Kiwanians, fire department to serve Sportsman’s Breakfast
By Jules Rogers, The Sandy Standard
The Sportsman’s Breakfast is back for its third year under the leadership of the Sandy Kiwanis, and club members are ready for a flapjack-flipping good time.
The breakfast event is slated for October 3, from 7 a.m.-1 p.m., at the Sandy Community Fire Station, 17460 Bruns Ave. It features all-you-can-eat pancakes, ham, eggs, juice, milk, and coffee — as well as a Sandy High School scholarship fundraiser auction.
Everyone is invited, for a ticket price of $6 for kids and $12 for adults.
This year, the Les Schwab-sponsored Sportsman’s Breakfast is coordinated by Dale Scobert, Kiwanis secretary and retired law enforcement officer of 42 years, along with about 20 volunteer members. The Kiwanis Club is a global volunteer organization dedicated to serving children and improving local communities.
This year, the Sportsman’s Breakfast is in October, instead of April. Last year, Scobert estimated between 300-400 people attended.
“We think we believe that the popularity of the Sportsman's Breakfast will carry on, and we are really looking forward to presenting it as the wonderful event it always is, only at a different time of the year,” Scobert said. “We believe that its tradition is so strong that we will still have a good turnout. We're planning to have a good turnout, and we'll do our best to provide a wonderful breakfast for everyone that attends.”
The Sportsman’s Breakfast historically indicated the start of fishing season that occurred on a selected opening day. It became a tradition to stop at the station for a morning breakfast before going fishing. However, with the new date change, Sportsman Breakfast is now for the start of hunting season.
“It turned out that both the fire department and Kiwanis are so committed in April already … it was hard for both Clackamas Fire and us because of how much we were doing,” Scobert said. “Then the decision was made to move it from the beginning of fishing season to the beginning of hunting season, and it really freed up our ability to run the event like it needed to be run.”
This comes after Sandy Fire was reconstructed as Clackamas Fire, which is not permitted to raise funds solely for Sandy purposes. Now, the event is a partnership between Kiwanis and Clackamas Fire, since the fire station knows how to run a pancake breakfast, and Kiwanis can operate the fundraiser and provide scholarships.
Revenue from the auction provides the necessary funds for two scholarships of several thousand dollars, according to Scobert, for high school seniors going into emergency services.
“We've aimed a lot more towards kids that want to go into the programs that get them into careers immediately. They'll open up doors for them that they wouldn't necessarily be able to get into because of finances,” Scobert said. “We hope these scholarships help get them into trade schools, schools like the nurses program at the community college, into the fire academies — into anything that can help them reach a goal of being of service to the community.”
Scobert said he himself couldn’t afford to go to a four-year university, but he could attend a junior college and earn his associates, which led to his full-time career in law enforcement until his retirement.
“(I hope the scholarships) open those doors for them to be able to get the schooling they need, and to connect them with people in emergency services that you know can help mentor them and guide them,” Scobert said. “We're seeing a lot more kids that want to go into the trades, and this can be the tool that helps them get to the point where they can get into a program.”
The raffle and auction focuses on local business products that are associated with fishing, and now hunting, due to the date change. The Kiwanis Club contacts local businesses for donations of hunting and fishing gear, creating gift baskets of sportsman-related things to sell at the raffle.
“People come together, families come together for the sportsman's breakfast,” Scobert said. “The Sportsman's Breakfast is also a benefit to the community, and people … have a reason to get together. They know it’s a good, solid event, and it supports our community, it supports our fire department, and it’s a uniting event for the community.”
Sportsman’s Breakfast
Where: Sandy community Fire Station, 17460 Bruns Ave.
When: Oct. 3, 7 a.m.-1 p.m.