DANVILLE — The 2018 Danville Lions Club Raccoon Dinner will be held Monday, Feb. 5 at the St. Luke’s Community Center, located immediately behind the Danville St. Luke’s Catholic Church. The meal will be served from 4:30 until 7:30 p.m. on a first come, first served basis. At 6:30 p.m., the Devil Land Jazz Band will perform for the attendees across the street from the Community Center in the High School Auditorium. The main event will follow the band at 7:30 p.m. with a presentation by National Speakers Association Member Dave Leedy. A raffle drawing for a Ruger 22 Magnum Rifle will be held at the end of the program, tickets are available at the door and at various locations in Danville.
The Danville Lions Club will honor the memory of fallen Danville Police Officer Thomas Cottrell at the 2017 Raccoon Dinner. Officer Cottrell lost his life in the line of active duty on Jan.18, 2016. Net proceeds from the Raccoon Dinner, as well as from the Gun and 50/50 raffle, will be put into a scholarship fund for Officer Cottrell’s children. So far $15,000 has been raised for the scholarship fund trust towards the overall goal of $30,000.
Clyde Banbury and Clyde Cornell started the first Raccoon Dinner. The meal was served in Banbury’s basement with 30 in attendance. After a few years, the annual dinner was moved to the elementary building at the school cafeteria since the interest in attending was dramatically increasing. As the event evolved, guest speakers were included as part of the program. There have been many notable and outstanding speakers such as Ohio Governor Jim Rhodes, OSU head coaches Woody Hayes and John Cooper, Gordy Coleman (Cincinnati Reds), Jerry Razor (newscaster), Ed Johnson, Steve Newman, Andy Geiger, Bill Conley, Craig Krenzel, Greg Frey, Katie Smith, Matt Finkus, Bobby Carpenter, and many more. The largest attendance to the event was over 800 people.
At the dinner, almost 500 pounds of raccoon is served as the entree coupled with a full course setting of mashed potatoes, dressing, mixed vegetables, raccoon gravy, cake, and a generous serving of fresh homemade cornbread. A limited amount of ham is prepared for those wishing to attend whose health may not permit them to consume the raccoon.
The participants come from all over the United States and Canada to attend this famous event. Past events have seen a gentleman fly up from Missouri in his airplane just for the dinner and a newspaper editor come from Pennsylvania attending to enjoy the unique cuisine. The event has had visitors from places as far away as Russia and Egypt. The 77-year-old Danville Lions Club, chartered in 1939, was sponsored jointly by the Fredericktown and Mount Vernon Lions Clubs. Since the beginning, the Club has truly lived up to the Lions Motto “We Serve.” They have sponsored and facilitated many hundreds of fundraising events and service projects to help the Danville area community and its citizens.
Guest speaker Dave Leedy is a highly animated speaker. He was a teacher in the public-school system for 30 years, as well as a wrestling coach and football coach. He received a bachelor’s degree from Bowling Green State University and a master’s degree from Xavier University. He is a member of the National Speakers Association, and has given over 1,500 speeches to businesses, government, associations, educators, students, and every type of health-care group imaginable. Come listen and see why he has been referred to as one of America’s most highly animated speakers.
For information about the Raccoon Dinner, contact the Knox County Convention and Visitors Bureau at (740) 392-6102, toll free at 1-800- 837-5282, or go to the web at www.VisitKnoxOhio.org and click the calendar menu item to access the detailed listing and a link to a map for the event.
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