Craig Cushing, of Skydive Pennsylvania in Grove City, descends onto a target of paper plates from 4,000 feet during a fundraiser for St. Clare Parish in Butler on Sunday. Cushing has completed more than 13,500 jumps. Harold Aughton/Special to the Eagle.

OAKLAND TWP — The annual fundraising picnic for the St. Clare Parish of Butler held on Sunday, Aug. 17, was capped off with a major spectacle — a skydiving display into the field behind St. Wendelin’s Church.

The skydive, organized by Skydive Pennsylvania, was part of a cash raffle, one of several held during Sunday’s fundraiser picnic. For the raffle, the parish sold numbered plates for $5 each throughout the day. In the late afternoon, organizers laid the numbered plates evenly in the grass field behind the church. The plates were laid down with sand to prevent them from blowing away on the windy day.

Upon landing, each skydiver picked up the plate closest to them. The person with the number of the plate picked up by the first jumper to land won $250, while the holder of the plate picked up the second jumper won $500.

Brenda Callihan, Dalton Covert, Isabella Manchaster and Kammren Covert set up a paper plate target for skydivers Ron Sarazen and Craig Cushing during a fundraiser for St. Clare Parish in Butler on Sunday. The plate Sarazen landed on earned its holder $250, while the plate Cushing hit awarded $500. Harold Aughton/Special to the Eagle

The pair of skydivers — Ron Sarazen and Craig Cushing — have a combined 53 years of experience in the sport, with over 17,000 jumps to their credit. On Sunday, they jumped from a Cessna C206 plane which took off from Zelienople Airport in Beaver County, and circled the landing zone three times before the two jumped.

Cushing’s wife, Amanda, said both skydivers — and skydivers in general — are trained to land in a relatively small area from thousands of feet, even on windy days.

“They are going to be looking at the wind speed and direction so that they know exactly where to get out of the airplane,” Amanda said. “They are professional jumpers and they can land in a very small area. It’s kind of like driving a semitruck at 80 mph down the interstate. It takes a lot of skill to drive something that big and that fast.”

Ron Sarazen, of Skydive Pennsylvania in Grove City, slides into a field of paper plates during St. Clare Parish’s fundraiser Sunday in Butler. The winning plate, marked with a name on the back, earned its holder $250. Harold Aughton/Special to the Eagle

“I’m not going to say I’ve never missed,” said Craig, who has made roughly 13,500 jumps in 35 years. “I’m not happy when I miss, so I try to make it a point of not missing.”

While this is the first time St. Clare Parish’s annual fundraising picnic has featured such a raffle, this is nothing new for Skydive Pennsylvania.

“We have a lot of events where we put these plates out in the landing area,” Amanda said. “We’ve done this at St. Simon and Jude (in Pittsburgh). We’ve done this up in Spartansburg. We’ve done the Erie Sports Complex. (Craig has) jumped in as the Incredible Hulk and Santa and the Easter Bunny. There have been skydives into Lake Latonka.”

Gunner Kelly, 8, of Butler, and his friend, Wyatt Prejsnar, 9, of Butler, watch for the airplane carrying skydivers Ron Sarazen and Craig Cushing on Sunday during a fundraiser for St. Clare Parish in Butler. Harold Aughton/Special to the Eagle

The lucky winners of the raffle were Joe Bly, who won $250, and Thomas Lydon, who won $500.

Sue Fraley, a member of the St. Clare’s Parish staff who was also once a skydiver, said the parish is the real winner.

“I don’t know how many numbers we sold, but it all benefits St. Clare Parish,” Fraley said.

Craig Cushing, left, and Ron Sarazen, of Skydive Pennsylvania in Grove City. Cushing has completed more than 13,500 jumps, while Sarazen has logged over 3,600. Harold Aughton/Special to the Eagle