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PAGE 6 ASSOCIATED NEWSPAPERS OF MICHIGAN August 19, 2021

PLYMOUTH
PLYMOUTH

A taste of history

Fall Festival, Rotary Club Chicken Barbeque returning to Plymouth

The Plymouth Fall Festival will return
Sept. 10, 11 and 12 this year bringing back
many of the traditional events that attract
thousands of people to the community
each year.
Tickets are already on sale for the
famous Plymouth Noon Rotary Club
Barbeque Chicken Dinners, a mainstay of
the annual event.
This year, the festival and the barbeque
will each feature an added concentration
on safety and health precautions.
Festival President Eric Joy said that
many of the civic booths are planning on
including hand sanitizer and the festival
committee will have hand sanitizing sta-
tions throughout the festival venue.
“We are keeping a very close eye on
the Delta Variant,” he said. “We want to be
sure everyone is safe.”
This year, in addition to extra safety
precautions, the chicken barbeque will
benefit from the wisdom of legendary
experience brought by one of the
youngest chairman to lead the event.
Brandon Bunt, who joined the “He was a legend at the barbeque,” and scholarships. from the sale of the dinners.
Plymouth Rotary Club at 23, is the chair- Bunt said. Each member of the committee works This year, for the first time, the dinner
man of the barbeque committee and “Howard sponsored me in the club in their way progressively through the vari- boxes will also be sealed, adding another
bears the overall responsibility for the 2010 and I think I was the youngest ous posts of responsibility until, after five layer of safety, he said.
barbeque. In the age of COVID, that Rotarian then,” Bunt said. “Howard was years, they take on the responsibility for Bunt and his wife, along with their 2-
required a lot of extra precautions and my friend and my mentor in so many ways the entire project, overseeing every year-old now live in Milford, but he is still
some changes in the way things are being and we developed a life-long friendship,” aspect of the barbeque, which is a loyal to the Plymouth Noon Rotary Club.
done, he explained. he said. Bunt, under Oldford’s mentor- momentous task by any measure. The The couple is expecting twins, a boy and a
“We are really emphasizing all safety ship, eventually became the Rotary Club new safety precautions added even more girl, two weeks after the barbeque.
and health precautions, even more than Interact President at Salem High School responsibility to the task. “Yes, it's a lot of work,” he said, “but the
usual,” Bunt said. and also advised Bunt during the start of “This year, for safety, we have cut the best years of my time in Rotary have been
Bunt was sponsored into the club and his first landscaping business while he number of community volunteers from my time on this committee.”
mentored by Howard Oldford, one of the was still in high school. After graduation, 1,000 to 500. We had to find ways to do This year, the Barbeque Committee
oldest and longest-serving members of college and marriage, Bunt sold his land- things more efficiently to have more safe- includes Bunt; Gary Stolz - director of
Rotary, who had a very proprietary inter- scaping business and subsequently began ty controls,” Bunt said. “We will have the purchasing; Andy Savage - director of
est in the barbeque and was there every a new career as a founding partner of 100 or so Rotary Club volunteers, along tickets; Eric Kostoff - director of opera-
year, ensuring the success of the event. He Trilogy Corp. which handles cleaning and with some of their family members, all tions; Danny Hyman - director of volun-
was known for his constant analysis of the sanitation for large corporations. aware of the safety procedures,” he said. teers; Jason Zarate - director of opera-
procedures involved in producing 11,000 “My other mentor was Tim Joy,” Bunt This year, the club hopes to sell all the tions support and Kent Early - past chair-
chicken dinners in one afternoon. said, “the owner of Christensen's, another dinners cooked on the huge charcoal bar- man and committee advisor.
“I participated in the barbeque, with very successful guy and an active Rotary beque pits they build Saturday night in Advance sale dinner tickets are avail-
Howard, since I was in high school. While member.” the parking lot behind The Gathering. able from most Rotary Club members for
I only began working my way through the Bunt doesn't hesitate to credit his busi- Bunt said the club usually donates a num- $12. Tickets the day of the event are
committee six years ago, I have been ness success to his mentors along with his ber of dinners to local charities but this priced at $14. Meals include a half chick-
involved in the barbeque for decades,” continued dedication to the Rotary Club. year will donate to those civic and social en, roll and butter, corn on the cob, a cook-
Bunt said. He recalled that Oldford was “I often think people may not know all groups in more concrete ways using funds ie and a bottle of water.
constantly striving to improve efficiency the things funded by Rotary in the com-
of the barbeque operations and would munity. We award scholarships to college
constantly collect data, demanding to and trade schools and fund so many social
know the temperature of the chicken 15 and cultural services,” he said. The chick-
minutes after it left the grill and exactly en barbeque is the main fundraiser for
how long each step in the preparation the club, Bunt said, and the money goes
took. directly back into community services

This year, members of the Rotary Club barbecue committee include Chairman
Brandon Bunt; Gary Stolz, director of purchasing; Andy Savage, director of tickets;
Eric Kostoff, director of operations; Danny Hyman, director of volunteers; Jason Zarate,
director of operations support and Kent Early, the past chairman and committee advi-
sor.