Meat raffle to benefit young ag entrepreneurs, honor Wayne Wackerlin

A meat raffle in Ottawa on Saturday, Nov. 17, not only will help young people aspiring to a career in agriculture, it also will celebrate the life of Wayne Wackerlin, whose untimely passing at age 25 happened one year ago.

On the afternoon of Oct. 31, 2017, Wackerlin, of rural Ottawa, fell to his death from the grain elevator he managed near Newark.

“Nobody really knows how he fell,” said his mother, Beth Wackerlin.

“He was seen falling in midair,” she said, pausing with a catch in her voice. "He died instantly.”

Those in the world of the well-known Marquette High School graduate were stunned.

“Wayne was so charismatic,” said his sister, Carolann Wackerlin. “He definitely could find himself in the spotlight. But he didn’t want things to be about him. He didn’t want attention on him.”

“He definitely was a people person — no enemies,” Beth said. “He had a saying — ‘work hard, but play harder.’ "

“He lived that way, but he always was in church Sunday morning in the balcony — that was his thing — and he would drag his buddies with him,” Carolann said.

“So definitely he was a young man of faith, and he wasn’t afraid to let people know that,” Beth said.

Wayne’s visitation overwhelmed the Gladfelter Funeral Home in Ottawa with an estimated 1,100 mourners, Beth said. After the funeral Mass at St. Columba Church, 260 people attended the dinner that followed, she said.

In place of flowers, mourners were asked to donate to the Wayne Wackerlin Memorial Fund. The fund’s purpose would be to offer financial help to young people seeking to get established in an agricultural business.

After the initial goal of $3,000 was surpassed, the fund committee decided it could be increased by buying meat to be raffled along with other traditional raffles and a 50/50 cash raffle.

The goal now is to hold the meat raffle each fall and raise enough to award $5,000 the following spring.

The money will not be given as scholarships, but as grants, emphasized Beth, one of the fund’s directors.

“School was not really Wayne’s thing,” Beth said. “Although he did go to Joliet Junior College to get his associate degree in agribusiness.

“He loved farming,” she said. “He baled hay and straw, working with his dad for years.

“But he also had a liking for entrepreneurship. Besides his full-time job he had side businesses. He plowed snow in the winter and was a partner in a wood-cutting business. His goal was to buy land for his own farm some day. So the memorial fund really is to offer grants to young people who are starting businesses. You could call them grants for young entrepreneurs.”

The possibilities are open.

“Maybe it’s a 10-year-old boy who wants to start a lawn business,” Beth said. “Or maybe it’s a young farmer who needs help paying his seed bill. It could be a female who wants to open up a horse ranch and she needs a little start-up money.”

“I guess you could say it’s about young people with a dream and helping them get off the ground,” Beth said. “It’s also to celebrate Wayne’s life. I think in his short time here he touched a lot of people. It’s not how long you’ve lived, but what you’ve done with the life you’ve been given.”

Details

The Wayne Wackerlin Memorial Fund Meat Raffle will be Saturday, Nov. 17, at the Ottawa Knights of Columbus hall, 401 W. Main St. Doors open at noon. Admission is free, but a suggested $10 donation includes an entry for a $250 cash door prize.

The raffle is set to start at 1 p.m. Tickets start at $1 each. A variety of meat will be raffled, including prime rib, steaks, bacon and turkeys. Other items also will be raffled.

Gift baskets and sponsorships are being sought by the event’s organizers.

For details, call Beth Wackerlin at 815-501-6067.