Photo by Mike Lamb Erica Jones, left, and Leah Jones serve stuffing and gravy during the community Christmas Dinner held inside Holy Redeemer Church’s Carlin Hall Wednesday.

MARSHALL — It’s 12:30 p.m. and Evonne Seivert scurried to the very front of all 32 tables inside Carlin Hall inside Holy Redeemer Catholic Church and bellowed out instructions for winning a free poinsettia.

“There’s a sticker under the placemat at each table,” she yelled out over the humming of hundreds of people eating and talking among themselves. “That one will get the poinsettia. I’ll come around and help.”

Christmas Day arrived again, it was time for Seivert and dozens of volunteers to give back to the community and hold their annual free meal.

The longtime dinner volunteer began her rounds to the various tables to help those who couldn’t hear her instructions.

When asked how many days does it take to prepare for the Christmas Dinner, Seivert paused for second and then let out an “ahhhhhh.”

“Weeks,” she said.

Another longtime volunteer, Bob VanLeeuwe, added that there were 230 takeouts during last year’s dinner and 630 people showed up to eat in Carline Hall.

“I think it’s going to be about the same,” he said. “There are more people waiting in line.”

Seivert added that 50 turkeys and six hams were prepared for the event.

“We wanted to make sure there was going to be enough,” she said.

Volunteer Cindy Polfliet reported 221 takeouts before noon. And she was still giving them out at 12:30 p.m.

“There are other people who said they are going to eat here, but can I take home (a meal) to my husband,” she said. “Takeout start at 10:45 (a.m.). We had three big orders that out then. Then the rest came between 11 and 12. So we had takeouts done before we started the line (to the food for the tables).”

Polfliet has been volunteering for the past three years.

“It’s quite an operation. It takes a lot of volunteers,” she said.