Kiwanis’ Chubby Menard Pancake Day returns Thursday in Batesville

The smell of syrup and sizzling sausage will fill the air Thursday as the Kiwanis Club of Batesville fires up the griddles for its annual Chubby Menard Pancake Day.

The community breakfast runs from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall, 615 E. Main St. For $6, guests can enjoy pancakes, sausage, and a drink — either dine-in or carry-out — with every dollar going back into programs that serve local children.

Proceeds support a range of youth initiatives, including an elementary reading program, the Every Child a Swimmer event, and scholarships for Key Club and Circle K members.

The event honors Chubby Menard, who became president of the Batesville Kiwanis Club in 1939 and brought some humor — and motivation — to club meetings with his idea of an “attendance pig.” Each month, the club division with the lowest meeting attendance had to care for a live pig until the next round of tallies. The joke caught on, attendance improved, and by year’s end, the well-fed pig was butchered and donated to a children’s home in Morrilton.

Now, decades later, the pancake tradition that bears Menard’s name keeps his spirit of creativity and service alive — one short stack at a time.