Page 11 - FF2022

Page 11

event. construct several large pieces of
In all, it takes about 50 to 75 volun- equipment inside The Gathering nec-
teers from the Rotary Club along with essary for the packaging of the din-
700-800 high school student volunteers ners.
to produce that many dinners in about “It's a major operation,” Stoltz, a 9-
eight hours or so on Sunday. The pits, year member of the club, said. “The
which contain several of the same guys before me set up a really good
cement blocks used at the first bar- system and after all these years, we've
beque, are built in a military-like oper- had lots of practice.”
ation Saturday night in the parking lot The chickens come from Gordon
behind The Gathering. They will be Foods, which also loans the club mem-
fired up at 8 a.m. and the first chickens bers the refrigerated trucks which can
come off the grills at about 11 a.m. be seen parked around The Gathering
Stoltz said. Before that happens, how- where the supplies and equipment for
ever, the volunteers have to assemble the barbeque begin to arrive as early
the boxes, all 8,500 of them, shuck, as Thursday. There are usually three
clean and cook 9,000 ears of corn, set or four huge moving-van size trucks on
up the tables and chairs in the park site to ensure that all the food is fresh
and prepare the take-out operation at
West Middle School. They also have to See BBQ, page 12