The Elizabethton Rotary Club will again host its annual bean dinner at the T.A. Dugger Junior High cafeteria April 25 with the proceeds to benefit several local causes as well as support the various Rotary International programs.

According to Joe Alexander, the club’s past president and chairman of the bean dinner event, the first bean dinner was held back in 1971 with the main benefactor then being the American Cancer Society. During that time the benefit was held at the First United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall before moving to its present location at the school.

The 26 plus members of the local Rotary plan to help serve a bean dinner that will consist of beans seasoned with Cliffty Farm’s ham hocks, salt and butter. Also on the menu will be cornbread, slaw and desserts, all homemade.  Beverages will be coffee and tea. Children will be offered corn dogs and chips.

While club members will be helping serve an expected turnout of close to 600 guests, the hard work begins in the kitchen. “We could not do it without the cafeteria staff at T.A. Dugger,” said Alexander. “Michelle Johnson and her staff …are really really nice to work with. They are the primary cookers behind the scenes. They cook about 150 pounds of dry beans to start with.”

In the past, the proceeds of the dinner have gone to the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, however, additional groups will also receive funding. The following organizations will receive funding from the event:  Elizabethton/Carter County Boys and Girls Club, Elizabethton/Carter County Public Library, Elizabethton/Carter County United Way; camp scholarships for 4-H Club, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts; and college scholarships for Carter County students at ETSU, Northeast State, and TCAT.

The bean dinner will be held at the T.A. Dugger cafeteria from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on April 25. Tickets are $7 each and can be bought at the door or from any Rotary Club member. Carry-outs are also available.