Rotary barbeque inspires young author

Young author Scarlett Powers, 8, and her mother, Candace,
are looking forward to the Rotary Chicken Barbeque
in Plymouth set for Sunday, Sept. 10.

Even adults are impressed with the effort it takes to cook 10,000 chicken dinners in one afternoon, but the Plymouth Fall Festival Rotary Chicken Barbeque left one 7-year-old awestruck last year. 

Scarlett Powers, now 8, went to the barbeque for the first time last year with her mother, Candace, a Plymouth Noon Rotary Club member who was volunteering at the event.  After seeing her mother and the hundreds of other volunteers in action, Scarlett knew she had found the topic for a homework assignment at her second-grade class at Farrand Elementary School. 

Scarlett wrote and illustrated a three-page booklet about the barbecue which was then bound into a family keepsake. In the pages, the young author detailed the excitement and fun at the barbecue and how much she enjoyed the “delicious” chicken.

She said she will absolutely be back for chicken during the Fall Festival this year set for Sept. 8, 9 and 10, although her mother isn't sure she will be able to volunteer due to a scheduling issue.

“I've been a Rotary Club member for about 5 years, but we moved to Plymouth about a year ago,” Candace Powers said. The mother of three daughters, now 10, 8 and 6, is employed with Lake Credit Union in Plymouth. “They are all looking forward to the chicken dinners,” she said. “Especially Scarlett.”