Good tastes with food from local restaurants, good tunes with DJ Freddie Frederick Jr. and local musical artists combined at the Bethlehem Rotary Club’s third annual Tastes and Tunes event, held at Hotel Bethlehem Oct. 4. The event, which benefitted the Boys and Girls Club of Bethlehem, combined food and music with live and silent auctions.

Paula Fabon, a Spanish exchange student attending her junior year at Liberty HS, attended the event. She said, “I made lots of friends. Everybody is so nice to me.” She enjoyed attending the event and “learning culture.”

Maggie Mowrer, a senior at Liberty, said her father George is a Rotarian. “He thought it was good for us to come, meet and talk with other Rotarians.”

Chris Eline of the Boys and Girls Club said, “It’s a great event. This is the third year and every year it’s gotten better and better.” The club is very grateful for the fundraising event, he said. “We’re doing our best to stay afloat. Fundraising is difficult for any nonprofit.”

That the Boys and Girls Club was chosen for this year’s Rotary Club fundraiser “says a lot about the needs of the Boys and Girls Club,” Eline said. He knows first-hand how important the Boys and Girls Club can be, since he was a recipient of the club activities. “I grew up here,” Eline said. “Having those after-school programs available makes all the difference in the world.”

Marty Coleman, a board member of the Boys and Girls Club, said “The most important thing is involvement on any level – time, financial – the most important thing is that people are involved.”

The event is “a celebration of what the Boys and Girls Club is all about: community, helping one another, building relationships that will serve them in youth and as adults.”

Andy and Carol Scott served as honorary co-chairs of the event. Andy said he had been a Rotarian in the past and while not an active member now, one of his employees who is a Rotarian urged him to be involved with the event.

“It’s a great cause,” Andy Scott said. “There is no greater cause in our society these days than working with youth from disadvantaged families and helping them toward success. It’s tough enough raising kids with intact families.”. The Boys and Girls Club was chosen to be the beneficiary of this year’s Rotary Club fundraiser because of its mission to help children. Scott added, “They have children in a structured environment after school and give them the discipline to help them to succeed. They do a really good job of that.”