When the dust from 210 pounds of flour starts flying, that's a sign that it's Troy Rotary Pancake Supper time.

About this time each year, the Troy Rotarians heat up the griddles and flip &uot;all the pancakes you can eat&uot; for the unbelievably low price of $4 a person.

This year's pancake supper is set from 5 until 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27 at the fellowship hall of First Baptist Church of Troy.

Tickets are available from any Rotarian or can be purchased at the door.

&uot;We want people to began making their plans to join us for what we hope will be one of the biggest pancakes suppers we've

ever hosted and we've been doing this for a long time,&uot; said Rotarian Basil Drake.

The Troy Rotary Club's Pancake Supper is so successful each year that one would have a hard time believing that it fizzled at the start.

&uot;Back in 1984, we were looking for a fundraiser for the club and we decided on a Saturday morning breakfast,&uot; Drake said. &uot;The funds we raised were dedicated to the Arthritis Foundation. We made about $1,200 and that was good, but we didn't really get the kind of participation we had hoped for. Saturday is an off day for many people and they had plans that didn't included our breakfast.&uot;

A year later, the Rotarians decided there was nothing wrong with pancakes and sausage; what was wrong was the time.

&uot;We decided to have a pancake supper and we also decided to give the money we raised the way we wanted to give it,&uot; Drake said.

Over the years, the pancake supper has put about $4,000 a year in the Rotary coffer and the funds have been put to good use.

The Rotarians have awarded five college scholarship and two vocational scholarships; they support the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life campaign, the American Heart Association, the Boy Scouts of America and Operation Outreach, through which character-building books are donated to fourth-grade students.

&uot;We also pledged $125,000 to Troy State University for the Rotary International House for foreign students,&uot; Drake said. &uot;The funds are given over a 10-year period and we are proud to be involved in this project.&uot;

Drake said the success of the pancake supper is due to the hard work of the Rotarians.

&uot;Some Rotarians sell as many as 100 tickets each and other sell around 30 or 40,&uot; he said. &uot;When you get efforts like that, it really pays off.&uot;

Drake said the support the Rotary Club gets locally makes it possible to get the most bang for each four bucks.

&uot;Almost all of what we need for the supper is donated and that makes almost all of the money profit,&uot; Drake said. &uot;Elba Packing Company, Alaga Syrup, BeeLine, Holiday Inn, Winn-Dixie, Burger King, Sodexho/Marriott Foods and Ingram's Curb Market donate food and paper items. First Baptist Church provides the facility for the supper and The Messenger and WTBF advertise for us.

&uot;The pancake supper is a success because of them and all of those who buy tickets to the supper.

And, the Troy Rotary Club would like to thank everyone who makes these suppers a success. The money goes back into our community and many people benefit.&uot;