GREENVILLE – Winners of the 2024 Darke County Veterans Services gun raffle were drawn, with two winning tickets purchased at Gathering at Garst and one at the Great Darke County Fair.
“I want to thank everyone who purchased raffle tickets and supported the raffle,” said Darke County Veterans Services Director/CVSO Tom Pitman. “A special thanks to Greenville American Legion Post 140 for sponsoring this raffle every year for the Washington, D.C. trip. We appreciate the community support from all the organizations, businesses, and individuals who help us raise the money to take Veterans to Washington, D.C.”
Gary Ehlinger, a Vietnam Navy Veteran from New Carlisle, Ohio, won the SW1911 45-caliber Smith & Wesson Handgun with a ticket he purchased at Gathering at Garst. Arcanum’s Peyton Goin won the Mossberg 12 Gauge Shotgun, and Akron’s Randall Cunningham won the AR-15 Rifle.
“I purchased the ticket at the Gathering of Garst,” said Ehlinger. “I haven’t won a raffle ever, and I figured as it was a veterans raffle. I thought I would chip in and help out the cause.”
Ehlinger served in the US Navy from 1968-1971, including 13 months off the coast of Vietnam.
Cunningham, a Hobart Welding School student from the Akron, Canton area, purchased his ticket while visiting the Great Darke County Fair.
“I went to the Darke County Fair and saw the veterans raffle,” Cunningham noted. “I come from a family of Veterans, so I bought a few tickets, and it worked out well for me.”
Goin purchased his winning ticket at Gathering at Garst and stated, “I got lucky.”
The DCVS staff includes Thomas Pitman, Director/CVSO, Veterans Service Officer; Var D. Gehron, Veterans Service Officer; Krisann Franck, Financial Assistance Specialist; Cindy Bruner, Administrative Assistant; and Jack Preston, Transportation Coordinator.
Darke County Veterans Services Commissioners: Jennifer Anthony, Gaylen Blosser, James Kammer, Chris Rehmert, and Scott Riffle.
Greenville American Legion Post 140 sponsors the annual gun raffle in support of Darke County Veterans Services.
.
