Bobcat Company Launches $100,000 Park and Rec Makeover Contest
Bobcat Co. has launched a nationwide Bobcat Park and Rec Makeover Contest to give one community a $100,000 park makeover.
To kick off the contest, Bobcat teamed up with its brand ambassador and renovation expert Chip Gaines for a baseball field makeover to inspire communities to see the potential in their local park and recreation spaces.
Bobcat brought its iconic white and orange equipment and a fleet of volunteers to Gaines’ hometown of Waco, Texas, to make over a local ballfield. Gaines, host of the hit show “Fixer Upper” and Magnolia co-founder, is an advocate for youth sports, having played baseball growing up and during college.
“I grew up playing ball at local parks, and now, my boys have too,” said Gaines. “Spending time outside and being involved in community sports is such a big part of our family’s life, which makes me thrilled to partner with Bobcat here in Waco to renovate a local ballpark as they launch their national contest. It’s projects like this that really bring a community together, today but also decades down the road.”
Commitment to community
The Bobcat Park and Rec Makeover Contest is open to communities in the U.S. with a shovel-ready park and recreation project. Funds can be used to renovate or create a park and recreation space or facility based on the winning community’s needs.
“Bobcat is so much more than machines; we’re a team and a brand committed to community and we’re demonstrating that commitment by investing our time and resources to help build a stronger, better tomorrow,” said Laura Ness Owens, Bobcat vice president of global brand and marketing.
Bobcat has long supported communities where its customers, dealers and employees live and work. In 2023, Bobcat partnered with the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) to offer grants to create sustainable community park and recreation areas. Bobcat continues to work with NRPA as its partner for its Park and Rec Makeover Contest, as well as through its sponsorship of Park and Recreation Month.
"At Bobcat, we're all about building the kind of world we want to live in, and this contest is just one of the ways we're giving back to help communities thrive," Ness Owens said. "Teaming up with Chip to fix up a ballpark in the Waco area is our way of encouraging people to take action in their own towns. It could be by nominating their community for a similar makeover or simply volunteering and getting involved. We want this partnership with Chip and our shared dedication to community to light a spark in others to give back and strengthen communities everywhere.”
For full contest details, rules and regulations, and to enter for a chance to win, visit bobcat.com before Aug. 16, 2024. To learn more about how Bobcat is giving back and building community, please visit bobcat.com.
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.