Driver Ruritans are advising folks to come hungry to their annual barbecue chicken dinner on Saturday. Proceeds support local Scout groups.

The Driver Ruritans sponsor Boy Scout Troop 16, Cub Scout Pack 89, Venture Crew, Sea Scouts and Girl Scout units in the Driver area, event spokesman Les Ward said.

“They give them the money for campships so needy Scouts can go to summer camp,” Ward said, adding that Ruritan proceeds also go toward cookout equipment and camping gear.

Many of the Ruritan club members, including him, are also Scout leaders, said Ward, an assistant Scout leader at Troop 16 and also a Webelos leader in Pack 89.

“In fact,” he said, “ a lot of them are Scout leaders in both the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts.”

Scouts helps develop boys and girls into self-reliant, productive citizens, according to Ward.

“We try to turn them into better citizens, because they are going to be our future leaders,” he said. “We teach them the value of government and patriotism.”

In its seventh year, the chicken dinner will be held at Berea Christian Church, 4109 Driver Lane, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Priced at $8, plates include half a chicken, potato salad, macaroni salad, baked beans, a roll and a drink, and are available eat-in or takeout.

“Half a chicken is a lot of chicken,” Ward said.

Club members begin cooking the chickens on large racks in a barbecue pit at the back of the church at 6 a.m., he said. Each rack takes 100 chickens, he said, and four racks roast away at the same time.

“Last year we sold 350 dinners, and we are hoping to do a little better than that this year,” Ward said.

Boy Scouts from Troop 16 help out at the event, serving and cleaning up, he said.

“Some of the boys are actually members of the Ruritan Club,” Ward said. “We have junior members. They attend meetings.”

Illustrating how the dinner supports the Scouts, Driver Ruritan Club handed out camperships to six Boy Scouts and four or five Cub Scouts last year, Ward said.

“We don’t want any children, when the parents can’t afford to send them, to miss out,” he said. “This is our biggest fundraiser.”

Dinner tickets are available from Ruritans, at the door, or call 675-7418.