Editor,
The Bel Air 4th of July pancake breakfast was a Bel Air Independence Day Committee event for roughly 35 years. It started as a small outdoor event at the Bel Air Middle School and was run by the Bel Air Jaycees. Their club eventually diminished in size and it became difficult for them to run the event. At the time, I asked the Bel Air Lions Club if they would be willing to help us and they agreed. The same thing happened with the frog and turtle events, which the Jaycees also chaired for the committee; we asked the newly formed Bel Air Kiwanis Club to help with those events and they agreed.
We have a long history of managing all of the events that take place under our umbrella. We have never caused harm to anyone or any organization associated with this management. The pancake breakfast was not a fundraiser for the Bel Air Lions Club. All of the funds raised and all of the expenses associated with the event went to and were paid by the Bel Air Independence Day Committee. The Lions furnished the volunteers to work the event, as part of the club's support of the July 4 festivities; that support also included the Lions making a financial contribution to the committee. We are very grateful for having received this support for so many years.
That said, for the last several years the event was not really much of a fundraiser for the committee. The expenses associated with the event frequently nearly equaled or exceeded the revenue. However, it was a community event and we were willing to incur those losses just to keep the breakfast going since it was part of an annual tradition for thousands of people. The same applies to the parade and fireworks, but on a much larger scale.
As a member of the Bel Air Lions Club, I have volunteered a great deal at the Bel Air High School by providing free sports photography for all of the teams. I have witnessed the remarkable spirit of the kids there and the high quality of the programs that the school runs. The school has also provided hundreds of kids to help the Bel Air Lions Club with community and fundraising projects. We have a very strong partnership which benefit both of us.
As a result of that partnership and the considerable admiration that we have for the school and their programs, we asked them if they would be willing to take on the pancake breakfast and make it their own. This is a perfect fit for them. They would be taking point on an event at their school, they have numerous coaches, parent supporters and students who would be eager to pitch in and help run the event. Since they would not have some of the expenses that the committee incurs as an outsider, this would be a real fundraiser for the school athletic boosters which would have a meaningful impact on their programs. After careful consideration, they agreed. This is a huge win-win. The event continues for the community and the athletic programs at the school get a much needed boost.
It is important to the committee that the community be placed first. The Bel Air Fourth of July celebration is not about the committee or any individual or group within it. Rather, it is all about the collective celebration of an historic event. We welcome the Bel Air High School Athletic Boosters and wish them well.
Donald Stewart
President, Bel Air Independence Day Committee Inc.
Youth Activities Chair, Bel Air Lions Club