Rotarians ready their T-shirts for 2014 Parrots of the Caribbean

Madison Rotarians working to present the 2014 “Parrots of the Caribbean” on Aug. 23 at The Barn include chairperson Debbie Overcash, front from left, Karen Morris, Pat Cross and Carla Daily, and Marc Jacobson, back from left, Eugene Pfeiffer and Dennis Sanders. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – Iconic T-shirts that commemorate the “Parrots of the Caribbean” fundraiser hold fond memories for members of the Rotary Club of Madison.

The 2014 Parrots of the Caribbean will held on Aug. 23 at The Barn, 58 Martin St., in downtown Madison.

“The first Parrots was held at Edgewater Clubhouse in 2003 and chaired by the late Miles Montgomery, club president-elect,” Rotarian Karen Morris said. “Rotary members decorated with balloons, cooked hamburgers, danced the night away and were excited to raise $1,500 (for) annual service and charitable projects.”

In 2004, chairperson Pat Cross first led the event at The Barn. That year, the club named Parrots as its official annual fundraiser.

In 2005, longtime Rotarian Carol Rives of Somerset Group designed the T-shirt logo with its large red parrot, palm tree and coconuts. The Parrots T-shirts were introduced in 2005 when chairperson Elizabeth Houssain chose white and then bright blue for 2006.

Carla Daily and Dennis Sanders served as 2007 and 2008 co-chairmen. Parrots was then a “highly anticipated North Alabama event attended by over 600,” Morris said. Lime green and bright orange were theme colors those years.

Sandy Patel chaired Parrots in 2009 and 2010 and “brightened the event with a sunny yellow shirt,” Morris said.

Morris, Steve Baum, Gene Pheiffer and Debbie Overcash have been chairs from 2011 through 2014, respectively. Fred Davey is taking T-shirt orders this year. Marc Jacobson will chair the event in 2015.

T-shirt colors for subsequent years have been hot pink, pale blue, pale purple, black, lime green and this year’s red.

The Zooks and Four on the Floor will entertain this year. Curbside Grille and Boyd’s Bar will return.

“Rotary members won’t be hard to spot in their red shirts,” Morris said. “Find out what Rotary accomplishes locally, nationally and internationally.”

For tickets, visit http://parrots2014.eventbrite.com or any Madison Rotarian.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. The party begins at 6 p.m. For more information, visit madisonalrotary.org or Facebook/#ParrotsOfTheCaribbean, Twitter and Instagram.