BY LARRY DUPEE
Special to the Times
LAKE BUTLER — After a two year COVID hiatus the Lake Butler Rotary Club’s annual Hawaiian Luau fundraiser made a big comeback Friday, Feb. 25 with dinner, live music, a community favorite as guest of honor and silent and live auctions of donated items.
The Luau was held at the Hal Y. Maines Community Center in Lake Butler and was the thirteenth presentation of the annual (usually) event. This year the event was catered by Dos Mamas, from Gainesville. According to Rotary President Brian Reagan, since the food was from Alachua County it naturally contained COVID inhibitors so everyone could feel safe. Just in case, Sapphire Disinfectants donated bottles of their product for each table, as well as having remote, motion sensing sanitizer stations located around the room.
A total of 258 people attended the event, ranging from elected officials to Rotary Club members to other community notables. Art Peterson was on hand, as were Lake Butler City Manager Dale Walker, the Honorable Bo Bayer (Senior Judge) and the Honorable Mitchell Bishop (County Judge), accompanied by their wives. The Guest of Honor was Dr. Marvin Johnson, recently retired, accompanied by his wife, Jenny Reid and members of his family.
John was honored by the club for his year of service as a physician in the community with a plaque and a standing ovation from the crowd.
The meal was served, and the auction assisted by members of the Union County High School Interact Club, sponsored by the Rotary Club and under the care of Rotary Member and teacher Nancy Griffis.
The silent and public auctions of about 50 donated items from individuals and businesses rounded out the evening. Local auctioneers Jason Stalnaker and Hunter Williams took to the microphone to handle the sales and entertain the crowd with the traditional banter.
According to Reagan, the event raised about $15,000 for the club, all of which will be used for local community events (such as the annual Fourth of July celebration at the lake) and causes, as well as the charitable works undertaken by Rotary International in its work in the U.S. and other nations. The total was made up of ticket sales, donations and the proceeds from the auction.
Reagan said that the club members were pleased to be able to bring the event back for the community after a two-year absence and said that it would continue to be one of the main community social events for the foreseeable future.
