By DELANIA TRIGG, Register Staff Writer
March 14, 2008 03:54 pm
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A local community club organization was of two minds recently when it comes to helping worthy causes in the county.
The Callisburg Community Center decided to divide funds it raises at its annual Sausage and Pancake Supper Saturday night between two groups the organization says it believes in — the city’s volunteer fire department and the Cooke County Fair Association.
The pancake and sausage supper is set for 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday at the Callisburg High School Cafeteria.
Donating to the volunteer fire department has long been a tradition with the community club, but this year the organization decided to give a part of its proceeds from the event to help the county build another fair ground facility.
“A new facility will benefit many people in the Cooke County area,” said Elizabeth Mendenhall of the Callisburg Community Club.
The fair grounds and new building will be a venue not only for events such as the county youth fair. It will also attract visitors who come for other events.
She said the fundraiser is an all-you-can-eat affair in which everyone associated with the club gets involved.
“Everyone has a job to do,” Mendenhall said.
Volunteer firefighters are also expected to be on hand to help with tasks such as cleaning up afterwards.
The community club is raffling away a $300 Tom Thumb gift certificate.
Tickets for the supper are $5 for adults and $2 for children ages three to 11, she said.
Raffle tickets are $1 each or six for $5.
Organizers plan to offer a country store “full of goodies” — baked goods and some handmade items.
Kenlyn Lawrence, a community club member and wife of volunteer fire fighter Don Lawrence, said her husband cooks the pancakes using Krusteaz — a multi-purpose baking mix for his pancakes.
The mix is so popular as an ingredient for fund raisers such as pancake suppers, Lawrence said the company refunds part of the purchase price for its mix when it is used to raise money for a non-profit.
Lawrence said the club recognized the needs of the two organizations when it made the decision to fund both this year.
Fair Association chairman, Don Hunter, said the group appreciates all community efforts such as the pancake and sausage supper.
The organization had hoped to build a facility that is better than the Cooke County youth barn which was destroyed by a violent thunderstorm in April 2005, he said.
The association is still considering how best to proceed, but progress on the project is slow right now, he admitted.
In the meantime, the association is going ahead with fund raising plans.
“We’ve been applying for grants and planning a fall fundraiser possibly in conjunction with Depot Day,” he said.
The Callisburg volunteer fire department could also use some additional funds.
“Lately, with all the recent fires, they have had to use a lot of their funds for operating costs...Fund raisers help with truck maintenance, gasoline and insurance,” Lawrence said.
But when a large number of fires strike in a short time, financing a volunteer fire department becomes even more of a challenge.
The organization also plans to eventually build a new volunteer fire department building, she said.
Mendenhall said the pancake and sausage dinner usually serves between 200 and 250 people and features sausage, pancakes with syrup, coffee, tea and fruit juice “for the kids.”
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