The 14th annual Flapjack Fest and Silent Auction took place Thursday, March 7 at the Foy Hall Food Court from 6-8 p.m.
Tickets were $5 and all proceeds went toward the Ryan F. Chandler Memorial Scholarship Endowment Fund. Five dollars provided attendees with all you can eat pancakes, bacon and sausage.
The purpose of the fundraiser was to ensure that the scholarship is self-sustaining for years to come.
Sodexo and Chartwells, a private food company, donated all of the food for the event.
Ryan Chandler was an Auburn University camp counselor in 1995, the first year that Camp War Eagle was the orientation program on campus. Chandler died four years later in the summer of 1999. His family set up the endowment fund in his honor after his death.
The scholarship fund is awarded to a student in the college of science and mathematics.
"We are here to raise money for the scholarships, and keep Ryan's name and his memory alive," said Mark Armstrong, director of First Year Experience. "We kind of tagged on and said we need to do something as a program to honor his memory."
First Year Experience is involved in many areas of orientation including Camp War Eagle, SOS, first year university seminar courses and the learning community program.
In the spring of 2000, First Year Experience created the Flapjack Fest and Silent Auction. Over the last 14 years, the event has raised more than $60,000 toward the scholarship fund.
Armstrong said the goal was to keep growing the endowment fund so that more students can receive scholarships.
The Foy Hall Food Court was so full that people were standing and eating their food because no more seats were available.
"More than 600 tickets were pre-sold, or sold at the door," said Melissa Dunn, assistant director of First Year Experience, exceeding the original expectation of 400 tickets.
Josh Huggins, head camp counselor and senior in music education, said that three rotations of staff were used during the event.
"We've actually had counselors cooking the pancakes, bacon and sausage in the arena all afternoon," Huggins said.
Sixty-two counselors participated in the preparation and management of the event, including 36 camp counselors, 20 parent counselors and six head counselors.
"That's our whole staff that we'll use throughout the whole entire summer," Huggins said.
George Merriam, junior in public relations, was the first student through the line to get pancakes.
"I'm thinking of going back and getting some more flappies," Merriam said. "I've only had 10."
Merriam said he stayed away from the sausage because it would take up too much space in his stomach and attributes his consumption quantity to his friends helping him keep pace.
The silent auction offered an alternative way for participants to show their support of the event.
"The silent auction is going on and it's all stuff that has either been made or donated, ranging from personal paintings to a football signed by Pat Dye," Huggins said.
The camp counselors were responsible for getting together most of the items that would be auctioned off.
Some of this year's contributions included a panorama photograph of Jordan-Hare Stadium, paintings done by faculty, hand-made jewelry and numerous Auburn memorabilia items.
The photograph of Jordan-Hare Stadium was the highest-grossing item at $70.
Dunn estimated that more than $3,000 was raised by the Flapjack Fest and Silent Auction in support of the scholarship fund.
"I'm grateful for anyone who comes out and takes part in it," Armstrong said.
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