Rotary Lobsterfest a success

by Donna M. Webb
Grand Island Dispatch, June 8, 2007

Shown here are some of the Lobsterfest’s crack “cracking team”: (left to right) Bill Burnham, Nathan Keefe, Dave Amato, Rick Wahl and Kent Webb as they prepare to get the lobsters ready to be served. Missing from the photo are Bob Helenbrook, Mark Webb and John Bruno.

Last Friday, one thing that was hotter than the evening air was each batch of steaming lobsters that was brought to the cracking table during the Grand Island Rotary’s Randy Osvath Memorial Lobsterfest.

This fifth annual “all-you-can-eat” event is the club’s largest fund-raiser each year and was held at the Buffalo Launch Club.

The Launch Club takes care of cooking the lobsters and providing the other food for the evening. Rotary President Angelo Palamuso said about 650 lobsters were served. The tickets were sold out, and this bettered the 2006 attendance figure. Last year, 220 tickets were sold 220; this year, 250, Palamuso said.

The event was well-staffed by Rotarians. John White was Lobsterfest Committee chairman. “I think almost the whole club is here – about 4,” out of 36 members, he said.

It’s probably safe to say that the “cracking team” had the most uncomfortable job, as they had to cut the lobsters on what was already a warm and humid night. The team consisted of Dave Amato, Rick Wahl, Kent Webb, Bill Burnham, Mark Webb, Nathan Keefe, and John Bruno.

In addition to the mouth-watering entree served with melted butter, sliced roast beef and rolls were offered, as well as potato salad and cole slaw. Before the main meal, trays of cheese and crackers were set out. Diners were served clam chowder at their tables by some of the Rotarians, with the help of 15 students. These were Interact Club members from Grand Island High School and a few of their friends. The Interact Club is sponsored by the Grand Island Rotary and functions as a junior version of the club, doing various community and international service projects.

Ron and Linda Case attended the Lobsterfest and were also silver sponsors of the event. Talking about the students, Ron said: “It’s nice to see them here. They’re always smiling.”

His favorite part of the Lobsterfest: “Seeing Steve (Kaplan) in the hat.” Kaplan, a Rotarian, donned one of the comical red felt hats that have lobster faces printed on the front and stuffed pincers protruding from the top. “Five years ago we got the hats through the Internet,” Palamuso said, proving that you can find just about anything when you surf the Web.

Lending a helping hand at the Lobsterfest were these members of the Grand Island High School Interact Club and a few of their friends. In the front row: Bailey DeGlopper and Amber Hultgren; (in the back row, from left: Lindsey Samland, Vida Rostami, Bessie Zhang, Sarah Webb, Bill Burnham, Nathan Keefe, Jordan Kessler, Sam Kilb, Catie Hilliard, Shana Wierchowski, Mark Webb and Megan Little. Missing from the photo is Josh Kaplan.

The other silver sponsors included the Ambulatory Surgery Center of Western New York, Fuccillo Automotive Group, Modern Corp., Oppenheimer Funds/Legend Group, Scrufari Construction Co. and Wilson Farms. A. J. Beyer Mechanicals and the Holiday Inn of Grand Island were the two gold sponsors. The platinum sponsors included the Ambulatory Medical Anesthesia Services, Innovated Energy Systems Inc., and Upstate Clinical Research Inc.

A 50/50 split drawing, silent auction, and theme basket raffle were also part of the evening’s festivities. Many generous individuals and companies contributed eight silent auction items and about 50 beautiful baskets, which adorned the tables near the entrance to the Lobsterfest. A good number of gift certificates were part of the raffle and silent auction, including ones from the Buffalo Launch Club, Tops, Grand Island Garden Center, Gray Line Tours of Niagara Falls, Niagara Frontier Publications, Grand Lady Cruises, and Soma Cura Massage Therapy, among others. Some of the silent auction items offered up for bid included an overnight stay at the Grand Island Holiday Inn, a “woodland party” with food, swimming and canoeing for six people at a Rotarian’s home, a sailing trip for four on Lake Erie and Buffalo Bills tickets.

To top off the evening, there were a variety of cake slices to choose from for dessert and two different bands for the crowd’s listening and dancing pleasure. The cakes included some layered with ice cream or apricot filling. Both of these got rave reviews from various guests. The first band that played was Equinox, with Dr. Dave Johnson, a Rotarian, playing on saxophone; the second band was Route 66, which has played at previous Lobsterfests.

Just how successful was this Rotary endeavor? “There will be a profit,” Palamuso said, “but we don’t know where we are yet” exactly because the club is still waiting for some of the large bills to come in. As far as the guests were concerned, there was a more definite answer, however. “The response that I got was that the lobsters were probably the best we ever had. They were a little bigger this year,” Palamuso said. People also felt the set-up this time allowed for more room in the dining area, and they enjoyed the music. “We did hear many positive responses. We had a couple people who even asked if they could buy tickets for next year,” he said.

Palamuso said the Grand Island Rotary Club greatly appreciates all of the support they received for this annual event, which helps to fund their many local and global service projects.