“We have something special here in Gray Eagle, I don’t know what it is,” said Al Wunder, founder of the Gray Eagle Lawn Tractor Race held last Saturday.

Residents in the Woods of Gray Eagle hosted the event which kicked off with a lawn tractor race around a 1/4 mile track; starting and ending in front of the Wunder home identified by a 50′ inflatable Crown Royal bottle. A silent auction hosted in a neighboring garage, live band, and dunk tank rounded out the family activities.

“We have a neighbor that was diagnosed with cancer last year so we wanted to do something to show our support,” said Joel Trusty, a Gray Eagle resident and winner of the third annual event. “Everyone has been affected one way or another by cancer so this is for all of us, too.”

Trusty dedicated his win to his mother, a 15-year leukemia survivor, by allowing attending neighbors to sign the silver spray-painted mower that won the race.

“The lawnmower race is really a lark,” added Trusty. “It’s just the event that brings us all together.”

“Last year we were rained out and still raised $8,000 for the Jimmy V Foundation,” said Marcelle Bell, one of 15 organizing volunteers recruited this year by Wunder. Unofficially, organizers report just over $13,000 was raised this year.

“The organization is half the fun,” said John Manning, another volunteer that hosted the start line outside of his driveway. “I solicited a lot of silent auction items from my co-workers at Thomson RCA. It’s amazing how much people want to give when there is a good cause.”

Residents were selling grey t-shirts with the phrase “My Neighborhood is Better than Your Neighborhood” on the back. After talking with several attendees, that sentiment seems to resonate.

“There is something special going on in this corner of Gray Eagle, I don’t know what it is,” added Manning. “We’ve got a special mix of people back here and these types of things just seem to come together out of vapor.”

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