The Green County Fall Nationals marked its 20th anniversary Saturday with organizers saying the event has returned nearly $800,000 to Green County and surrounding communities since it began. The annual one-day event started as a gathering with no long-term plans, organizer Heidi Krumenauer said. After the first event generated money beyond its costs, organizers decided to direct the proceeds back into the community. This year, the event’s anniversary donations included $15,000 to the Green County Sheriff’s Office for a Safe Haven Baby Box. The box will provide a secure, anonymous option for a parent to surrender an infant under Wisconsin’s Safe Haven law. Sheriff Cody Knabel said the department began pursuing the project after responding to the death of an infant in a homicide case about five and a half years ago. The sheriff’s office worked with Safe Haven Baby Boxes, an Indiana-based organization, to develop a local installation. The box is intended to give parents in crisis a safe way to relinquish a newborn while allowing the child to receive immediate care, Knabel said. Organizers said the installation could also serve families from neighboring counties, where similar boxes are uncommon. The Fall Nationals also contributed toward a second K-9 for the sheriff’s office. The dog is expected to join the department in the coming weeks and will support work that can include locating missing children and endangered people, tracking suspects and detecting drugs. Knabel said the department’s canine program has a broad public-safety role and that community support makes the expansion possible. More than 175 sponsors backed this year’s Fall Nationals. Krumenauer said some attendees purchased tickets primarily to support the event’s charitable work, reflecting the connection organizers have built with residents over two decades. The latest donations bring the event’s reported community giving to nearly $800,000, linking a local celebration with ongoing investments in public safety and family support services.