidates including Morgan Spurlock , an Oscar-nominated documentary director, television producer, writer and journalist best known for his documentary “Super Size me.”; Kevin Johnson, a former NBA star point guard; North Dakota Governor and U.S. Senator-elect John Hoeven; and Minnesota Twins pitcher Carl Pavano.

“Brian represents everything that is good, decent and sexually dynamic in the mustached American community,” Aaron Perlut, chairman of the American Mustache Institute, said. “His rich lip sweater and commitment of the betterment of those around him made him an outstanding finalist and deserving winner.”

Sheets said Spurlock interviewed him several times for a documentary he was doing on the 'stache scene and that he got to spend time with the filmmaker.

“He's a great guy,” the firefighter said.

But just how was Sheets able to garner enough votes to become mustache master?

“I have some real avid fans,” Sheets said, which included some of his family members who tirelessly voted for him.

There was no limit on how many times a person could vote.

Perlut previously noted that Sheets qualified as a candidate because of all the feedback from the community when he was nominated. So much feedback that the institute asked Sheets to tell his supporters to stop the relentless wave of nominations. Who was the first to nominate him? Sheets wasn't sure, but believed it was one of his students he teaches at the Central Florida Fire Academy as an EMT instructor.

According to the institute website, one of his students wrote in a nomination that “most people teach for a paycheck and don't care about much more than the extra money. Instructor Sheets is different. He stood with us and motivated us and instilled in us information and morals that would have been left by the wayside by anyone else.”

Perlut said the institute also liked the fact that he works to champion firefighter causes. Sheets started a group on Facebook called Firemen with Mustaches, a nonprofit organization that builds awareness about firefighter fatalities and seeks to raise funds for the families of fallen colleagues.

The Goulet Award is not a best mustache contest but instead recognizes the person who best-represents or contributes to the mustached American community during the prior year, and is named in honor of the late and legendary performer Robert Goulet, institute officials said. The event also raised money for cancers affecting men through Movember, an international charity that encourages men to grow mustaches.

“It was a once in a lifetime thing,” Sheets said. “I couldn't have done it without the support of the Osceola County citizens.”