If You Build It

On August 12, 2021, the Yankees and the White Sox played the first major league baseball game at the real Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa.  The baseball field was copied from the 1989 movie Field of Dreams, in which Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella is inspired by a voice he hears in his cornfield telling him: “If you build it, he will come.” Ray begins the quest of turning his ordinary cornfield into a baseball field where dreams can come true.

This story reminded me of the how the International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame & Museum was created. As the museum’s website states: “It all started more than 20 years ago when a group of dedicated towing professionals, the Friends of Towing, decided to recognize outstanding individuals in the towing and recovery industry worldwide, record the industry’s history, collect and display artifacts and memorabilia in a museum setting, and provide information about the industry to the public.”

Most industry people were excited about the prospect of having a towing museum, but there were also skeptics – Where would it be? How much would it cost? And so on.

It’s a good thing those who believed in the dream were like Ray Kinsella — if you build it, they will come. It wasn’t always easy, but today the towing industry and the public can enjoy a beautiful museum.

I have to chuckle when people are surprised to find out there really is a towing museum. They are further amazed when I explain that it’s an international museum, which includes a Hall of Fame and the Wall of the Fallen Memorial.

I encourage you to attend the 2021 Tennessee Tow Show and all the activities of Museum Weekend, which includes the International Towing Hall of Fame induction. I promise, you will not be disappointed.

Then, you can tell people about how the dream of a towing museum was made a reality.