Sunday dinner with the sisters proves a huge hit

A record crowd turned out for the annual Spaghetti Dinner this afternoon (Sunday, March 16) at the Nazareth Motherhouse.

A total of 570 dinners were served during the event, which raised $10,400 to benefit the ministries of the Sisters of St. Joseph.

About 500 guests were served at last year’s dinner.

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With live music, building tours, a bake sale and silent auction packing the event’s agenda, a big attraction was the drawing for seven prizes that had all been donated to benefit the sisters.

Those prizes, and the winners of each, were:

• Donnie Tate of Concordia, signed K-State basketball
• Mary Smith of Larned Kan., signed K-State football
• JoDee Rothfuss of Concordia, Keurig coffee machine
• Rod and Sue Hine of Concordia, four-burner Charbroil gas grill
• Darrell Wood of Lewis Kan., $250 cash
• Megan Nulf of Bartlesville Okla., $350 cash
• Irene Brown of Concordia, $500 cash

There were more than a dozen items in the silent auction, plus about two dozen Easter baskets for sale and scores of treats available in the bake sale. A grab bag with items for $1, $2 and $3 was also popular.

One new benefit for guests this year was the new parking lot and auditorium entrance on the east side of the Motherhouse. The construction project got under way last summer, and this was the first public event at which it was available.

The east entrance is handicap-accessible and allows guests to come directly to the auditorium without having to pass through other parts of the building.

Sisters from as far away as Georgia came to Concordia to help with the dinner. Plus, more than 60 volunteers from throughout the area donated their time and energy.

The fundraiser is organized by the sisters’ Development Office (Sister Jean Rosemarynoski, Holly Brown and Amanda Jeardoe) and the day’s volunteer work force is coordinated by Sister Loretta Jasper.