Salute to Agawam Day celebrated at The Big E

WEST SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) - Wednesday was Salute to Agawam Day at The Big E.

We checked in with the Agawam Lions Club. They started serving the community of Agawam in 1962 and a team of volunteers help keep their Big E operation running.

“We’re a hundred percent volunteer. All the members here donate their time for the 17 days of the fair and other multiple fundraisers that we do throughout the year or during the year. Our main goald is eye and ear research. We started out as an eye fund to research eye disease. We’ve donated almost a million dollars towards that…We just got up to $600,000 which is on that sign behind us and we do other charity events. We donate to the Boy Scouts, we donate to the veterans in Agawam. We do a monthly lunch and that’s our main goal,” said Chris Woods.

[Reporter: You have about 90 members right now. Are you hoping to grow those ranks?]

“Absolutely. We actually have a Leos club, which is a younger group. That starts in the schools and hopefully they’ll mature to become Lions in the future,” Woods added.

We then made our way over to the chicken side and there was a lot of barbecue chicken being prepared.

“We cook it over charcoal. We use a special sauce, can’t disclose what it is, and I’ve been doing it for 46 years now. This is what keeps the basis of our foundation going. This is our biggest fundraiser for the year and from here, we put out scholarships and help out the community,” said Tim, a Lions Club volunteer.

[Reporter: ...and it’s not just the chicken. Tell us about some of the other classics you serve]

“We have a bread cone. We do mac and cheese in a bread cone, pulled chicken,” Tim added.

[Reporter: ...and it seems, the prices here, they’re just about the best you’re going to find at the fairgrounds]

“This is the best value on the fairgrounds, hands down,” said Tim, adding “...and it tastes good too.”

You can find the Agawam Liosn Club booth right outside The Big E Arena.

Copyright 2022. Western Mass News (WGGB/WSHM). All rights reserved.