On Sunday morning, December 3, 2017, American Legion Post 274 came alive with the smells of breakfast being cooked. The NJROTC from Patuxent High School with the help of the Sons of the Legion (SAL) Squadron 274 hosted Breakfast with Santa Claus. According to attendance there were 202 adults and 91 children.
In the kitchen were Danny Houseman, Ken Hartman, Bud Caspar and Steve Bender cooking up the pancakes and eggs while Tony O’Donnell and Dan Dull were busy at the omelet station cooking up orders. In all they did 105 omelets. The total number of breakfasts served were 293.
Working the kitchen window, washing dishes, serving customers, clearing tables, doing activities with the youngsters and assisting Santa and Mrs Claus were 33 NJROTC cadets. Some of the cadets came early to set up before the doors opened at 8 am and others came later to help tear down and clean up.
Mr and Mrs Santa Claus (a cadet’s relatives, John and Nancy Burelson from Prince Frederick), who are professional Santas and were paid by a private donation, had over 70 families take pictures with them.
The fundraising event brought in over $2200 of which $1400 goes to the NJROTC Boosters for the unit’s activities, including trips to NJROTC events. According to Richard Sanchez, this is the largest turnout for Santa, since they have been holding the event.
On December 15th, the unit will have the Area Manager’s Inspection at 8 am, and they will host a drill meet at Patuxent High School on January 27, 2018. They are also planning a Breakfast with the Easter Bunny on Sunday, March 18, 2018.
Congratulations to the Patuxent High School NJROTC Orienteering team for earning 3rd Place overall at the Area 5 Orienteering Championships. The team is eligible to go to Orlando to complete in the NJROTC Orienteering National Championships. Check out their website: https://sites.google.com/site/paxnjrotc/
Please enjoy the picture gallery below.
Margit Miller / Calvert Beacon
