The Kiwanis Club of LaGrange held their 18th Annual Pancake Breakfast on Saturday at the First Baptist Church on the Square. Approximately 1,500 individuals took advantage of the early morning fundraiser that is used to support the club’s many community programs.
The event started at 7 a.m. and ran until 11:30 a.m., at 8 a.m. the tables were already full, as pancakes, by the dozens, were being flipped on two large, rotating, circular griddles. The smells of hot coffee and sausage met the guests as they made their way to get their breakfast from the cafeteria-style food line.
“Some of us have been here since 5:45 this morning,” said Ethyl Ault, a Kiwanis member and breakfast volunteer. “We are going to be busy all day and will not probably get out of here until after one this afternoon.”
Back by the two circular griddles, Kiwanis members were busy trying to keep up with the demand for the event’s featured item. Marc Acree and Jack Tate worked the first of the two griddles, while Wanda Stribling and Steve Cavender worked on the other. The team members alternated pouring the batter, flipping the cakes and scooping them into serving pans with the skill of seasoned chefs.
The LaGrange Kiwanis Club sponsors two high school Key Clubs, one at Callaway and one at Troup. Students from both schools were at the breakfast volunteering their time for the event. Students from the Callaway Key Club were working on the food line to help serve guests while members of the Troup Key Club were helping out in the table areas.
Jeff Boyington, Hunter Blocher and Josh Berry, all juniors at Troup High School, were out on the main floor helping to keep the tables cleaned and attending to the needs of the guests.As the three of them moved around the room, wiping tables and speaking to the different community members.
“This is something to do out of school, to keep you out of trouble and around good people,” Blocher said.
“You are helping people, not just sitting around at home, but doing something worthwhile,” Berry said.
Josh Sells and his family were part of the early morning crowd who was enjoying the hot pancakes.
“This is the first year that we are coming to this event, it is really nice,” Sells said. Gesturing towards his two young sons who were busy with their meals, he said, “You can see we all are enjoying this.”
Kiwanis President Joyce Ellis-Johnson and Secretary Libby Willingham were stationed at the door where individuals first entered. As they collected the people’s breakfast tickets they also gave them a warm greeting and thanked them for supporting the club’s annual event.
“We really appreciate the response of the community. This is a huge assistance with the scholarship and the other programs that we run for the children in our community,” Ellis-Johnson said. “Today, we will be serving breakfast to approximately 1,500 community members. Each year this event seems to get bigger and bigger.”
Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time. The LaGrange Kiwanis Club meets every Thursday at noon at the Highland Country Club. Further information concerning the LaGrange Kiwanis Club may be obtained by contacting Joyce Ellis-Johnson at 706-882-1411 or at www.lagrangekiwanis.com.
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