By Roger Allen
This Saturday, Oct. 26, Montezuma Lions Club members are hoping hunters and members of the community will maintain a storied tradition that began in 1964, by attending the club’s annual pancake breakfast held on the opening day of pheasant hunting season. The breakfast – with serving from approximately 6 to 11 a.m. – will be held at Montezuma Memorial Hall.
The menu will offer all the pancakes and eggs you can eat, topped off with generous servings of whole hog sausage and a choice of drinks, all for $7. A limited quantity of frozen whole hog sausage packages will also be available for purchase.
Customers at the breakfast will have the optional opportunity to participate in a drawing for a deluxe shotgun.
Residents are encouraged to bring no-longer-needed hearing aids and eyeglasses to the breakfast for recycling and redistribution.
The volunteer serving as chairman of the 2019 breakfast is Michael Princer. With the exception of the members assigned to begin cooking sausage at 4:30 a.m., all other available Lions club members will be working together on the project as their schedules permit from 5:30 a.m. through cleanup. The Lions will conduct a set-up work detail beginning at 4 p.m. Friday.
The pancake breakfast and shotgun drawing, plus the annual Fourth of July celebration chicken barbecue and the annual toy show in January are the Lions club’s largest fundraisers, helping make possible the club’s numerous projects for community service and sight and hearing-related contributions.
Service activities and contributions
The Lions often assist needy area persons obtain eyeglasses and hearing aids and the club continues to stand ready with this assistance when a need is confirmed.
The club is a major supporter of the Iowa Lions Foundation, which provides funding for research and numerous services to the blind and hearing impaired in Iowa.
Since 2009 hundreds of hours and vehicle miles have been and continue to be donated by club members transporting donated eye tissue in a shuttle from Grinnell to the Iowa Lions Eye Bank in Coralville, taking turns as needed.
Ongoing projects include maintenance of Wayside Park and sponsorship of community blood drives. The club donates generously to the local Food Pantry and to several other community and school-related events and projects.
Lions seek new members and citizen input for projects
The Lions club is continually interested in adding men and women in the community who are interested in community service and fellowship. Interested persons are encouraged to express that interest to any Montezuma Lion. The club is also interested in citizen input on community enhancements that might be feasible for the club to undertake or help bring about.