Volunteer Spotlight: The Brecksville United Methodist Church Home Days Booth

Since the theme of this year’s Home Days is volunteerism, it’s only natural to highlight some of the volunteers who have been hard at work all weekend.

The volunteers at the ’s booth have gone above and beyond—while many of the community booths feature games and information for visitors, the food is often left up to local restaurants and other vendors. But the church’s booth has been serving up freshly baked pies and other goodies for more than a decade.

Ruth Holmes, one of the volunteers working on Saturday afternoon, said the group bakes up the pies and other treats fresh every morning of Home Days. A few years ago, they added sandwiches to give festival-goers another option, but the cherry pies, cobblers and other treats are the real hallmark of the booth. Holmes said they sell thousands of items each Home Days weekend.

All the proceeds go toward the church’s mission programs, Holmes said, and about 50 volunteers take part in some way. Some, like Holmes and Emily Kotnik, have been involved for years.

“She started when she couldn’t reach the counter,” Holmes said of Kotnik, who will be a senior at Nordonia High School. Kotnik’s whole family is involved with the booth.

Holmes, who said she's been volunteering with the booth since its start about 12 to 15 years ago, said her favorite part of Home Days is “meeting the people.”