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 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.
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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] |
