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CASSOPOLIS — Saturday morning, Cass County Tractor Pullers member Tom Florea stood under a bright, sunny sky. While he said he is always a fan of nice weather, he was especially thankful for clear skies that day as it meant more people turned out to raise funds for a Cass County charity organization.

The Cass County Tractor Pullers hosted a tractor ride around Diamond Lake and a cookout in Cassopolis to raise funds for Cass County Cancer Service.

In total, Florea said his group raised nearly $15,000 to support Cass County Cancer Service, a volunteer-run organization that provides support for those undergoing cancer treatment. That support comes in many forms, from helping patients pay for gas to get them to and from treatments to rides to doctor’s appointments and more. Each patient helped by Cass County Cancer Service receives $600 a year for three years.

“Everyone knows someone that has cancer,” Florea said. “It really hits you in the heart, and you want to help in any way that you can.”

The tractor ride around Diamond Lake Saturday was the Cass County Tractor Pullers’ second annual event to support Cass County Cancer Service. Last year, the Cass County Tractor Pullers raised $6,500 for Cass County Cancer Service. Florea said he was excited to have more than doubled that donation this year. He added that he was happy to see a strong turnout at the event, with participants coming from as far as Sturgis to take part in the ride.

“This is great. We’ve worked hard for this,” he said. “It was fantastic that we raised $6,500 last year, but to see this many people show up and the generosity of everyone today is just fantastic.”

Maxine Ownby, president of Cass County Cancer Service, said she was grateful for the donation of time, effort and funds from the Cass County Cancer Service.

“This is exciting,” Ownby said. “We need it.”

Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Ownby said Cass County Cancer Service has had to cancel many of the events it typically hosts to raise funds for its mission. Because of this, Ownby said the Cass County Tractor Pullers event came at the right time to help Cass County cancer patients.

“This is great for the people of Cass County,” she said. “It’s wonderful to see so many people here. I can’t believe how many people showed up to support this. It’s a great day.”