It’s the largest single event at the Lake of the Ozarks, but the casual observer couldn’t be blamed for wondering what all the fuss is about. Boats drive, one at a time, along a one-mile stretch of the Lake, while tens of thousands of people watch. So what?
Some people and businesses clearly benefit: waterfront establishments are hopping all weekend; many retailers around the Lake see a spike as more than a hundred thousand people come for the festivities.
Spectators line the racecourse for all sorts of reasons: tradition, curiosity, revelry, or perhaps even to see a go-fast boat actually go fast! Some come to cheer on their friends, while others enjoy the chance to make new ones.
But every event is rooted in a place. I mean an actual, geographical location. And the best events are those that honor their place and the people that live in it.
Those who live at the Lake of the Ozarks year-round know it’s a special place: we see the Lake in all its moods, through autumn’s quiet, steady decline into the impassable dead of winter when neighbors greet one another across frozen coves. We see the first hints of spring: those early, soggy days when the Lake swells with rains and dogwoods drop their stained petals onto still waters. We know the people too—the retiree enjoying their Lake house, the vacationer seeking a weekend away, a family making a home in a beautiful place, and even those who have opted for the simple life, off the countless county roads that wind away from the water. We see those people: they are part of this place too.
The Shootout honors this place. Ultimately, the race rises above itself: and that quality is what makes a good event great. It connects with people… people who otherwise would never have cared about—in this case—the differences between a catamaran and a v-hull.
Because not everyone who lives at the Lake has a boat.
Some don’t even have a home. But this year, a portion of Shootout funds will go to Habitat for Humanity.
Others have a home that will, in the coming year, be threatened by fire. In 2015, the Shootout donated $57,278 to local fire districts.
Some, down on their luck, don’t have enough to eat. Last year, the Shootout donated $6,486 to Share the Harvest Food Pantry and also gave to the Ivy Bend Food Pantry.
And for those in the community suffering from the scourge of domestic abuse, the Shootout has made numerous donations to Kids Harbor and Citizens Against Domestic Violence.
The list goes on: $27,911 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation in 2015, and $5,000 to the local VFW. Money has been raised for the Lake of the Ozarks Watershed Alliance, the local chapter of Missouri Master Naturalists…
These are organizations that actually provide real help to real people; most of them focus exclusively on the needs of the Lake-area community.
The Shootout provides a framework for helping fund these charities. Each nonprofit, foundation, and fire district receives money proportionate to the amount of volunteer hours worked by members of the community on behalf of that organization.
The race forges a connection with its place and its people by meeting real needs.
That’s not to mention the economic impact. Waterfront establishments, restaurants and grocery stores feel it the most, sure. But a rising tide lifts all ships. The injection of revenue near the end of the vacation season adds resilience to a local economy that, in many ways, still depends on those fleeting weeks between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
The event is growing, and in all the right ways.
Pardon the pun, but it’s true: the benefits of the Shootout ripple throughout the Lake of the Ozarks. And we’re all better for it.
-Nathan Bechtold
Editor, LakeExpo.com and Lake of the Ozarks Official Shootout Guide
