09/04/2026
Next weekend Sept 13th, Jeff is part of our committee and maintains the track for the pull.
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Forty years ago, a group of dedicated community members came together with a simple idea: use the power of a tractor pull to help people in need. They believed that when one family carries a heavy burden, an entire community can help shoulder the load.
This year, that tradition comes full circle.
One of the sons of the original founders now finds himself on the receiving end of the kindness his family helped create.
The 2026 New Vienna Tractor Pulling Association proudly names
The Jeff and Melissa Willenborg Family as our 2026 recipients.
Jeff and Melissa Willenborg live just outside of Dyersville with their three children: Morgan (16), Madilyn (14), and Jayden (11). Jeff owns and operates Willenborg Tree Removal, and Melissa is a special education paraprofessional at Dyersville Elementary School.
In April 2025, Melissa was diagnosed with Stage I Invasive Ductal Carcinoma breast cancer following a routine mammogram. Her treatment included a double mastectomy, four rounds of TC chemotherapy, and reconstruction surgery at Hall Perrine Cancer Center. She will remain on hormone therapy for the next five years to help prevent the cancer from returning. During her recovery, she developed a serious infection that required another surgery before she could continue treatment.
While Melissa was undergoing chemotherapy, Jeff noticed a growing lump on his scalp. After CT and MRI scans, doctors confirmed his meningioma brain tumor had returned after 13 years.
Just four weeks after Melissa's final chemotherapy treatment, Jeff underwent brain surgery in November 2025.
During surgery, doctors discovered a second tumor. What followed was months of complications, including a failed skin graft, multiple infections, removal of his skull plate, five weeks of IV antibiotics through a PICC line, and a total of five brain surgeries before his skull could be reconstructed. Throughout this time, Jeff was unable to work.
Only two weeks after Melissa's reconstruction surgery in 2026, Jeff discovered another lump. An MRI confirmed yet another brain tumor. On June 8, 2026, he underwent his sixth brain surgery to remove it.
Jeff is now preparing for 28 radiation treatments beginning August 3, requiring daily trips to the University of Iowa for five and a half weeks. His treatments are expected to finish just days before this year's tractor pull, and he will remain unable to work throughout radiation and recovery.
Their children watched both parents face surgeries, treatments, lengthy recoveries, and countless hospital stays with incredible courage and unwavering strength.
Together, the Willenborg family has faced breast cancer, six brain surgeries, infections, chemotherapy, radiation, months of hospitalization, and a significant loss of income, but they have never lost sight of what matters most—their family.
For forty years, the New Vienna Tractor Pull has reminded us that horsepower may move a sled...
but compassion moves a community.
This benefit has helped families during life's hardest moments. This year, it's our turn to support one of the families whose roots helped build this tradition.
Now, we’re pulling for our own.
