Pink pancakes raise $20,000

In order to prepare for the annual tradition of serving pink pancakes at the Cherry Blossom Festival in Macon, firefighters have to get an early start.
On March 26, the day before this year’s pancake breakfast, Macon-Bibb County firefighters prepared and gathered more than 85 gallons of batter, 400 pounds of sausage, 80 gallons of milk, 50 gallons of orange juice and 30 gallons of chocolate milk.
“We’ve been up most of the night getting ready,” said Fire Capt. Ricky Collins.
On Saturday, nearly 2,000 people lined up to eat breakfast with the local firefighters, who served their famous pink pancakes, complete with sausage, milk and juice.
“We’ve been doing this since about 1988,” said Fire Chief Jim Hartley. “Part of our department mission is to do as much as we can to give back to our community. You will see our firefighters everywhere, from the Cherry Blossom Festival, to the Relay for Life. We just enjoy helping out any way we can.”
Firefighters charged $5 per person for the breakfast, and the proceeds – estimated to be $20,000 this year – are given to the American Cancer Society. Area businesses donated most of the food and supplies.
“We used to spend about $2,500 buying everything, but now we spend about $500 thanks to those donations,” Collins said.
Kellie White, a young Macon native, stood in line patiently with her parents to get a sample of the pink pancakes, and said she was very satisfied with the outcome.
“They’re good and I like to eat them,” she said.
Irene Saunders, a 27-year resident of Macon, and her sister, Cincinnati native Janet Molony, have been attending the Cherry Blossom Festival every year for the past 11 years. For them, it wouldn’t be a festival without the pink breakfast.
“Oh my, it’s wonderful,” Saunders said. “We love to come eat the pink pancakes.”
“My husband’s a retired firefighter from Cincinnati,” Molony said, “so I am all for these firefighters doing this, and it has been great every year.”
Hartley said the firefighters’ efforts for the American Cancer Society have been strong.
“We’re surpassing the $100,000 mark this year of donations,” he said.
The second runner-up for the Miss Fire Safety Pageant was one of the guests at the breakfast Saturday. Alexis Hopkins, 12, of Macon, seemed pleased with the breakfast.
“The pancakes were so good, and I have enjoyed being a part of everything,” she said. “It’s just a lot of fun.”
Erin Douberly, 11, of Savannah, tasted the pancakes for the first time Saturday, and said she noticed they had a different taste.
“There was definitely a difference, but they were really good,” said Douberly.
Assistant Fire Chief Marvin Riggins said the breakfast shows that Middle Georgia can pull together to help others.
“All these guys know that they are doing this for a charitable cause, and someone else will benefit from what they are doing here today,” he said.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 2 2004. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry