Van Wart visits namesake community

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

A man who said he’s been told all his life he is related to Isaac Van Wart visited Van Wert Friday with plans he feels could benefit the city named for Isaac.

CJ Van Wart, who lives in the Houston, Texas, area, got his first chance to see the Ohio city named for the Revolutionary War hero he believes is his ancestor.

In addition to seeing the city of the almost same name, Van Wart was here to promote an idea for a “Rally in the Corn” motorcycle event that would hopefully be held here next year.

Van Wart, who was a promoter for the South Texas Bike Jam & Expo in Houston held during the Memorial Day weekend, said he wants to bring something similar — a cross between a business-to-business event and a consumer show — to Van Wert.

Van Wart said he has spent more than two decades working in the trade show industry and learning how it works. Now, he says, some of the people he worked for early on now work for him.

In addition to making him and his organization money, Van Wart said he feels the event could also be very profitable for the local community.

“My vision for this event is to bring revenue to this city,” he said during a meeting Friday morning with local officials hosted by Van Wert Area Convention & Visitors Bureau Executive Director Larry Lee. “I think there’s a need for that, and to create a destination point so riders have a place to go.”

One big advantage Van Wert has for motorcycle riders, Van Wart said, is the fact that no major interstate highway run close to the city, something he said bikers tend to stay away from, when possible.

In addition to Lee and other local officials, Van Wart also spoke with John Shumaker, owner of Shumaker Racing Components and one of the organizers of the annual event hosted by the Wetzel Motorcycle Club.

Van Wart said he was impressed with the Wetzel event after viewing details of the annual party held in the northeast corner of Van Wert County.

He also was impressed with the number of people who attend the annual Van Wert Rib Cook-Off held at the Van Wert County Fairgrounds and said he would like to attend this year to see how the event is organized.

Van Wart said he hopes to draw somewhere around 20,000 people to the Rally in the Corn — a figure that appears doable, since it’s approximately a fourth of the number that attended last year’s Rib Cook-Off.

Currently, Van Wart and his promotion group are researching what is needed to put on the rally in Van Wert — a process that could take several weeks.

The group said it was focusing its efforts on the Van Wert County Fairgrounds, which would be the hub for his motorcycle rally, although he also plans a number of family-friendly events in other parts of the city.