ANSONIA – The Barga Family did not let COVID-19 dash their plans for the 2020 Ohio State Summer Shootout Truck and Tractor Pull used to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).
“We have a lot of friends that are pullers,” said Darrick Barga, pull promoter/treasurer. “Everything is getting cancelled, everybody wants pullers. Friends of ours, we are missing out and we want to put on an event for people that want to come out.”
The Ohio State Benefit Pull, LLC drew pullers from surrounding states including Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky, with three pullers coming from New York. Classes included Super Stock Tractors, Light-Limited Pro Stock Tractors, Super Modified 2WD Trucks and Modifieds.
“It is going to be even bigger than I thought because a lot of pullers are coming further away than we expected,” Barga said. “We first expected 50 vehicles here, now we have 70.”
The 14th Ohio State Summer Shootout to benefit JDRF was in jeopardy with Mercer County cancelling the show scheduled for Fort Recovery due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
The Barga Family immediately went into action working with the Darke County Health Department to put a safe plan into place to hold the event at the Darke County Steam Threshers location at the corner of US Rout 127 and Reed Road, returning to the Ansonia location where the event was first held.
“We put our first event on here 14 years ago,” Barga noted. “Then we’ve move around a little bit. We’ve grown so we have kind of outgrew this area here at the Darke County Steam Threshers grounds which is very nice laid out.”
Barga was very pleased and quick to complement and thank the Darke County Health District for working with the organizers of the event as many JDRF fund raising events have been cancelled for the year.
“We worked with the Darke County Health District,” said Barga. “They have been great to work with. They have allowed common sense recommendations, common sense ideas and enforcing them. It’s nothing extreme, its common sense stuff.”
“Thanks to Dr. Holman and his administration,” Barga continued. “We had open communication and just very positive about; here is what you have to do to have your event and you have to put the action into a plan. I did that and they said just a couple more things here and if you can do that we are good to go, so just a little extra work, nothing extreme and here we are tonight.”
The Barga family has a long history of diabetes and uses the Ohio State Summer Shootout to promote and raise funds to help find a cure for JDRF.
“Our family steps up – we do this for Diabetes,” Barga stated. “We have five family members that are diabetic. My parents have five grandchildren that are diabetic, there are three in one family.”
“Everyone is growing up. One just got married last weekend. They are living a normal life as possible and it’s all because of the research they do and just developing new tools and different things, monitoring, education.
“We donate to JDRF and Dayton Diabetes Association. Dayton Diabetes gives free education and free testing to those that are financially unable, or insurance is not that cooperative. There are organizations out there that can help especially like Dayton Diabetes. It’s smaller and you see results of the money you donate to them.”
“We appreciate all the donations,” Barga said. “We have a benefit raffle with all that money going to the JDRF and Dayton Diabetes.”
JDRF as it is know, is not limited to juvenile diabetes, “Type 1 they have seen it in 20-30 year olds so it isn’t just JDRF,” Barga noted.
“Two weeks ago we started advertising for this event – two weeks ago and here we are,” said Barga. “The weather is perfect, it’s warm and it’s dry so we are good to go.”
“We have great sponsors again at the Ohio State Summer Shootout presented by Beck’s Hybrids,” concluded Barga. “Beck’s is our title sponsor and we have many more that make the show a success.”
2020 sponsors: Beck’s Hybrids, Channel Seeds, A1 Ag Services LLC, Ansonia Lumber, Cooper Farms, Cox Insurance, C & C Ag Carriers, Daily Advocate, Edwin Nickol, Eldora Speedway, Elite Ag Consulting LLC, Fort Recovery Insurance, Greenville National Bank, Lyme Farms, Midwest Rebuilds Inc., Mote Farm Service, North Star Hardware, North Star Plumbing & Heating, Otte Ag LLC, Pohl Transportation, Premier Crop Insurance, Precision Partners, Rowland Truck & Equipment, Spencer Landscaping, SRS Engine Parts and Wayne Oil.
