Local Rotarians presented a total of $10,000 in checks at their Thursday morning meeting to the groups that helped them stage the 2010 Cheese & Wine Exposition.
The groups honored included Riverbank Federated Women's Club, Riverbank High School (RHS) Future Homemakers Association Culinary Arts group, RHS Band Boosters, RHS Future Farmers of America, RHS Leadership Club, RHS Interact Club, Riverbank Relay for Life, Modesto Elks Lodge, North Stockton Rotary and Escalon Rotary.
"Their work covered setting up tables, picking up trash, setting up and tearing down booths, helping with deliveries of ice and soda, etc.," said Rotary President Carla Strong. "The set up and tear down is monumental. The tear down has to be done before we go home on Sunday night. The street sweepers come in about midnight so the streets can be clear and clean by Monday morning."
The amount of money paid to the volunteers and so returned to the community varied according to the number of hours each group put in and number of people it contributed.
But the bulk of the money went to a combination of Future Farmers of America, Interact Club, Leadership Club and Band Boosters that are all Riverbank High groups.
This was the fifth year the Rotary Club has managed the event. There are only 16 members in the club, and a core group of about five members do most of the work. They get a two-month break after the Expo in October, then start preparations for the following year.
"In January we'll have a club assembly to review the last Expo, decide what went right and what went wrong. Then we start again. We already have applications for the 2011 event," said Strong.
The groups honored included Riverbank Federated Women's Club, Riverbank High School (RHS) Future Homemakers Association Culinary Arts group, RHS Band Boosters, RHS Future Farmers of America, RHS Leadership Club, RHS Interact Club, Riverbank Relay for Life, Modesto Elks Lodge, North Stockton Rotary and Escalon Rotary.
"Their work covered setting up tables, picking up trash, setting up and tearing down booths, helping with deliveries of ice and soda, etc.," said Rotary President Carla Strong. "The set up and tear down is monumental. The tear down has to be done before we go home on Sunday night. The street sweepers come in about midnight so the streets can be clear and clean by Monday morning."
The amount of money paid to the volunteers and so returned to the community varied according to the number of hours each group put in and number of people it contributed.
But the bulk of the money went to a combination of Future Farmers of America, Interact Club, Leadership Club and Band Boosters that are all Riverbank High groups.
This was the fifth year the Rotary Club has managed the event. There are only 16 members in the club, and a core group of about five members do most of the work. They get a two-month break after the Expo in October, then start preparations for the following year.
"In January we'll have a club assembly to review the last Expo, decide what went right and what went wrong. Then we start again. We already have applications for the 2011 event," said Strong.
