Rotarians Slice Up Steak at LIMM

Sayville again showed its support for the Rotary Club at the annual Beefsteak Dinner held on August 11 at the Long Island Maritime Museum in West Sayville. The event pre-sold more tickets than last year and attendance was well over the 400-person mark. There were also plenty of walk-in ticket sales thanks to the beautiful weather.  

Local Rotarians were serving their traditional menu of clams-on-the-half-shell, sliced filet mignon with a secret sauce, Wonder bread and corn on the cob, catered by Lovin’ Oven. All the prep work, cooking and serving is done by the Rotarians. The night before the event, many were gathered on the outside deck of The Sayville Inn shucking ears of corn.

The event, which has been held annually since 1952, is the largest fundraiser of the year for the club, with almost all of the proceeds going toward its community programs. They include: The Sayville Food Pantry; Camp Pa-qua-tuck; Hospice Programs; Relay for Life; Splashes of Hope; The Gift of Life Program; The Rotary Foundation; Foreign Student Exchange; The Long Island Maritime Museum and more.

Locally, the Rotary Club is involved in projects such as the Spring Town Clean-Up; Homecoming Parade; Rotary Pet Parade; Sayville Summerfest and Rotary Student of the Month Awards. The Rotary Club has also been raising money for a school in Africa and collecting for a hospital in Haiti.

“This used to be strictly a man-only event,” said Pat Brinkmann, Rotarian and club secretary.  “There has been quite an evolution since the women became involved. There are tablecloths, silverware and the raffles.”

Gift baskets, filled with wine and other prizes and raffles were also part of the event, put together as part of members' dues for the year. This year’s raffles even included original artwork by a Rotarian. Local restaurants, and even some out of town, offered their support with gift certificates to be raffled off as well.