The grills will soon be warmed up. The batter mixers will be dusted off. And the legendary chef’s hat that says, “Ray” will be donned once again.

Yes, the Ironton Rotary Club is gearing up for its annual pancake breakfast fundraiser. The breakfast will be 7 a.m. to noon Feb. 13 at the AEP building on Third Street in Ironton.

The breakfast is the club’s major fundraiser of the year.

“It’s very much a community event,” Joe Jenkins, president of the club, said. “Every year we always have a lot of people.”

The club has been hosting the event, which supports the club’s service activities for the year, since 1976.

The club is in the midst of a revitalization project for the fountain area of downtown Ironton. The fountain and brickwork is being cleaned and an arbor is being constructed there.

The Rotary Club also provides dictionaries to every third grader in Lawrence County, totaling close to 1,000 students each year.

“That’s been just a great program,” Jenkins said. “It’s part of Rotary’s literacy program.”

Third grade is typically the time when students begin to study vocabulary, he said.

“It’s a gift to each student and it’s theirs to take,” Jenkins said. “The kids really appreciate it. They really like to have their own dictionary.”

The Rotary Club also offers scholarships to two nursing students from Lawrence County.

In addition to local service activities, the Club along with other chapters such as the Ashland and Russell clubs are helping to fund the construction of a children’s portion of a library in Belize.

“The thing about Rotary is service above self,” Jenkins said. “The goal is to have the opportunity to participate in projects local and globally.”

The pancake breakfast will be 7 a.m. to noon February 13 at the AEP building on Third Street in Ironton. The meal includes pancakes, sausage and coffee.

Tickets can be purchased for $5 from any Rotary Club member or at the door.