Grinnell Rotary Club’s chicken barbecue slated for June 9

      The Grinnell Rotary Club’s annual chicken barbecue fundraiser is slated for Thursday, June 9, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3 to 6:30 p.m. at the United Methodist Church.
     “We are so glad we are back to our normal timetable for our traditional chicken barbecue,” said Dr. Janet Stutz, coordinator of this year’s barbecue and incoming Rotary Club president. She noted that the fundraiser was cancelled in 2020 and moved to August in 2021 because of the pandemic. 
      She said that June is the ideal time for the barbecue because Rotarians can ask the help of Grinnell High School students whose schoolyear would have ended the week before. Always held on a Thursday, the barbecue likewise maximizes exposure to the public because it occurs at the same time as the Farmers’ Market.
     The menu has remained the same – one-half charcoal-grilled BBQ chicken, potato salad, coleslaw, pudding and water. The meals are available as take-out only from the Park Street entrance of the United Methodist Church.
    The price has increased to $12 per meal. Tickets are available from any Rotarian and at Brown Shoe Fit Store, Medicap, Total Choice, Grinnell State Bank and J.J. Nichting (formerly Grinnell Implement.)
    Money raised by ticket sales is augmented by sponsorship of Grinnell local businesses. Three levels of sponsorships are available: Supreme Grill Master at $300; Grill Master at $200, and Griller at $100.  Sponsors receive a number of free tickets, recognition in brochures, ads and banners at the barbecue and at Rotary’s Kites Over Grinnell in September 
     Started in 1962, Rotary’s chicken barbecue fundraiser has provided the funds for many of Rotary’s ongoing community projects, such as annual scholarships for college-bound Grinnell High School Students; sponsorships of international exchange students; attendance of two GHS students at the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards program, and donation requests from community organizations and projects.
   Proceeds have likewise provided seed money for the Club to apply for matching community service grants from Rotary District 6000. In recent years, these grants have funded a high-flow oxygen machine for UnityPoint Health-Grinnell; equipment and materials for the Grinnell Community Early Learning Center; a laser projector for the Public Safety Building; basketball hoops for Ahrens Park; non-fiction books for K-4 at the Grinnell School District; and two elliptical exercise equipment for the Ahrens Fitness Center. 
      For more information, please call Dr. Janet Stutz at 708-603-8307.