All hands on deck as ladies auxiliary raises money for volunteer fire department
Apr. 11—FAIRVIEW — Rosemary Tennant, president of the Fairview Volunteer Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary, said the group was once comprised of 31 members but now they're down to about four. So, she got a helping hand from a group of volunteers Saturday to raise money for the Fairview Volunteer Fire Department.
"We've been at it 50 years I bet you," she said.
She said she'll do the fundraiser as long as she can continue to do it. She said they have a good time, make quality food and said everyone is always so pleasant to work with.
"We have such good people here in Fairview to volunteer, we really do," she said.
Tennant said she has about a 100 jobs between picking up and ordering things as well as holding car washes as well as being a massage therapist and hairdresser.
With the pandemic an ongoing issue, Tennant said the fundraising took a backseat for a year. She said the auxiliary is doing fine.
"All of our money goes to the fire department," she said.
Renting out the hall in the fire department is another way the auxiliary makes money for the fire department.
"We've always just raised money. I never knew how much they had in the bank," said Tennant.
She said usually there's 15 people working in the kitchen. Whether it's prepping pizzas, manning the oven or chopping a salad, each volunteer lent a hand, of course, socially distanced from each other.
"We've got one on the hoagies back there, we've got three on the salads, and we've got three on the pizza," said Tennant.
When fundraising started about four weeks ago, Tennant said they sold out of food before the day was over.
"We had 120 or 130 pizza shells," said Tennant.
Tennant said over the years, the Ladies Auxiliary has paid a lot of money to the fire department.
"I bet we give them, at one time, we give them like $12,000 in a year but it's come down some. We've done well since we started back. We were so busy the first day this place was packed," said Tennant.
She said she was more prepared Saturday because she ordered extra food this go around.
Alan Henderson from the local food pantry was chopping up salads on Saturday. He said the food sales help the fire department as much as possible and the food pantry also contributes to the needs of the Fairview community. He said volunteering for the fire department is something that needs to be done.
"The funding for the fire department, they've have a tough time in the past with that. It's a good cause. That's why everybody's here," said Henderson.
He said one of the best passed away last year. Shirley Brookover Moore taught Henderson how to make the salads.
"She was really a good lady," said Henderson.
Reach Sarah Marino at 304-367-2549
