Easter is all about the resurrection of Jesus, and along with that comes all of the family traditions the holiday brings. For hundreds in the area, that means the annual Civic Center Easter Dinner.
The annual Easter Dinner is still going strong in its 26th year. The Ahl family took over the event just two years ago. Host Tom Ahl says he is thankful for the opportunity to give back the community and share his faith with those in it.
"We're excited to be able to help and serve them and have them be our guests," says Ahl. "The community has been so good to us. We wanted to give back and we wanted to celebrate Easter with the community because it's the best holiday of the year because he took our sin, died on the cross, and rose again to give hope of eternal life."
Hundreds of people came out to enjoy a traditional meal of ham, mashed potatoes, and green beans. Ahl says he is thankful for the around 60 volunteers who donated their time to help out, but for those mixing the potatoes and scooping out the beans it is all about the human connections they make.
"We all have different skills and different needs, and somebody has to help me when I have something I can't do," says volunteer Don Leader, who says he has been volunteering at the dinner with his wife for around 20 years now. "This is what I can do; I can stand here and serve people. You form some family here each year you come back and you see some of the same people. But again, we're just happy to be able to do that."
And their hard work does not go unnoticed.
"Thank you for your time, thanks for everything and I appreciate it," says diner Everett Ward. "We all appreciate it and we hope they have more of doing this. Just remember: Christ is risen, that's what it's all about."
