Pink Pedal Tractor goes to a very special Christmas Angel

 

[December 21, 2022] 

Gabriel Bailey turned three today (December 21,2022) but received an early birthday gift this year when his parents brought him to Central Illinois Ag in Atlanta and Gabriel learned that the little pink pedal tractor sitting at the base of the Christmas tree belonged to him.

Gabriel received the tractor thanks to his mom who bought a raffle ticket, the Friends and Family Relay Team that sold the ticket, Darin Schempp of Atlanta who put the custom pink paint job on the tractor, and Central Illinois Ag that donated the tractor for a raffle to benefit the American Cancer Society.

On Monday morning Gabriel along with his mom Sarah Bailey and dad B. Omar Hester drove to Atlanta from Peoria to collect the surprise gift. Sarah Bailey purchased the winning raffle ticket during the weekend of the Balloons Over 66 event in Lincoln. She was attending the flea market and vendor sale at the Oasis and saw Karen Hargis selling tickets for raffle items to benefit the American Cancer Society. She said this week that she knew right away she wanted to support the fundraiser, and when she saw the tractor she knew that was the right choice. She said that her son Gabriel loves tractors, and he loves pink, so it all came together for her.

The drawing for the tractor took place at CIA on Monday December 12th. Abby Coers with CIA was called on to draw the ticket while fellow CIA Parts Manager Matt Voelker and Karen Hargis with the Friends and Family Relay Team witnessed the impartial drawing. When Sarah’s name was drawn, Hargis called her immediately to let her know.

In visiting with Sarah that day, the group learned about Gabriel’s love of pink and tractors and how he would be turning three on the 21st. Sarah said that the tractor would actually be a birthday present for her “Christmas Angel.” An idea hatched in the heads of the callers and Sarah was asked not to tell Gabriel about the prize until he was inside the dealership on Monday the 19th. Sarah was as excited about the idea as the others were and agreed to keep it a secret.

On Monday when the family arrived, it was obvious that Gabriel had a love for farm equipment, as he was pointing out the large tractors outside in the lot and talking about all of them as they entered the showroom.

When he was greeted by several strange adults who knew his name and were trying to urge him to go to the Christmas tree it became a little overwhelming for the little guy, but soon he began to catch on that he had been brought to this place for a special reason.

Like any good farmer, though, he had to take a tour around the showroom and consider all his options before deciding he would take the tractor.

Next he spent quite a bit of time inspecting it from front to back and top to bottom. Kind of a tiny tot version of kicking the tires if you will.

Finally, he began to warm up to the little pink tractor and began pushing it around the showroom.  After some careful coaxing from Abby Coers, he took a seat and tested the feel of the pedals.

Gabriel’s fun was interrupted briefly while a group photo was taken that included Darin and Cindy Schempp, Voelker, Gabriel and his parents, Karen Hargis, and Abby Coers.

Sarah and B. Omar were told about the pink tractor and introduced to the Schempp’s. They were told how this has become an annual tradition that started a few years ago with a tractor donated by the late Ken Harnacke of New Holland. When Harnacke passed away, Matt Voelker of CIA had an immediate interest in keeping the pink tractor raffle going and donated the next tractor and the next.

Sarah said that when she saw the raffle table at the Oasis, she knew she had to support the ACS. She said that her sister Katherine Bailey is a Nurse Navigator for Cancer survivors. She said her sister has really helped raise her own awareness of the devastation of cancer and anything she could do to help meant a great deal to Sarah on a personal level. She said winning the drawing was just icing on the cake for her and of course, her young son.

Soon after this, Gabriel announced to his parents “I want to take my tractor home.” Gabriel mastered the pedals pretty quickly, but the steering wheel was still a bit of a challenge as the family left the building.

Mom helped with the navigation until they got outside onto the concrete parking lot.

Then they let Gabriel go on his own, and he took a quick circle around the lot before heading to the family car and the pickup truck owned by family friend Richard Casad. The family car was too small to hold the tractor, so Richard would be taking the tractor home for them.

Some may recognize Sarah Bailey as being from Lincoln. She said that she grew up in Lincoln, the daughter of Rebecca Bailey and the late Glenn Bailey. She moved to Peoria for work but visits back home on a regular basis.

A little history of the toy tractor raffle

The first pedal tractor raffled off for the American Cancer Society was donated by the late Ken Harnacke, Harnacke Building in New Holland. Ken donated the tractor in honor of his wife Carla who is a breast cancer survivor.

Karen Hargis commented on the chain of events that led to CIA taking over the annual toy tractor donation. “This began when Kenny Harnacke gave our team the first tractor for raffle. He said if I sold enough tickets to pay for the amount he had put into buying it he would do it again the next year. Not only did he purchase the tractor he helped set us up at antique tractor shows where we could sell tickets. Thus began our partnership with Kenney and the pedal tractor raffles.

“After Kenney's sudden passing, Matt, the parts manager at Central Illinois Ag stepped up and wanted to do something more for the American Cancer Society in Logan County.

“Matt's mother had battled breast cancer, so his focus began as a tribute and catalyst for others to join in the fight against the disease. Three years later, CIA is still trying to find ways to promote and raise funds to fight cancer.

“The first year they donated a pink pedal tractor, last year was a pink battery-operated tractor and this year was a special custom painted pink tractor.”

The Atlanta National Bank also took hold of this fundraiser and worked hard to promote the raffle among their customers. Hargis said both businesses have done an outstanding job of selling and promoting breast cancer awareness. This year was a tough year for Logan County with inflation being what it is. Hargis did not expect a large number of participants this year and was happily surprised with the raffle brought in $520 for the American Cancer Society.
 

That money is collected by the Friends and Family Relay Team and forwarded directly to the American Cancer Society with not costs charged against the proceeds.

A closing message from the Friends and Family Relay Team

“It has been another great year for the local relay team, and we thank all of those who helped support the American Cancer Society through our fundraising efforts. Once again this year, the Friends and Family Relay Team has been recognized by the American Cancer Society as the top fundraising team in the state. As we said last year, we say again this year, the team may have received the award, but it belongs to the wonderful, kind, loving, generous people of Logan County. Without you, all our work would amount to nothing, and we thank you and honor you for the efforts you made to fight cancer in our community. God Bless you all.”

[Nila Smith]