Pink Pedal Tractor Drawing – Part Two
Mary Johnson claims her prize at Central Illinois Ag

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[December 15, 2023] 

On Monday, December 11th, Karen Castelein, Chassidy White and Nila Smith with the Friends and Family Relay for Life team and Lincoln Daily News visited Central Illinois Ag in Atlanta where the drawing was held for this year’s pink pedal tractor.

The pink pedal tractor is donated by CIA at the urging of Matt Voelker. This year the tractor was donated as a standard red, vintage McCormick (International harvester) tractor. It was handed over to Darin Schempp of Atlanta who has extensive experience in autobody paint. Darin blended his own colors and worked to achieve the shade he wanted to use this year, then painted the entire tractor pink. New this year, he added the script “Relay for Life” on the side of the engine hood of the tractor.

The Relay for Life team began selling tickets earlier this year with boxes placed at Central Illinois Ag, Atlanta National Bank, and Lincoln Daily News. Tickets were also sold at the Lincoln Speedway, at Third Friday Downtown Lincoln, and other community events.

This year, the tractor raised more than $500 for the American Cancer Society.

When the drawing was held on Monday, Voelker did the honor of pulling the ticket out of the box, and handed it over to Smith, who read it aloud for a video documentation of the winner.

SEE VIDEO FROM MONDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2023

The winner was announced as Mary Johnson of Atlanta. After the camera was turned off, Voelker laughed and said he was just sure that Mary Johnson was Darin Schempp’s mother-in-law.

Castelein called Johnson, and sure enough, she is Cindy Schempp’s mother. At the time of the call, Mary was busy with Christmas baking, but said she was very excited to have won the tractor and told Castelein “this is just the lift I needed today!” Johnson said she could be available Wednesday morning to collect her prize at Central Illinois Ag.

Voelker then called Schempp and told him the prize would be given to the winner on Wednesday. He told Schempp that before he came to CIA, he would need to make a stop and pick up the winner. Schempp got quite a chuckle out of hearing that it was Johnson who had won the tractor.

Wednesday morning, Darin and Cindy Schempp and Mary Johnson were met at CIA by Castelein, White, and Voelker.

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Visiting with Johnson, Castelein learned that she has 13 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren, the oldest of which is only six and the youngest little more than an infant. The tractor will not be given to any one child, but rather Johnson plans to keep it at her house for everyone to enjoy when they come for visits.

Castelein then asked who was going to be the first person to ride the tractor. “I thought she would try to choose one of the 13 great grand kids, so it was quite a surprise when she responded ‘ME!’,” said Castelein. “Then she got on the tractor and away she went!”

SEE THE VIDEO OF MARY JOHNSON AND HER NEW TOY TRACTOR – PART ONE

Everyone enjoyed watching Johnson pedal the tractor through the lobby at the dealership.

“When we opened the door and she headed out to the parking lot, I thought maybe she was going to go load it up and take it home right then,” said White.

SEE THE VIDEO OF MARY JOHNSON AND HER NEW TOY TRACTOR – PART TWO

But she did eventually come back inside after a nice ride. She told Castelein that in her home, she has a long basement. She plans to rearrange some things in the basement to make a long runway down the center for the “tractor path” for the kids to enjoy.

For the past several years, Central Illinois Ag has donated the pedal tractor to the Relay for Life team. The pedal tractor tradition began with the late Ken Harnacke in New Holland, who donated the first two in honor of his wife who is a breast cancer survivor. When Ken passed away, Matt Voelker, whose mother was a cancer warrior, took up the tradition, with the full support of his employer Central Illinois Ag.

The Friends and Family Relay for Life team is appreciative of the donation each year, those who help to rase money by selling tickets, and of course, those who purchase the tickets. One hundred percent of the ticket sales will be forwarded to the American Cancer Society for use in cancer research, awareness and education, and warrior support and services.

And, in case you missed out this year, Voelker said Monday that he is ready to starting thinking about what he will bring to the mix next year. So, keep an eye on Lincoln Daily News for announcements in early to mid-summer 2024.

[Nila Smith]

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