By David Taylor / Managing Editor
The countdown is on for the 51st annual North Shore Rotary Catfish Fry and Crawfish Boil, and fundraiser chair David Proctor says the event’s biggest challenge isn’t the fish, the tents or the auction—its making sure enough people show up at the right times to keep the day moving.
“Today is basically making sure everybody feels comfortable, everybody’s healthy, everybody knows what their job is,” he said. “Nobody has any last-minute things that they’re panicked about. We’ve done very well.”
The annual fundraiser, held at the North Shore Rotary Pavilion on Wallisville Road this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., draws crowds for catfish plates and crawfish, along with live and silent auctions that help fund the club’s community projects throughout the year. Proctor, who is expected to be installed as club president this summer, said the behind-the-scenes work stretches across months—but the pressure spikes in the final week as the club shifts from planning to execution.
A key lesson from recent years, Proctor said, is that volunteer turnout is strong early and then thins out when the event is still in full swing.
“We learned that volunteers show up at 8 o’clock, they work till noon, and then we’re in trouble from noon till 4,” he said. “We need three waves—a morning wave, an afternoon wave and a midday wave.”
He credited volunteer coordinator Darryl Painter with pushing for better coverage “all day long, not just in the morning,” especially when auction items must be moved quickly after the bidding closes. Proctor said the club also leans on student groups to handle the most physical jobs.
“We rely on the football players from our three high schools to help us load up items that are purchased at the live auction,” he said.
In the final stretch, Proctor said committee chairs are checking in daily to confirm staffing, deliveries and deadlines. The club holds planning meetings each Thursday night, with the last pre-event meeting set for this week.
“Early this (Monday) morning, each committee chair contacted me just to say, ‘I’m okay, things are going good, I’ve got my team together,’” he said. “And then Danna (Nino) gave me the quick hoedown, lowdown, rundown—who’s dropping off what today, tomorrow, Wednesday, Thursday, and then Friday when we all gather to come together to unveil everything, so to speak.”
Proctor said longtime Rotarian Nino has become a hub for the operational details that make the event run smoothly, from ordering tents and coordinating equipment to handling paperwork such as the beer license.
“Danna’s a godsend,” he said.
Keeping thousands of meals safe is another behind-the-scenes job that few attendees see. Proctor pointed to Lowell Everett of Everett Industrial for managing the pickup, storage and thawing process for the fish.
“He keeps it frozen, keeps it at the right temperature, makes sure it thaws properly at the right temperature,” Proctor said. “That truck is never without somebody—usually two people—because we don’t ever want that temperature to drop below what it’s supposed to be, because of health department issues.”
On the financial side, Proctor said Terri Denny and Matt Davis help manage the fundraising’s point-of-sale systems and accounting, including card readers used throughout the event. “They do a phenomenal job of just making sure that we keep up with all the money,” he said.
Most of the visible transformation happens Friday, Proctor said, when signage goes up and the club finalizes the layout it has used for years.
Proctor said the live and silent auctions—built from donations collected over the year—are one of the biggest logistical puzzles, with items spread across members’ homes until delivery day.
“Three years ago, we started hiring a moving service,” Proctor said. “It takes the burden off a lot of our members … they do the heavy lifting getting things to and from the storage unit.”
Ticket sales, Proctor said, have been strong heading into the final week, fueled by friendly rivalry among Rotarians who compete to sell the most meal and raffle tickets. “At the last count … we were right at around $130,000 in sales,” he said, noting that some sellers hold tickets until the last meeting before turning them in. “We know people are going to sandbag … and they do it every year.”
After the last plates are served and the final auction items are claimed, Proctor said the work continues with breakdown and storage. “Three hundred sixty-three days of the year, we write checks and we take pictures and we have lunch,” he said. “But two or three days of the year, it’s all hands on deck.”
Even with the exhaustion that follows, Proctor said the scale of the fundraiser is what allows North Shore Rotary to invest back into the community. “We couldn’t do it without the community, couldn’t do it without our sponsors, and couldn’t do it without our volunteers,” he said. He also credited county support at the jointly owned pavilion, saying precinct personnel have consistently been willing to help the club pull off an event that has become an annual tradition.
Meal tickets are $15 and raffle tickets are $100 each and include two meal tickets with a purchase.
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