After announcing Noah Palmer as our “Top Fan” contest winner last month, his local paper got wind of it and ran a story about Noah’s passion for Ventrac.

After stumbling upon Ventrac on YouTube, and becoming totally hooked, Noah took his new found love for Ventrac and combined it with his favorite pastime, ROBLOX (an online building game), and created his own virtual world of “Ventrac”.  His ROBLOX creations were so impressive that it caught our eye and Noah won our “Top Fan” contest!

Below is the article that was printed in Noah’s local paper a couple weeks ago.

Download PDF of Article Here

Sixth grade Woodlands Intermediate student, Noah Palmer, was named VENTRAC by Venture Products Inc. “Top Fan” last month. VENTRAC is a world·wide distributor ‘ of all-wheel drive compact tractors with a wide range of different attachments. Noah’s adventure began one day when he was surfing the web and stumbled upon something that unveiled a hidden passion and launched into a new form of creativity. After watching hours of “You Tube” videos about VENTRAC tractors, the twelve year old felt he had the product line figured out and was ready to virtually reproduce it. Noah decided to combine VENTRAC tractors with one of his other favorite past times, ROBLOX (an online building game), and recreated a virtual VENTRAC world.

Noah's creative ROBLOX world of Ventrac

Noah’s creativity and attention to detail caught the interest of the VENTRAC team in Orrville, Ohio. They invited him down for a tour of the VENTRAC plant to see firsthand how the tractors were made. Amazed by the size of the VENTRAC facility, Noah and his parents, Don and Amy Palmer, spent the day at Plant 2 in Orrville. “It was humongous and very clean,” recalls Noah.

Noah Palmer learns more about Ventrac tractors while sitting on one at our manufacturing plant.

“It was very clear who the number one winner was due to the effort.  He (Noah) recreated our facility in a game,” explained Denver Steiner, Graphic Designer & Web Developer of VENTRAC by Venture Products Inc. “I receive an email from Noah from time to time with different ideas, it is great to see a young person with such creativity.”

To Noah, these are not just ordinary tractors; they are pieces of equipment with a purpose.  When asked why not another brand of equipment,  Noah replied, “the others can’t do the same stuff a VENTRAC can do.”  Noah’s hope is to own a VENTRAC one day. “It is a four season tractor, I will mow in the summer, pick up leaves in the fall, plow in the winter and maybe split wood in the spring,” he emphatically explains. Currently, Noah is a co-owner of a lawn care business with an internet friend out of Wisconsin. Together they own and manage “A + Lawn Care.”  Noah runs the Huron branch and his friend runs the Wisconsin branch.

For Noah, being the “VENTRAC Top Fan” has been an awesome experience and he looks forward to the day he owns his own VENTRAC, but for now he is just a grateful student who lives through the virtual world and appreciates the support of his parents, Miss Bollinger, Mrs. Lamb and his new found friends at VENTRAC.

Article was reposted with permission.
View Noah’s Winning top Fan entry: http://ventrac.com/topfan/noah_palmer

An additional entry has caught my attention, as he appears to be our oldest entry to date. (Although, old is not the term he chooses to embrace.) Charles “Chick” Bittner is an amazing 96 years of age and he uses his Ventrac weekly, if not daily. Chick displays a “young at heart” attitude and gets tons of enjoyment from his Ventrac.  Charles “Chick” Bittner, along with his long-time friend, Scott Shookman recently visited the Ventrac manufacturing plant where, as Scott says, “Charles couldn’t sleep last night from 3 am on as he was that excited to finally meet Ryan and tour the plant from engineering to final assembly.”

The video below follows Quinten, our youngest fan,  during a typical day in his life and how he LOVES Ventrac, or “Entrac” as Quinten says!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRbD6ec1wK8

Here is Chick’s amazing story:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oy_JmzzMbZM

If you own a Ventrac and you think you are a bigger fan of Ventrac than Quinten or Chick, post your own video response here for your chance to win a model Ventrac like Quin’s.   Or go to  http://my.ventrac.com/submit.php and fill out the Top Fan Story Submission.  Entries must be received by 4/30/2012. See more competition details at: http://ventrac.com/topfan.

Entries are starting to come in, so don’t miss your chance to win this!

[Show as slideshow]

Vincent Giumenti started VG Lawn Service three years ago at the age of seven.  Vincent is now 10 years old and has turned his passion for mowing lawns into a business he loves.  Although Vincent’s father acts as an on-sight supervisor, Vincent takes care of all the physical aspects of mowing, cleanup and care of the lawns he is contracted to maintain.   Vincent’s father said Vincent was attracted to mowers at the very young age of two.  Vincent would sit on the front steps and watch as his father mowed the lawn.   After his father was done,  his chance came to push the mower back and forth on the sidewalk, which was shut-off, of course.  When Vincent grew older, his father’s gently used White mower helped start the business.

Over the years, Vincent made several upgrades to his lawn mowing equipment and would like to add snow removal services to his business.  The first time Vincent saw a Ventrac, he knew that he wanted one… he was hooked.  Vincent dreams of having a Ventrac…or two…. in his future business plans.    Even at 10 years old, his eye for quality and appreciation for equipment is striking.    He displays a remarkable knowledge of how Ventrac tractors operate.  Vincent even has memorized the model numbers for all the Ventrac attachments!

Before his visit to tour the Ventrac factory, Vincent said, “Last night I could barely get any sleep, because I wanted to come here so bad.”    It was a pleasure to meet Vincent and his parents and we were happy to show them how Ventrac tractors are manufactured.

Watch our interview with this young business owner and be inspired by his story and dreams.

Keep up the great work Vincent!   You will go far!

Slope Mowing with Ventrac - Jack Wiley explains why Ventrac all wheel drive compact articulating tractors excel on slopes. Wiley explains why Ventrac is safer and causes less turf damage on slopes than other tractors. This clip also explains safety requirements for slope operation. Wiley is a retired engineer and currently resides in Moline, IL where he manages his property with slopes up to 28 degrees.

 More Than a Mower - Jack Wiley describes how he uses his Ventrac for much more than mowing steep grades. Wiley owns over 35 attachments that he uses with his Ventrac. “It is a hobby,” Wiley says. “It’s a passion. I’m a tractor guy.” Wiley is a retired engineer and currently resides in Moline, IL where he manages his property and helps out his neighbors, church, and a nearby wetland preserve.

To see these and more recent Ventrac video releases, visit the Ventrac Compact Tractors YouTube Channel or click on the links above.