DECATUR - A national car show, a Homeward Bound fund-raiser and a dog agility trial are planned to hit Progress City USA next year.

Cindy Laegeler, CEO of Progress City, revealed the events at the Community Leaders Breakfast on Thursday. Talks also are under way with two companies interested in holding equipment training sessions on the site near Richland Community College.

The car show will run July 14 to 16 and will feature activities and a big concert, though Laegeler couldn't reveal which act was being considered.

"We will have a big name out there," she said.

The Homeward Bound event, called "Woofstock," is being billed as a celebration of "pets, love and rock 'n' roll." It will be held in May, as will the dog agility event.

Boat shows, more concerts, flea markets and craft shows are other ideas being considered for the permanent site, built this year to host the Farm Progress Show. A Christmas lights display on the grounds, contributed by community groups, may add glitter to the area during the holiday season in 2006, Laegeler said.

There is also some consideration being given to building a structure that would offer event attendees indoor space to rent as well, she said.

She finished by opening her door to suggestions.

"I'm a staff of one, so I need your help," she told the audience, asking them to contact her with ideas. Her office is in the college.

Building up Progress City was a feat in itself, said Matt Jungmann, national shows manager for Farm Progress Companies. Jungmann also spoke at the breakfast.

"I've never seen a community get behind an effort and everybody get on the same page and work for a common goal like we saw in Decatur this last year," he said. "There are very few communities, if any, that could have put that together and built that facility, and it speaks to the mindset of the community."

Decatur will host the Farm Progress Show at least nine more times at the site, but its inaugural year was a huge success, Jungmann said.

"It was by far the best national (farm) show of the year. All the rest of the national shows were significantly down in attendance."

But if the audience took the words of the breakfast's last speaker to heart, all the compliments about the community shouldn't be taken as a green light for complacency.

The speaker, Tom Whittaker, is a motivational speaker who reached the top of Mount Everest after the amputation of his right foot. His steadfast determination inspired other disabled people to climb part way up the mountain, and demonstrated to even more individuals the power of pushing beyond what is believed to be possible.

For many community leaders, winning the Farm Progress Show and building a site to accommodate it was a peak achievement. After the program, Greg Florian, Richland's vice president of finance and administration, referred to Progress City as a "symbol of success" for the community - like the flag that is driven into the top of a mountain.

According to Whittaker, however, what happened in the past doesn't matter as much as how a community continues to improve itself in the future.

"I don't give a darn about self-esteem," he said. "I don't care about your history, about what's come before. I want to help you see the vision of the future - with you in it."

Communities can create a road map of sorts by envisioning success then determining what needs to happen to reach that big goal, he said.

Lisa Gillen, community relations associate for St. Mary's Hospital, said the breakfast was one of the more inspirational that she has attended. She liked the way Whittaker's message worked on a personal and community level.

"In suggesting we really examine our lives and our values, Tom Whittaker challenged us to define just who we are and what purpose we fulfill in our own personal lives and in our community," she said. She and about 30 others were inspired enough to buy a copy of Whittaker's book, "Higher Purpose" on the way out of the Holiday Inn Select Hotel and Conference Center.

Another book taker was Kenneth D. Frye, public affairs director for WAND-TV (Channel 17, Decatur). A "wannabe climber" himself, Frye said the speech motivated the audience to overcome the lingering negative image in the community - Decatur's own mountainous goal.

Amy Hoak can be reached at ahoak@herald-review.com or 421-7972.