Company Wrench hosted its annual Operator for a Day event on July 23 at the Fairfield County Fairgrounds in Lancaster, Ohio. The event gives community members the opportunity to operate heavy equipment with supervision from full-time operators.

Throughout the day, beaming children rushed to the registration tent with their parents and listened intently to volunteers providing safety instructions. Sitting proudly at the helm of these impressive machines, children were able to test their operating skills by performing a variety of tasks within the confines of a controlled arena.

Volunteers for the event included employees from Company Wrench, Taylor Rental and Ricketts Excavating, as well as members of the Berne Union High School band. Volunteers were tasked with ensuring a safe and fun day for guests.

More than 400 guests took advantage of the unique opportunity to learn about the different functions and features of heavy equipment — directly from the operator's point of view. The equipment included Gehl track loaders, Kobelco mini excavators, Manitou man lifts and Komatsu bulldozers provided by Company Wrench, Taylor Rental and Ricketts Excavating.

"The Operator for a Day event is special every year for both the community and Company Wrench," President of Company Wrench Cam Gabbard said. "We always enjoy the opportunity to work with our community and show them what it's like to operate heavy equipment. The kids' excitement every year about operating heavy equipment makes organizing this event worth it."

For more information, visit http://operatorforaday.org/ or https://www.companywrench.com/.