By David Taylor / Managing Editor
Several thousand residents came out to support the North Shore Rotary celebration of their 50th anniversary hosting the annual Catfish Fry and Crawfish Boil fundraiser.
Despite long lines, everything moved smoothly, and another record was set on Saturday.
Shawn Silman, academic dean at San Jacinto College North, oversaw the raffle for the SUV or truck from Community Toyota of Baytown, and said they sold a record 1,624 tickets grossing just over $160,000.
“After our turn-ins on Thursday, we had sold a little over 1,000 tickets so we sold another 600 tickets today at the fundraiser,” he said.
A club memo suggested they raised approximately $450,000 not including expenses, a preliminary number, according to Danna Niño, the club president.
“We don’t have all of the numbers in just yet and it will take us a few days to collect all the information, but it was a good day,” she said.
A few numbers were readily available like the crazy amount of food that was served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. In those four hours, Rotarians served 4,700 pounds of crawfish and 2,250 pounds of catfish. It was a busy day.
The winner of the raffle was Nicolas Izaguirre.
“I’m about to get married and my car is a 2018 model, so I was going to be looking for another vehicle soon,” he said.
Each incoming president is responsible for raising the money for their year to spend back into the community. After installation, their year begins on July 1.
The record for fundraising in the club was set by former banker Mark Mulloy.
Niño broke protocol last year when she bravely changed the date of the fundraiser from the Saturday after Mother’s Day to the last Saturday of April.
“It was necessary because our crawfish vendor (Crawfish Shack) told us we could get bigger crawfish if we moved the date,” she said. It was a risk because the fundraiser had been on the same date for years. The gamble paid off and Niño was able to raise a net $469,000.
All of those dollars would not have been possible without the help from the community, she emphasized.
Part of the Rotary legacy is the large number of scholarships the club doles out annually to graduates from North Shore, Channelview, and C. E. King high schools.
The students from the schools show their support by helping at the fundraiser. The football teams from North Shore and C. E. King were on hand to help with the live auction. Some of the boys from Youth-Reach Boys Home also assisted with the catfish, a project they have done for years. Student volunteers helped box up the to-go orders and waited on customers at the windows. The national anthem was performed by the C. E. King High School chorale.
While her year is winding down, Niño said there are still some big projects on the table.
Every year, the club contributes to senior citizens, youth baseball and softball, scouts, veterans, and numerous other programs. This year, the number of Christmas baskets increased thanks to additional monies raised at the annual fundraiser.
Club members also entertained members from their sister club in Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico over the weekend at the fundraiser.
She also announced that the club was starting a community-centered Rotaract Club in the near future. The club will be for students or community members from 18 to 30 years old who can later transition into the full Rotary Club.
To learn more about the North Shore Rotary, visit their website at https://portal.clubrunner.ca/3942.
Rotarian Brent Hughes serves up some catfish for hungry patrons at the 50th annual North Shore Rotary Catfish Fry and Crawfish Boil.
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