Annual chili cookoff to benefit Rescue Mission heats up Feb. 25-26

The Annual Mason Dixon Chili Society’s Chili Cook off will be held Feb. 25-26 at the Black River Coliseum and is a “win-win event,” claim participants.

The event opens to the public at 11 a.m. Feb. 26 and benefits the United Gospel Rescue Mission. Attendance is free, but donations are accepted and prizes are awarded for the booth that raises the most.

“It’s fun when you do a fundraiser,” said Julie Spencer of Century 21 American Realty.

Century 21 American Realty is the third real estate company for which Spencer has helped cook and decorate the way to victory.

While winning the prizes for the best chili and decorating are enjoyable, Spencer said, “we always give our money back to the Rescue Mission. When you can actually do something good and have fun at the same time; it’s a win-win.”

Spencer and her cohorts start preparing after each cook off for the next year’s event.

Decorating booths, “that’s my thing,” Spencer said. “It’s fun. We like to make it fun. I know it’s really about the best chili. We always have people come up and tell us they really like our chili, but they love the booths.”

They have been Duck Dynasty, Gilligan’s Island, Hee Haw and the Addams Family.

Spencer likes to keep their plans a secret.

“We dress up,” she said. “We get everybody involved. The judges, they see us interacting with the people and we make it fun. People, even younger people, come over and talk to us about the booth.“

While Spencer wants to capture all the prizes, especially the one for decorating, Tim Funke of Aire Solutions’ team wants first place in the judges’ category.

Funke competes at the cook off because it’s fun and also teased, “Second, is because it’s for a really great cause helping the Rescue Mission. I guess, lastly, because we’re hoping someday we can actually win the thing; if they ever get good judges. Yes, you might print that.”

Funke admits, “we have a fair amount of awards we’ve garnered, but we’ve never got first place in the judges’ category. I think we’ve gotten second and third, but sometime when they get good judges we’ll get the appropriate award.”

His team has cooked “a bunch. I mean, we haven’t been there since day one. Actually, we got involved because we went the one year my son Matt was cooking. He actually won that year. While it was good chili, I thought, I make better chili than this. So if this chili wins, I really need to have my chili in here.”

Funke is out to beat his son Matt’s first place win, as for some of the other awards...

Funke’s team has never won in the booth decorating category “and we’ve never tried really hard there,” he said.

“My whole thing is those who can’t cook, decorate,” he teased. “We did upgrade our booth a few years ago, we used to have table out there. We finally got some PVC and banners. It looks a little more professional, but we’ll leave that to the people who came to win that award.”

Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center has been a main cook off sponsor for many years and has a team that participates, said Sandy Woods, a member of the Mason Dixon Chili Society.

“Their team has won many of the awards over the years. They’ve been a big supporter,” she said.

PBRMC Chief Nursing Officer Tim O’Neal is looking forward to judging this year.

“It’s a blast,” O’Neal said. “Not only is it a good time for me to represent the hospital, but it is also a good time for me to communicate with the community and have a good time with them.”

O’Neal will be joined this year by medical center CEO Rick Naegler.

PBRMC is involved with the cook off “because it gives us an opportunity to get out within the community,” O’Neal said. “We’re here at the hospital making sure the community’s health care needs are met. We don’t get very many opportunities to really go out, socialize and participate in the community events like this. So every time we have an opportunity, we try to take full advantage.

“We have a great time with this event, and anybody that has never come out and enjoyed what’s going on I encourage them to come and have a good time. It’s a good place to meet new people and just have conversations, relax, have fun together. Plus have some real good chili.”

Tricia Thornburg, secretary for PBRMC Behavioral Health Services, has participated for at least a decade. She admits it is fun, but more importantly it is “a really great cause.”

She and her coworkers want to help Pastor Greg Kirk provide services for those in the community who are homeless and have no other resources.