President Carol Cartwright serves pancakes at Aviation Day at the Kent State Airport. The annual pancake breakfast was sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Stow-Munroe Falls.

Credit: Steve Schirra

STOW – President Carol Cartwright donned an apron and dished out pancakes and sausage to hungry patrons at the Aviation Day with Flair – A Taste of Stow yesterday morning.

The Stow-Munroe Falls Kiwanis Club sponsored the annual pancake breakfast. Volunteers from organizations such as Kiwanis, Circle K from Kent State and Key Club from local high schools served customers pancakes, sausage, orange juice and coffee, said Kiwanis President Elect Ron DeGrand.

Proceeds from the breakfast are used for scholarships, such as the annual $1,000 scholarship given to a student in the school of flight technology, DeGrand said. This year’s recipient, Kristen Pickworth, senior aviation management major and president of Kent State’s chapter of the American Association of Airport Executives, was announced at Aviation Day.

Local politicians and school board members acted as “celebrity servers,” he said. Cartwright said this was the fifth or sixth year she has participated.

Volunteers made pancakes on large griddles and brought them up to the servers in the front. Servers usually work for about an hour, Cartwright said, but she worked past her shift.

“I don’t mind staying here longer,” she said. “It’s always fun.”

Kiwanis has held its pancake breakfast for 10 years, DeGrand said. Taste of Stow and Aviation Day used to be separate events but combined about five years ago.

“We wanted to give people more to do while they’re here,” said Dennis Baden, chairperson for Aviation Day with Flair- A Taste of Stow.

The day allows community and university members to come together and see what the airport does, Baden said.

A.R. Chowdhury, dean of the School of Technology, pointed out the residential neighborhoods visible around the airport. He said the community and the university are physically very near, and events like yesterday’s bring them together.

“It’s important to be connected to community events like this,” Cartwright said.

Customers to the breakfast came in waves, although Cartwright said the morning crowd was probably slower than normal because of the overcast weather.

Contact administration reporter Rachel Abbey at [email protected].