There are moments in my day job that still give me the same feeling I used to get before a game.

Walking into a boardroom to present to senior executives is one of them.

There’s preparation. A little adrenaline. You know the people across the table are going to ask hard questions, and you have a limited amount of time to make your case. As a former athlete, I’ve realized that it scratches an itch I probably never completely lost.

But what I’ve enjoyed most is learning how executives think. The higher you go, the conversation becomes less about simply presenting the information and more about framing what actually matters. What’s the problem? Why should we care? What’s the risk? What are our options? And what decision needs to be made?

The facts matter. But so does the story you build around them.

I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately as it relates to Toledo Money.

Northwest Ohio has plenty of facts worth talking about: investment, development, companies growing, projects taking shape and people betting on this region. But if we want people outside Toledo to pay attention, simply reporting those facts isn’t enough.

We have to frame the story.

We have to connect the individual wins into a broader narrative about where Northwest Ohio is heading, and make that story compelling enough that an executive, investor, entrepreneur or former Toledoan sitting hundreds of miles away understands why this region deserves another look.

Because whether you’re sitting in a boardroom or telling the story of a city, the principle is pretty similar:

Know your audience. Understand what matters to them. And give them a reason to care.

Now, let’s talk about what happened this week.

This week’s Toledo Money shoutout goes to Dan Nester, owner of Polaris Logistics Group.

Dan has been generous in making key connections for Toledo Money and recently spent some time teaching us about the logistics brokerage business; an industry built around getting the right product to the right place at the right time, even when things inevitably don’t go according to plan.

Thanks to Dan for the education, the introductions and, most importantly, for being another example of the kind of business leadership we want to highlight across Northwest Ohio.

Owens Corning | $OC ( ▼ 0.76% )

Dana Incorporated | $DAN ( ▲ 0.07% )

The Andersons | $ANDE ( ▲ 1.17% )

Owens Illinois | $OI ( ▼ 0.73% )

Welltower Inc. | $WELL ( ▲ 0.46% )

Marathon Petroleum Corporation | $MPC ( ▼ 0.27% )

First Solar | $FSLR ( ▲ 0.84% )

For one weekend each summer, Toledo becomes the center of the Jeep universe. The numbers coming out of Toledo Jeep Fest 2026 show just how far that universe has expanded.

This year's event attracted more than 100,000 attendees, generating an estimated $8.47 million in economic impact for the Toledo region.

But according to Event Director Whitney Rofkar, the most important part of that number is not simply how much was spent, it is where the money came from.

"It brings dollars into the economy from OUT of the market. We aren't just circulating the same dollars."

Jeep Fest brings visitors into the region who spend money at hotels, restaurants, parking garages, retail shops and local attractions. Rofkar says the event creates a significant impact for hotels throughout the area while also filling restaurants and supporting businesses across downtown during the weekend.

"They really do travel across the country. People from 49 different states came," Rofkar said.

Perhaps the most remarkable part of Jeep Fest is how much it has grown over the past decade. Rofkar has been involved since the beginning and says she is especially proud of what the event has become.

"When we started this ten years ago, it was a half day event," she said.

Today, Jeep Fest has grown into one of Northwest Ohio's largest annual events, attracting visitors from across the United States and around the world while generating millions of dollars for the local economy. Growth of that magnitude does not happen by accident and especially not in NW Ohio.

Each year, organizers intentionally add new experiences to keep the event fresh for returning visitors.

Yoga. Strongman competitions. Patriotic flyovers. Kids activities. Live entertainment. Obstacle courses. Block parties. Every addition is designed to create a weekend that appeals to more than just Jeep owners.

"There is much more happening than people see at the surface level," Rofkar said. "We want it to be for everybody, anywhere."

The goal is simple: give people more reasons to visit Toledo. Give them more reasons to stay longer. And give them a reason to come back the following year.

This year's Jeep Fest welcomed visitors from 49 states and nine countries, including Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Spain, Japan, Brazil and Australia. The furthest traveler made the journey from South Korea, traveling approximately 13,300 miles round trip.

Grand Marshal Brad Kowitz drove 2,274 miles from the San Diego area in his Jeep Recon 1 to participate in this year's festivities.

45 of Ohio's 88 counties were represented, further demonstrating the event's reach across the state. For Toledo, that reach goes directly into economic activity. Every visitor from California, Texas, Florida or South Korea represents new dollars entering the local economy rather than money simply changing hands within the region.

Toledo Jeep Fest was founded by Pete Gerken, a retired Jeep employee and Lucas County Commissioner, Bruce Baumhower, who recently retired after leading UAW Local 12 for three decades, and Jerry Huber, who served as Jeep Plant Manager for more than a decade.

Together with Rofkar, the leadership team has focused on creating a free event that celebrates Jeep, the people who build them and Toledo's manufacturing heritage. That connection to the city's workforce remains at the heart of the festival.

Jeep was born in Toledo, and generations of local families have helped build the brand. Jeep Fest has become a celebration of that history while introducing thousands of first time visitors to the city each year.

The scale of this year's event speaks for itself.

The parade itself continued its upward trend, growing from roughly 1,400 Jeeps in 2025 to more than 1,500 this year.

Glass City Crawlers once again had the largest club participation with 101 Jeeps.

Even among all those statistics, there was still room for one memorable personal moment. One couple got engaged during Jeep Fest weekend.

On the surface, Jeep Fest looks like a parade surrounded by Jeeps. Spend a few minutes talking with the organizers and you quickly realize they are building something much bigger.

Every event is carefully planned to attract a broader audience. Some visitors come for the parade. Others come for the concerts, the family activities, the fitness events or simply to experience the atmosphere.

That approach has helped transform Jeep Fest into a destination event that continues to grow every year. Rofkar believes the success of Jeep Fest offers lessons for other communities as well.

"We feel we can help lay a roadmap for more events to have success."

After ten years of steady growth, the numbers speak for themselves.

Jeep Fest has become one of Northwest Ohio's premier annual events. It generates millions of dollars for local businesses, attracts visitors from across the globe and showcases Toledo's manufacturing heritage to an audience that continues to grow each year. For Toledo, that may be the biggest accomplishment of all.

There are few things Michigan and Ohio enjoy more than reminding each other why the other state is inferior. Usually, that argument involves a football field.

Lately, though, Michigan has a considerably more important Ohio problem: business.

The Mackinac Center for Public Policy recently published a piece with a headline that probably brought a smile to more than a few Buckeyes: “Ohio is eating our lunch.”

Behind the rivalry is a legitimate economic story. In June, unemployment stood at 3.6% in Ohio compared with 5.0% in Michigan. Ohio has also held an advantage in per-capita personal income over Michigan, on average, since 2007; a significant reversal from the industrial heyday when Michigan held the advantage.

And Michigan isn't the only one noticing.

CNBC recently named Ohio the No. 1 state in America for business, the first time Ohio has earned the top spot in the ranking's 20-year history. The climb itself is remarkable. Ohio ranked No. 34 in 2010, moved to No. 5 last year and now sits at No. 1.

Particularly interesting for Northwest Ohio is why the state scored so well.

Ohio ranked No. 1 nationally for infrastructure and No. 1 for cost of doing business. Those advantages are closely connected to the state's industrial history. The highways, railroads, utilities, manufacturing sites and logistics networks built over generations never disappeared when the Rust Belt fell out of favor. Today, as companies rethink supply chains, expand domestic manufacturing and search for affordable places to deploy capital, some of those old industrial bones are starting to look pretty valuable again.

That brings the conversation home.

If infrastructure, affordability, access and an established industrial ecosystem are becoming increasingly important to businesses, Toledo has an unusually strong hand to play.

Northwest Ohio generated $3.3Bn in capital investment and nearly 4,900 new jobs in 2025. Meta is building an $800M data center in Wood County. First Quality Tissue has committed significant capital to its Northwest Ohio operations. Stellantis recently announced another $400M investment in Toledo. First Solar continues to make this region a centerpiece of its American manufacturing strategy.

Individually, those are economic-development announcements. Collectively, they begin to tell a much bigger story.

There is real capital moving into Northwest Ohio.

And there is a reason for it.

Toledo sits at the intersection of I-75 and the Ohio Turnpike, roughly an hour from Detroit and within easy reach of Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus and Indianapolis. Rail lines crisscross the region, the Port of Toledo provides access to the Great Lakes and Detroit Metropolitan Airport puts a major international airport within driving distance.

Ohio estimates that more than 143 million Americans live within a day's drive of the state. Toledo sits almost perfectly positioned within that network.

Then there is the other side of the equation: cost.

This might be one of Toledo's most underappreciated advantages. Businesses can access much of the infrastructure and geography of significantly larger markets without carrying the same cost structure. Employees can still find housing at prices that would be difficult to imagine in many of America's fastest-growing metros.

Affordability alone doesn't create prosperity. But combine affordability with infrastructure, access to customers, available industrial land, an experienced workforce and billions of dollars of incoming investment, and the equation becomes considerably more interesting.

It creates optionality.

A manufacturer can expand here without coastal real-estate costs. An entrepreneur can build with a lower burn rate. A logistics company can reach an enormous portion of the American population. And a family can earn a good living without housing consuming an increasingly unreasonable share of the paycheck.

For years, places like Toledo watched businesses and people migrate toward faster-growing markets in the South and West. We shouldn't pretend that trend has suddenly reversed. Population growth remains one of Ohio's—and Toledo's—most important challenges. Talent attraction, education, housing and quality of place will ultimately determine whether today's investment becomes tomorrow's sustained prosperity.

But something has clearly changed.

The conversation surrounding Ohio is no longer simply about recovering from its industrial past. Increasingly, it's about whether the same infrastructure, geography and manufacturing expertise that built the state the first time can become a competitive advantage for what comes next.

And Toledo may be one of the clearest examples of that opportunity.

We don't need to become Columbus, Nashville or Austin. Toledo's investment thesis is different. We have the infrastructure of an industrial economy, proximity to major population centers, a deep manufacturing and logistics ecosystem and a cost of living that still allows businesses and families room to breathe.

Now we also have something that's much harder to manufacture:

momentum.

The No. 1 CNBC ranking doesn't guarantee anything. Neither does a few billion dollars of announced investment. Momentum can disappear quickly if a region becomes complacent.

But the ingredients are increasingly difficult to ignore.

Ohio is being recognized nationally as the best state in America for business. Companies are deploying serious capital across Northwest Ohio. Toledo remains affordable, connected and geographically positioned in the middle of one of the largest concentrations of consumers and industry in North America.

The opportunity now is to turn those advantages into sustained growth—and make sure people outside Northwest Ohio understand what's happening here.

Because perhaps the most important part of the Mackinac Center's article isn't that Michigan believes Ohio is eating its lunch.

It's that people outside Ohio are beginning to notice what is happening here.

And for Toledo, that may be the opportunity we've been waiting for.

Here are a few headlines we are snacking on

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