Millersburg Lions Club chicken dinner fundraiser Sept. 12
The Millersburg Lions Club food booth was absent from this year's fair due to COVID-19 issues. The loss of revenue from four canceled fundraisers has made it necessary to create new fundraisers. One will be the upcoming chicken barbecue dinner in Millersburg on Saturday, Sept. 12.
Every year the members of the Millersburg Lions Club have touched the lives of countless people, providing glasses and other sight-related articles, hearing aids and helping the community in many other ways.
However, as COVID-19 continued to close down society and shut down functions and activities throughout the county from spring into summer, the Lions Club saw its usual fundraising options disappear.
Gone was their chicken dinner fundraiser at the Holmes County Antique Festival. It was the same for their huge fundraiser at their food booth at the Holmes County Fair. The group’s annual rose sale and pancake breakfast also were casualties.
“It has put a burden on us, but this is a unique year, and it isn’t anyone’s fault other than the virus,” said Lions member Butch Wright, the club’s longest serving member with 57 years of Lions Club experience under his belt. “We lost all of our money-making projects, so we started keeping our eyes open for other fundraising opportunities.”
Wright said they estimate the club didn’t receive between $15,000 and $17,000 from the four events being canceled, money that is usually put to great use in the county.
One new opportunity will be coming their way on Saturday, Sept. 12 when the Lions will host a chicken barbecue dinner in the Millersburg town parking lot between the Holmes County Chamber of Commerce and Wayne Savings, just north of the main intersection. The event will begin at 11 a.m. and will go until the 400 chicken dinners are sold out.
The dinner will feature a quarter chicken, apple sauce, baked beans and a drink. Plus, there will be a 50/50 raffle, and all of this is available without patrons ever leaving their vehicles.
“It’s going to be set up where people can just drive through and pick up their orders,” President Dale Obringer said. “We wanted to make it as safe and easy as possible for people.”
No tickets are required. Patrons can simply pull into the parking lot and make a donation. While there is a suggested donation of $10, people are encouraged to donate what they can, as well as buy tickets for the 50/50 if able.
“We have had some good years prior to this that have allowed us to continue to thrive, and financially, we are OK right now, but we are feeling the pinch,” member Bob Porter said.
Not only do the Lions provide glasses, hearing aids and other necessities for people, they also put up the American flags and Christmas lights and decorations in downtown Millersburg. The group also sponsors area sports teams and school functions and events.
Much of the loss of income came from the absence of the fair food booth. According to Obringer, the Lions took a vote on whether to pursue the food booth at this year’s pared-down fair but eventually voted against it for two main reasons.
“We didn’t want to take on the risk of the elderly members who usually volunteer to serve in the booth, and we also knew foot traffic would be light at this year’s fair, and we felt that we didn’t want to take away patrons from the food booth vendors who rely on this income as individuals,” Obringer said. “We felt it was best to let those families who might be struggling share the fair profits this year.”
While the club continues to go by Millersburg Lions Club, it is actually a club that serves all of Holmes County since the Berlin Lions disbanded a couple years ago. When that happened, the Berlin Lions donated their barbecue pit to the Millersburg Lions, setting the stage for the club to invest more heavily in these chicken dinner fundraisers. Obringer said chances are very good that they will present more of these fundraisers down the road.
“While we are the Millersburg Lions Club, we might as well be the Holmes County Lions because we do serve all of Holmes County and have members all over,” Porter said. “We rely on all of the county to help us, and we really want to drive home the fact that we would love to get more participation from the east side of the county.”
In addition, Wright said they are welcoming new members, and the club is open to women and men. He said the dues are reasonable, and there are many advantages to becoming a Lions Club member. There is one overriding reason for joining the club.
“The feeling you get from helping others is extremely satisfying,” Wright said.
Anyone wishing to join or learn more about the Lions Club can do so by asking any Lions Club member to take them to a meeting. People also can donate used eyeglasses to the Lions, with drop boxes located at Rodhe’s IGA, Killbuck Savings Bank in Millersburg and the Family Eyecare Associates on Glen Drive in Millersburg.
“Everything we do is for our community,” Porter said. "We can’t survive as a club without the support of the community."
Thus, donating to the Lions for a tasty chicken dinner on Sept. 12 will see all of the proceeds go directly back into the community.