Itasca Lions serve up loads of pancakes

As a hot griddle slowly turned around a motorized base, waves of 48 pancakes at a time were being flipped and made ready to serve Saturday morning during the Itasca Lions Club's pancake breakfast.

About two-thirds of the Lions Club's 90 members were on hand to help more than 400 guests enjoy a breakfast of pancakes, sausage, bacon, fruit, pastries and juice.

Bob Conidi, chairman of the pancake breakfast, said the breakfast serves as a fundraiser for the international Lions Club program to help the blind and handicapped and local organizations as well.

"We are fortunate to have these community events where we allow some of the portion of that proceeds to go back to the community to support local needs like the library, the Boy Scouts, baseball and basketball teams, needy families, the walk-in ministry and the food pantry. Whatever we take from the community, we give right back," he said.

The annual event, in its 40th year, has been held for the past five years in the gymnasium at the Lutheran School of St. Luke.

"This used to be our biggest fundraiser before we started doing Itasca Fest 25 years ago," Conidi said. "It's great for the community. … In conjunction with the pancake breakfast, Saint Luke has their annual plants and garden sale."

The latter event was a fundraiser for the church's youth group, which will be participating in a summer mission trip to Evansville, Ind.