Rockport Off Road Park (RORP) in Rockport, IL is a 1600+ wooded acre park with numerous trails for ATVs, dirt bikes and short-wheelbased SUVs. It is in the heart of Pike County, IL, a popular haven for hunters and outdoor sportsmen. Tom and Debbie Wombels started RORP in 2003. But the dream began 15 years prior when Tom started the Two Rivers Jeep Club. Although they still have their day jobs, Tom has a bulldozer business and Debbie is an X-Ray technician, Debbie told me when I met them last year, “We’d always dreamed of starting our own business.”
They charge $15/day for ATVs and dirt bikes ($10/day for kids) and
$20/day for jeeps and trucks. Over nine thousand vehicles used the facility
last year alone. Debbie told me, “We hold one of only 26 Jeep Jamborees
in the U. S. We host about 30 other events per year.” The Wombels
estimate the park has a $1 million+ impact upon the local economy with
people staying in hotels, campgrounds, etc.
In 2005 RORP received a $1.2 million state grant to buy 350 acres of
land that they were leasing, giving them ownership of 750 acres. “We
either had to buy that land or the deer hunters would have snapped it
up. The grant was funded by a special tax on ATV sales.” Since
I was in the area last winter, RORP has worked toward expansion. In January
2007, Hannibal Rocks, four miles south of Hannibal, MO will open. This
park is a new riding area for Jeeps/Trucks and SUVs.
Your community has couples like the Wombels; a couple with a hobby, talent or passion that they would love to turn into a business. What are you doing to identify the Wombels and potential new businesses in your community? With the right attitude you can foster local “small” successes that will have a BIG impact!