Ohio rental operator is winner of ARA promotion

When ARA asked event rental operators to submit their favorite past or present holiday event rental setup as part of the Holiday Giveaway it offered in December on the ARA Event Rental Facebook page, John Fleeger Jr., president, Home City Tent & Awning Co., Springfield, Ohio, knew exactly what photo he would submit.

“I submitted one from 2019 of an event called Holiday in the City. It was Springfield’s downtown holiday celebration that included vendors, live entertainment, lighting of the big Christmas tree, the arrival of Santa and a fireworks display at the end. It seemed like a fun thing to do as the photos from this event are some of my favorites. We have been involved in this event since it started almost 19 years ago,” Fleeger says.

For the 2019 event, Fleeger put up a variety of tents — everything from a 30-ft.-by-40-ft. frame tent that served as a hospitality area to a 20-ft.-by-60-ft. frame tent that was used for Christmas vendors. “We had tents scattered throughout the downtown area,” he says.

After he submitted the photo, he didn’t think much about it until he was notified that he had been chosen the winner.

“I received a $50 Amazon gift card, which I put toward a snowblower. I also received a swag bag of ARA goodies. All the ARA items were packed in an ARA backpack — everything from an ARA travel mug to a laptop bag and gloves to a really cool ARA golf shirt. It was really nice. You like to think that things you have done are worthy in the eyes of your peers, so being recognized in this way was cool. It’s always nice to get a little something you are not expecting,” he says.

Because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions this past year, the Springfield Chamber of Commerce had to eliminate all live events for this past year’s Christmas celebration. Instead of the usual Holiday in the City, the chamber turned it into a big lighting event.

“They called it a Winter Wonderland of Lights. I shot the video promoting the event and even played Santa Claus, something I do during the holidays,” Fleeger says. Click here to view the video that includes Fleeger.

Fleeger admits this past year has been rough because of all the event cancellations that took place due to the pandemic. “I am just hoping that everything comes together later this year and we can do things like this Holiday in the City event again,” he says.