Spevak: Support Los Banos nonprofits by purchasing Fourth of July fireworks

Many Los Banos residents have long anticipated June 28, the date when fireworks can legally be sold in their city by nonprofit groups like the Los Banos Rotarians.

Starting June 28 Los Banosans can begin purchasing Fourth of July fireworks at one of nine booths in Los Banos manned by nonprofit groups. The Rotary booth this year will be in the Walmart parking lot.

Every year Americans have looked forward to July 4 as a chance to legally let off some steam. This year the anticipation is ever greater, after they’ve been hamstrung for the past 15 months by the COVID pandemic.

Los Banos Rotarians have had three years to rest in between fireworks booths. The last time their name was pulled out of a hat that included more than a dozen local nonprofit organizations was 2018. Some of the older Rotarians in particular, like me, needed those three years to recuperate.

Like other stands in Los Banos, the Rotary fireworks booth near Walmart will be open on noon June 28 (after an inspection by the Los Banos Fire Department) and then from June 29 to July 4 at 8 a.m. Each evening the booth will close at 8 p.m.

Working in a fireworks booth isn’t easy. Ask any volunteer who’s worked in one, investing “sweat equity” for the sake of their nonprofit group. Sweat is a common commodity in an open-air booth during the last week of June and first week of July.

Having worked in several Rotary Fireworks booths in the last decade, I can attest to the challenges of selling fireworks. First, people in the booth must know and be able to explain the many different products that are being sold, with names like Crazy Eyeballs and Cosmic Surge.

Then they need to tabulate the items and take cash or run a credit card through whatever mobile system they have. They must keep focused through a shift that runs four hours or longer, demonstrating enthusiasm, courtesy and efficiency.

This year I’ve signed up for several noon-to-4 shifts. From noon to 1 p.m. I’ll be raring to go and fully focused. From 3 to 4 p.m., however, I’ll be dragging and will need to put mind over matter, or in other words, spirit over sweat. I don’t mean to whine, though. Every person working in one of the many booths in Los Banos has similar challenges.

Each volunteer motivates herself or himself by remembering the reasons why they’re part of the organization selling the fireworks, using the net income for projects that help the community.

For the Rotary Club that means supporting projects like providing scholarships for Pacheco and Los Banos High School seniors, as well as supporting Empty Bowls, local food banks, the American Cancer Society, the Christmas Angel Tree, local Boy Scout Troop 85 and literacy and children’s projects at the Los Banos library.

Toni Huarte, outgoing president of the Los Banos Rotary Club, said that the fireworks booth has been a real blessing for the club. “For the past two years, our big fundraiser, the Crab Feed, had to be canceled because of COVID. We need a boost like this booth to have the funds to continue all the community projects we do.”

Incoming club president Sharon Silva said the booth will be an energizing start to her presidency. “Our club is poised to do great things in the next year,” she said, “and fireworks are a great way to get things started.

Silva, who serves as Executive Director of the Los Banos Downtown Association, is also excited about another kind of fireworks, the July 3 community fireworks show in downtown Los Banos at the Henry Miller Plaza. “This is the first community fireworks show in Los Banos in years,” she said, “thanks to the Los Banos Downtown Association.”

The association chose to have the fireworks show on Saturday, the evening before the Fourth of July, so that families who purchased fireworks at Los Banos booths could enjoy them on Sunday. “It’s the best of both worlds for people who like fireworks,” Silva said.

This year’s Rotary fireworks booth is being coordinated by new Rotarian Mike Gill, with plenty of help from Rotarians like Dick Gerbi, Mike Larson, Brian Rocha and Gene Lieb. In fact, according to Lieb, “every Los Banos Rotarian is doing her or his part to make sure every shift in the booth is covered and we provide excellent service to our customers. And Mike is doing a super job coordinating all this.”

As in previous years, the Rotary booth will feature TNT fireworks. Besides popular fountain displays from past years like Allegiance, Delirium, Power On and Opening Show, TNT will have new products like Centennial Fountain, Jungle Flower, Sparkle Berry, Cool Breeze and Wild Turkey. The full line of TNT fireworks can be seen at https://www.tntfireworks.com/fireworks/cat/california.

The opening day for the booth, June 28, is approaching fast, so like other Rotarians I will be taking a crash course, or maybe I should say, “flash” course, in TNT aerials, fountains and novelties. Since Rotary’s motto is “Service Above Self,” the Los Banos Rotary fireworks booth will need to emphasize and deliver excellent customer service.

All Los Banos Rotarians are dedicated to service, not only in the booth, but to their community. They hope to see many Los Banos residents come to their booth near Walmart and support the many community projects the club sponsors.

John Spevak wrote this for the Los Banos Enterprise. His email is john.spevak@gmail.com.