ELLERBE — The Millstone Men of the Church at Rourk Presbyterian Church celebrated the 25th year of their annual barbecue fundraiser, drawing crowds from across the region and selling out of food twice during the event.
The long-running fundraiser supports local schools and families in need throughout the community.
“It inspired us to help the needs of the community and the needs of the local charities that we support, which is Mineral Springs Elementary School, Ellerbe Middle School. We support anybody in the community that has a legitimate need,” said Max Gardner, president of the Millstone Men of the Church.
Gardner said the group focuses on providing direct assistance to individuals and families facing financial hardship.
“We actually don’t give them the money, but if they have a light bill that’s due, if they have a car repair need that’s legitimate and they’ve exhausted all of their efforts, then we’ll help them with that at least once. Medical prescriptions, if they’re battling cancer or having to make trips to the doctor back and forth, we try to give them some gas money and things like that.”
The mission, he said, is rooted in service and giving back.
“It inspires us to be the difference. My mom told us to be blessed and to do the difference, and we try to do that here as well,” Gardner said.
In addition to its charitable impact, the fundraiser has built a reputation for its affordability and quality.
“A couple of things. One is the price. We try to keep the prices affordable for everybody so they can enjoy it. The quality of the food is first and foremost, because they know they’re going to get a Millstone helping, right? The quality is gonna be there,” Gardner said.
The event has grown over the years, attracting visitors from outside North Carolina.
“They come back for that year after year. Through the years, it’s spread. We have people that drove up from South Carolina to get our barbecue, we’ve had people come from Virginia to get our barbecue, so this is a well known event that we have every year,” said Gardner.
Gardner said the group aims to hold the fundraiser each year on the third Saturday in April, though scheduling can vary. The effort is led by 13 Millstone Men, with support from the church’s ladies auxiliary.
“We cannot do that without them. We could not do that without the support of our church family, and we could not do what we do without the main upstairs blessing us. We draw our strength from that,” Gardner said.
In addition to the spring barbecue, the group also sells barbecue in the Ellerbe Farmers Day Parade as another fundraising effort.
“With those monies, we try to disperse them around Christmas time to help those in need within the schools and different members,” said Gardner.