By Katie Northcott, News Director
At a meeting of the Tullahoma Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BOMA) on Monday, April 13, Interim City Administrator Jeff Damron said that 31 stock and superstock participants and four superkids racers had signed up for the soapbox derby.
At the BOMA meeting on January 12, three citizens made public comments asking the BOMA to add an item to approve funding for the derby to the meeting agenda. The derby was pulled from this year’s budget after the 2025 event was canceled due to lack of participation. At the same meeting, the BOMA voted to cover the labor costs of the event on the condition that a minimum of 30 participants signed up.
At the January meeting, Tullahoma Parks and Recreation Director J. P. Kraft told BOMA that the derby usually incurred about $18,000 of labor costs and $5,000 of equipment costs. Those representing the derby at the meeting said that participants could fundraise the equipment cost if BOMA could cover labor costs.
At the April meeting, Damron said the group hosting the derby had raised $15,000 in local sponsorships and donations. Damron thanked Tullahoma Utilities Authority, who has committed to an annual donation of $5,000. He also thanked Golden Trust, Joe Denby, Prescott Bottling, and Lynchburg Hardware.
“We have several racers that are outside of Tullahoma,” Damron said. “That’s a real good example of community sponsorship supporting youth activities.”
Find reporting on the January meeting here.
