| Fans watch the start of the 2008 National Tractor Pull. 8/15/08 (Photo: J.D. Pooley/Sentinel-Tribune) |
There’s the noise, the beer, the traffic – the sheer number of people in town this weekend for the 43rd
National Tractor Pulling Championships. While some Bowling Green residents may see it is a headache,
inconvenience or end-of-summer rite, Dan Van Vorhis sees dollar signs and a huge boost to dozens of
community organizations.
The president of the Wood County Fraternal Order of Police said the tractor pull is the group’s best
annual fundraiser. He expects about 55 of the 115 members to work 980 hours of security this weekend.
The officers then donate their hourly wages, which are paid by the tractor pull association, back to the
FOP, raising about $14,000 in three days.
They also raise another $10,000 from selling ice out of carts or their building on the fairgrounds where
the tractor pull is held.
"You’ve got to look past the noise and look at the pullers and the financial support and how it
trickles down. There’s an impact year-round from this one weekend," Van Vorhis said.
The FOP’s function is to promote positive youth activities in the community, he said. The officers do
that by allowing free use of their building, which has a kitchen, meeting room and banquet area. The
facility is used four to five nights a week by a variety of groups, including 4-H, Young Life, Serenity
Farms, youth baseball and Power of Yesteryear.
"If it wasn’t for our involvement with the tractor pull, we wouldn’t have our building," Van
Vorhis said.
The most officers on duty at any one time this weekend with the FOP will be 24, he said. At the same
time, there’s an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 visitors on the fairgrounds, including campers, he said.
"With the magnitude of people that are here, we really have minimal issues," Van Vorhis said.
"We want them to have a good, safe time, go home and come back next year."
