By Per Peterson
After learning the ropes of the position — bookkeeping, paying bills, handling deposits and donations — Brittany Larson was able to zero in on event preparation for things like the Women’s Expo. And the biggest event, Box Car Days, was always lurking.
The city’s main event is now less than one month away and Larson, the Chamber’s still-new director, is working daily to get ready for it, and that included the annual nacho bar fundraiser that took place recently.
“People always ask me, ‘So, you getting ready for Box Car Days?’” Larson said. “Or they would ask, ‘How ya doing?’ and I’d be … ‘Good.’ And they’d be like, ‘Oh, just wait until Box Car Days.’ I’m like, ‘Why do you say it like that?’ I feel like if we’re organized and I finish each of my small projects early, it should run fine. It will be high-adrenaline when the time comes.”
Being a Tracy native, Larson isn’t new to Box Car Days and its relevance, and she knew coming in to her job that prepping for the big weekend is no small task.
“It’s something that everybody anticipates as attendees and as volunteers,” she said. “All the volunteers, they know what’s going on, they know what’s coming and they’re excited.”
Two of those people — former Chamber Director Kim Roggatz and do-it-all handyman, electrician George Hebig — might not be officially involved with Box Car Days work any longer, but they haven’ ridden off into the sunset, either. Both, Larson said, have been ready and willing to help in planning and organizing and likely will be up until and through BCD weekend.
For more on this article, see this week’s Headlight-Herald.