SALEM, Ohio — Sometimes the best ideas form in the most unexpected of places. This was the case for the Carroll County Agricultural Society’s annual Pulling For A Cause tractor pull fundraiser.
Born from a conversation between friends in a parking lot, the fundraiser kicked off in 2019 with the goal of raising money for the Akron Children’s Hospital. Since then, the society has raised over half a million dollars for the hospital, according to Taylor Cooper, corporate gift officer at Akron Children’s.
This year, the event will take place on June 6 at the Carroll County Fairgrounds, 160 Kensington Road NE, Carrollton, Ohio.
“There’s so much that our patients and families need, and when we don’t have the extra community funds, Pulling For A Cause helps rally the community together for a bigger cause outside of themselves,” Cooper said.
How it started
One day in 2019, Maryann and her husband Bud Smith, who own S&S Equipment, pulled into the parking lot of the Dollar General at the same time as their good friend, an experienced tractor puller.
Tired of traveling so far to participate in tractor pulls, the three of them and other future members of the Pulling For A Cause committee started talking about hosting a local tractor pull, but one that “People can relate to,” Maryann Smith said.
That’s how they came up with the idea to fundraise for Akron Children’s Hospital.
“Everybody can relate to that hospital in some way or another. Whether I’ve used it or you or family or a good friend has used that facility,” said Smith, owner of Golden Acres, a business that specializes in breeding and raising Golden Retrievers.
“Whenever (we) mention Akron Children’s Hospital (when getting donations for this), the stories that you hear from different people, some are heart-wrenching. They kind of hit you right where it hurts.”
The impact
The first Pulling For A Cause tractor pull, held in 2019, raised over $33,000 for the hospital. The 2020 pull was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Carroll County Agricultural Society would continue this tradition in 2021, bringing in more than $69,000 that year.
Last year, the society raised a record amount of over $94,000. “Every year, it just keeps growing and growing,” Smith said.
The money supports the Akron Children’s Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, known as the NICU, and the Adult and Pediatric Burn Institute.
“The money that they donate helps so much because it usually goes to the greatest need within the department,” said Cooper.
One year, the committee members were given a tour of the NICU and burn unit to see the impact of the fundraiser for themselves.
While touring the burn unit, the group was told by staff that the bathing stations for burn victims were stationary and in need of upgrades, Smith said.
“They were trying to get baths that were portable, so if somebody comes in and gets burnt really bad and they can’t get them down to that unit, they can at least take that bathing session station up to that room where they’re at and attend to them,” she said.
“It’s stuff like that that they tell you that’s amazing, where this money is going to help out those units that help people and families.”
The 2026 Pulling For A Cause
This year, the Carroll County Agricultural Society hopes to raise even more money than in 2025: “We hope to blow that out of the water this year, too,” Smith said.
The 2026 Pulling For A Cause event will take place on June 6, with doors opening at 3 p.m. and tractor pulls starting at 6 p.m., featuring several different classes.
During intermission, a live auction of donated items will take place, with funds from the auction also supporting Akron Children’s Hospital.
This year’s auction items include a Craftsman toolbox, donated by Carrollton Ace Hardware; tools, donated by O’Reilly Auto Parts and AutoZone; a porch swing, from Tractor Supply; a pedal tractor, from Bud’s Farm Toys; a fire pit ring, from Erb’s Stove Center; an octagon Hollywood picnic table, donated by Scenic Hills Furniture and a six-by-eight shed, from County Side Equipment Sales.
For the toolbox and tools, four sets of keys will be auctioned off, and the person whose key opens the box will get the prize, Smith said.
The AirBear Helicopter will land at the event again this year, weather permitting. The aircraft is Akron Children’s Hospital’s emergency helicopter. Attendees will get to look inside it and ask questions.
The event will feature Pulling For A Cause merchandise on sale, designed by Tinlin’s Print on Things, including hats, shirts, koozies and frisbees.
A variety of food will also be for sale, from Gary’s Hot Rod Barbecue, Candlelight Concessions, Boone Creek Woodfired Pizza, Miller’s Pretzels, Kirk’s Kitchen, Lumpy Sunshine Concessions and more.
The cost is $5 to enter, paid at the gate. Children under 5 are free. Smith and Cooper encourage everyone to come out for a fun time that supports a good cause.
“The Pulling For A Cause committee works so hard for this community fundraiser every year. To see how hard people work to give back to the community is really inspiring, and I don’t know who wouldn’t want to be a part of that,” Cooper said.
For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100076794543227.
(Liz Partsch can be reached at epartsch@farmanddairy.com or 330-337-3419.)
