A community gives thanks

MOSES LAKE — The smell of pumpkin pie saturated the air in the Columbia Basin Elks Lodge Wednesday afternoon as First Choice Services held their annual Thanksgiving dinner.

From green bean casserole, to stuffing, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, and, of course, turkey, Wednesday’s free dinner featured a full Thanksgiving spread prepared and dished up by students from the Columbia Basin Job Corps Culinary Arts Program. The dinner itself might have been a week early, but the theme of togetherness was evident as the community packed out the Elks Lodge on North Stratford Road. In past years the dinner was well attended, but nothing like the turnout on Wednesday. The line of people waiting to eat stretched from the inner part of the building all the way out to the front door at times.

“I don’t think we have ever had this many people come,” organizer Jennifer Killian said. “It really is the most packed we have ever seen in all the years we have been doing it.”

The Columbia Basin Elks Lodge waived the rental fee for their facility for First Choice Services, which is a community organization that helps people with disabilities find and keep jobs. The food for the dinner was donated by numerous community members and businesses throughout the area. In particular, Killian thanked Windermere Real Estate agent Kandi Bersanti and the entire Windermere Real Estate team, who stepped up in a big way by donating items for the dinner that usually go fast, like butter, pies and cookies.