Image Of The Week: Your Friendly Neighborhood Fountain

Captured by contributing photographer Jeff Helmkamp during last Saturday’s Performance Boat Center Fall Fun Run on the Lake of the Ozarks, a photo of a colorful—and not-so-strangely familiar—Fountain Powerboats 42 Poker Run Run Edition sportboat caught our eyes. The 42-footer powered by 1,250-hp engines from Teague Custom Marine in Valencia, Calif., belongs to Roger and Nancy Neighbors, who live just outside Kansas City and own a second home at the Central Missouri waterway.

The owners of this wild 42-Fountain sportboat, Roger and Nancy Neighbors never miss an opportunity to help their friends at speedonthewater.com. Photo by Jeff Helmkamp copyright Helmkamp Photos.

Readers who enjoy our annual Lake of the Ozarks Shootout coverage can thank the Neighbors for putting a roof over our heads, snacks and cold beverages in the fridge and more every year for the event. We got to know them through marine industry giant Bob Teague, the founder of the business that bears his name and the subject of the final episode of this year’s Speed On The Water “In The Lead” video series.

But their lovely waterfront Porto Cima home has become more than our “Midwest office” during the Shootout. Thanks to the Neighbors and their endless hospitality, it has become not just an oasis from the mayhem inherent during Shootout week—because fun as it can be we are there to work—but a home away from home.

We even have our own rooms.

Helmkamp shot the boat as it passed under the Lake of the Ozarks Community Toll Bridge, then hopped a ride with the Neighbors for the rest of the day. Then he kept right on shooting from water level for the rest of the day.

“They dropped off their Nor-Tech off at Performance Boat Center on Friday for service before taking it back to Kansas for the winter,” Helmkamp said. “They decided to do the run in the Fountain and now it’s at Performance Boat Center for service before they also take it to home.

“Both of them kept talking about how good a time they had on Saturday,” he added.

As we’ve learned during the years, we can always count on the Neighbors.

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