Archive: Around Town

A crowd lined up for chicken "barbecued Cornell Professor Bob Baker's way" when the Ithaca-Cayuga Rotary (Lansing's branch of the club) teamed with the Lansing Lions and Lansing Faculty Association (LFA) for their annual cooperative fund raiser.  The money raised at the Lansing High School International Night Chicken Barbecue and Fancy Cake Auction is split between the three groups to fund the Rotarian's exchange student and scholarship programs, scholarships the LFA gives to graduating seniors and the many programs the Lions support.


The Rotarians send a student abroad most years, and sponsor foreign students who come to Lansing.  "This is our big fund raiser, says Ithaca-Cayuga Rotary President AnnMarie Hautaniemi.  "It not only aids the exchange program, which of course is huge for us, but it also allows us to give money toward the Haiti project that is done in Lansing by the Youth Mission, the Guatamala project -- they build stoves in Guatamala.  The Haiti project is irrigation and schooling.  It's a true community event."

This year's exchange student from Poland, Ryszard Jarmuszewski had some unexpected expenses when the home he was staying in burned down a few weeks ago.  The club found a new family for him to stay with.  "He's lost a few things so we have to try to replace those as best he can," says the club's past President Ed Siemon.  "He was fortunate in that the end of the house he was staying at wasn't burned too badly.  He had a lot as smoke in his clothes, most of which he was able to wash out.  He lost some shoes and a few other things.  And his place to stay, that was a big thing."


About a dozen Rotarians were on hand to sell and serve the dinners.  LFA members were also there, and many donated "fancy cakes" which were auctioned off to raise money.  The Lions were at Myers Park barbecuing the chicken, using the covered barbecue there because of rain.


The Lions set up a table to sell their Lansing Throw, a blanket with scenes from Lansing that is being sold to help raise money to erect a bandstand in Myers Park.  The Rotary Club also set up tables to help recruit new members and to interest families in hosting next year's foreign exchange student.


Over 850 chicken halves were barbecued and served along with potato, vegetable, dessert and a drink.  At the beginning of the evening many people took their dinners to go, but as the event progressed more stayed to eat in the cafeteria.

"It's an incredible cooperative effort between the Lansing Lions and the LFA and the Ithaca Cayuga Rotary Club," says Hautaniemi.  And the chicken was sure good!

----
v2i16