Dan and Ray Rendering Thanks in Racine, new people taking over

Dan and Ray Rendering Thanks in Racine under new management

Now in its 16th year, hundreds of volunteers are back to serve the Racine community at an event formerly called Dan and Ray’s Rendering Thanks.

RACINE, Wis. - Now in its 16th year, hundreds of volunteers are back to serve the Racine community at an event formerly known as Dan and Ray Rendering Thanks.

But starting next year, the Thanksgiving event will be under new leadership.

Despite the change, organizers say the mission remains the same.

New name, same mission

What we know:

"You could just see the happiness, the thankfulness," said co-founder Dan Johnson.

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For Dan, it’s yet another year of service on Thanksgiving.

"It's all about doing good, treating people with respect," he added.

In 2009, Dan and his partner Ray Stibeck created Dan and Ray Rendering Thanks.

It's a volunteer event serving free meals to the community, something Dan says he believed would only last one year.

"In 15 Thanksgivings, we've fed over 45,000 people. It's become a tradition in Racine," he said.

This year (2025), the event is named Thanksgiving Racine, and Dan says he’s ready to retire and pass the tradition to someone else.

"I've been working with her my whole life, so she taught me everything, so we do everything the exact same way," said Faizah Ynocencio, Co-owner of Hickory Hall.

Faizah Ynocencio and Kandi Lemmonn are a mother-daughter duo who Johnson is now passing the torch to.

They own a catering business called "Catering by Danny at Hickory Hills" and have volunteered on Thanksgiving for more than a decade.

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"It's wonderful how the community actually gets together, they work together, put smiles on everybody's faces."

Organizers say roughly 300 volunteers showed up to serve this Thanksgiving, preparing enough meals for nearly 4,000 people.

Johnson says the big numbers only create momentum heading into next year.

"Rich people next to poor people, young people next to old people. Everybody treating everybody well. How could you stop?"