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This past weekend in Tunica, Mississippi during the Southern Nationals the 2018 St. Judes Raffle Tractor, a Farmall M was given away to a lucky winner. Carl Buckner of Fair Grove, Missouri had his winning ticket drawn out of over $90,000 dollars worth of tickets purchased since Gordyville last January. Carl as some of you know is the "guru" of Missouri pulling and a huge supporter of pulling in general.
All told, with the raffle tickets, the auction items, general donations, and proceeds from the Southern Nationals promoting group The Mean Green Pulling Team, over $116,000 was raised for St. Judes Childrens Research Hospital. On behalf of Jeff Gravert, Pete Petznick, and myself, I want to thank each and every one of you who participated in some way shape or form, it is an honor to be a part of this continuing project. Just as we stepped up the game for 2018, 2019 is going to be bigger, way bigger. For 2019, we have two tractors, with a twist in the action. Since it worked so well in 2018, another M has been acquired, this time one even more impressive than the 2018 version. Puller Robert Niethammer of Saline, Michigan has graciously donated his national championship winning M for the 2019 campaign. A 500-plus inch Gary Baker 5-main, billet crank M engine propels this tractor and does it very, very well. But wait, there's more. At this writing an Unstyled John Deere G is in the assembly process too. Built in the shop of champion puller Jim Matzenbacher, it too has a billet crank, with a 6.5 x 10 bore and stroke (thats 664ci for those of you scoring at home). Like the M, nothing is being spared in this build with a host of the best in the 2-cylinder business involved offering time, talent, and materials. So the challenge is laid out for you RED and GREEN fans....who is going to donate the most to St. Jude to have the opportunity to ride away on this tractor?? Red fans, we've seen you donate over $90k to win a Farmall, are you ready to do it again, and more??? Green fans, some of you sat on your hands (and wallets) in the past 4 raffle tractors, now's your time to get in the game...are you gonna let the Red fans outdo you??? Now that I hope I have sufficiently riled some of you up, here's the deal: Sometime before January 1st there will be a new LIVE link to purchase tickets online or print out a ticket order form. The plan is to have one or both of the tractors on display and in action at several events, including display at Gordyville and in action at the Half Century of Progress Show in August. The goal for 2019? $225,000.00 from both tractors. Prove us wrong and do more than that--after all it goes to support the efforts of St. Judes Childrens Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Thanks for reading, more to come. Bryan Lively - 
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