Annual C/COBCTC D.A.D.’s Day Clay Shoot raises about $2,000

Around 40 individuals attended the Fifth Annual Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council Dollars Against Diabetes (D.A.D.’s) Clay Shoot, and raised nearly $2,000 for diabetes research. 

The winning team from the event came from IBEW Local 683.

“I thank all the elected officials, candidates and union members who continue to make this a great event every year for a great cause,” said Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council Secretary-Treasurer Dorsey Hager. “We’re helping to raise money to fight a horrible disease.”

Traditionally held in the summer, last year’s D.A.D.’s Day Clay Shoot was pushed back to September due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, similar concerns led to the shoot taking place on Oct. 2, and Hager noted the cooler conditions enhanced the event. 

“The fall weather proved to be pleasant and a nice alternative to the typically hot summer gatherings,” Hager said. “It gets better and better every year.” 

Future clay shoots will likely take place in the fall, he added. 

Organized by what is now the North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU), D.A.D.’s Day raises money for the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI) located in Florida at the University of Miami. Since 1988, the C/COBCTC has raised more than $126,000 for D.A.D.’s.  

The DRI hopes to one day find a cure for diabetes, which is when the body cannot produce insulin or cannot produce enough insulin to turn glucose into energy. The disease is the leading cause of blindness, kidney failure, amputations, heart failure and stroke in Americans.

One of the largest and most comprehensive research centers dedicated to curing diabetes, the DRI leads the world in cure-focused diabetes research. It is currently aggressively working to develop a biological cure by restoring natural insulin production and normalizing blood sugar levels without imposing other risks.

Roughly 23.1 million Americans have been diagnosed with diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) National Diabetes Statistics Report for 2017. Around 30.3 million people, or 9.4 percent of the U.S. population, have diabetes, including 7.2 million Americans who have the disease, but have not yet been diagnosed.