Lions Club pays tribute to Dorothy Lawson; Food Bank takes top prize in club's annual shopping spree

With both hands firmly clasped on the handle of a shopping cart, Rusty Argall knew exactly what she wanted.

She had only four minutes, however, to execute her plan.

“I know what I want. I just have to remember where everything is,” Argall said moments before making a frantic dash down the aisles at King’s Market on behalf of the Friday Harbor Food Bank, the winner of this year’s annual four-minute shopping spree sponsored by the San Juan Island Lions Club.

Her memory proved impeccable.

With the assistance of several Lions, Argall — great-granddaughter of Food Bank founder Dorothy Lawson — collected $593 of food and merchandise (diapers too) for the Food Bank.

As far as grand totals go, it’s not the largest in the two-decade history of the event. But it’s nothin’ to sneeze at either. “It’s a little bit more than last year,” said Lion Laurie Wangenheim, organizer of this year’s event.

Argall was hand-picked by the Lions to represent the Food Bank as a tribute to Lawson, who recently stepped down as president of the Food Bank after 27 years as the organization’s driving force. Lawson has moved to the Mount Vernon area to be closer to a daughter, according to family members.

The annual pre-Thanksgiving Day shopping spree is a fundraiser for the Lions Club’s scholarship program.

Wangenheim said about 1,800 tickets were sold prior to the drawing on Nov. 21, in which four prize winners were selected.

Young winner Elizabeth Scott, 8, of Friday Harbor won a turkey for the Food Bank. Chris DeFilipps and Jenny Roberts each won a turkey as well.

Contact Journal of the San Juans Editor Scott Rasmussen at srasmussen@sanjuanjournal.com or 1-360-378-5696.

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