A record crowd at the biannual Rotary Club of Ruidoso Enchilada Dinner & Bingo Night

When the Rotary Club of Ruidoso fired up the serving line for its biannual Enchilada Dinner & Bingo Night, organizers had a problem most nonprofits would envy: too many people wanted to come. So they moved to a bigger venue, rebuilt the serving system, and fed a record 700 guests in under an hour—raising nearly $13,000 for Lincoln County student scholarships in the process.

The March 31 event at the Ruidoso Convention Center marked the 51st year of a fundraiser that has become a pillar of the club's scholarship program. This year brought an expanded venue, redesigned serving lines, and an upgraded PA system—changes that could have introduced complications but instead delivered the smoothest event in the program's history.

"This was incredible," said Rotary Club President Gavin Bigger. "Every year we grow a little bit and we add some changes. This year was particularly bigger and there were some changes with our serving line and our PA system. So there was a lot of potential for things to go wrong, but the team seems to have really hammered it out. We got about 700 people fed inside of an hour, which is incredible, and we started playing bingo on time. So I'm thrilled."