Houston, MO—The 12th Annual Texas County Memorial Hospital Healthcare Foundation Chili Cook Off in Houston on November 3 was a huge success, raising a total of $53,869 for TCMH Hospice of Care. The event included live music by the band Chrome 45, a chili dog eating contest, live and silent auction items and all the chili you could ever want.
All of the funds raised at the Foundation event benefit TCMH Hospice of Care which provides end of life and grief support care for patients and their families in Texas County and the surrounding area.
Sixteen teams of five people participated in the event. Each team chose a theme and team name and began their fundraising efforts earlier in the year, each competing for one of the six coveted prizes: Team Fund-Raising Award.
The other five prizes teams competed for included Judge’s Choice, Spiciest Chili, People’s Choice, Best-Decorated Booth, and Best TCMH Chili.
Winners in each category are included below:
Judge’s Choice
1st Flavors of Fall—TCMH Medical Complex sponsored by Dr. Cory Offutt
2nd Happy Feet Chili Sponsored by the Raymondville United Methodist Church
3rd Houston R-1 Schools
Spiciest Chili
1st sMASHin Chili—TCMH med surg sponsored by Dr. Jason Loden
People’s Choice
1st Happy Feet Chili
2nd Crase-y Good Chili—TCMH Family Clinic sponsored by Dr. Doug Crase
3rd Houston R-1 Schools
Best-Decorated Booth
1st The A Team sponsored by Air Evac Lifeteam
2nd sMASHin Chili—TCMH med surg
3rd Crase-y Good Chili—TCMH Family Clinic
Best TCMH Chili
1st En Caso De Emergencia—TCMH EMS sponsored by Dr. Selina Jeanise
Team Fund-Raising
1st Team Jayson Jurassic Chili sponsored by People’ Community Bank who raised $5,994
2nd Happy Feet Chili who raised $3,140
3rd #elfies sponsored by Walmart Supercenter—Houston who raised $2,997
Ticket sales, the live and silent auctions, and team fundraising efforts are some of the main methods used to reach the fundraising goal.
“This event would not be possible without the incredible effort of the chili cook off teams,” Jay Gentry, TCMH Healthcare Foundation director, said.
Team fundraising efforts alone raised $22,902 prior to and during the event.
Team Jayson Jurassic Chili, a Cabool-based team in memory of Jayson Gentry, raised $5,994 and received the first place prize in the Team Fund-Raising category.
Team Jayson has been participating in the Chili Cook Off for four years now with different themes each year, and received special mentioned for their fundraising efforts over those years. In total, the team has raised over $16,000 for TCMH Hospice of Care.
Even though the top three teams are the only teams to receive awards in this category, a fourth team, Crase-y Good Chili the TCMH Family Clinic team, received a special mention for their fundraising efforts. The team raised $2,882 in only two weeks.
The three chili judges representing sponsors and supporters of the event were Sandy Howard from Progressive Ozark Bank in Houston, Dr. Matt Brown from Mercy Clinic in Houston, and Steve Pierce from Online Metal Supply in Houston.
Community members in attendance voted on “People’s Choice,” and TCMH employees voted on “Best TCMH Chili” with a ballot they received when entering the event.
Gentry noted that teams helped sell raffle tickets for a Ruger American 6.5 Creedmore and a Kawasaki-brand utility vehicle that were raffled at the end of the event.
Jim White of Elk Creek won the UTV, and Junior Greer of Edgar Springs won the gun.
Donations came in the form of sponsorships by area businesses and local community members for chili teams, corporate and entertainment sponsorships, cash donations, and donations of items for the auctions.
The Healthcare Foundation has a designated “Hospice Fund” where the cook off funds and other donations to TCMH Hospice of Care are held.
For questions about the Chili Cook Off, please contact the TCMH Healthcare Foundation at (417) 967-1377.
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Photo Captions
Photo 1: Team Jayson Jurassic Chili, sponsored by Peoples Community Bank, took home 1st place in the “Team Fund-Raising” category and received special mention for the money they have raised over the four years they have participated in the Chili Cook Off. From left, Pam McClenahan, Judy Murray, Diana Peabody and Nancy Gentry.
Photo 2: sMASHin Chili, sponsored by Dr. Jason Loden, stands with their prizes. The TCMH med surg team won 1st place in “Spiciest Chili” and 2nd place in “Best-Decorated Booth.” From left, Rachel Wiles, NaKeisha Rust, Lyla Ellison, Shelly Rust, Shelly Beck and Shelby Ellison.
Photo 3: Chillin’ with my Gnomies, sponsored by State Farm Insurance—Justin Shelby, stands at their gnome-themed booth. From left, Justin Shelby, Tammy Wade, Airika Wiseman, and Telesha Linscott.
Photo 4: The TCMH Medical Complex team, Flavors of Fall sponsored by Dr. Cory Offutt, stands with their 1st place “Judge’s Choice” prize. From left, Holly Atterberry, MaKenzie Richards, Dr. Cory Offutt, Denay Green, and Bailey Howell.
Photo 5: En Caso De Emergencia, the TCMH EMS team sponsored by Dr. Selina Jeanise, accepts their medals for “Best TCMH Chili.” From left, Courtney Owens, Emilee Weaver, Jerri Sue Crump, Brittany Walter, Kristy Weaver, BayLee Weaver, Chris Weaver, and Jay Gentry.
Photo 6: Happy Feet Chili, sponsored by Raymondville United Methodist Church, accepting their medals for 2nd place in the “Team Fund-Raising” category. The team also placed 1st in People’s Choice and 2nd in Judge’s Choice. From left, Jackie Duncan, Karen Geer, Amy Wilson, Carol Honeywell, and Peter Geer.
Photo 7: The A-Team, sponsored by Air Evac Lifeteam, stands in front of their 1st place “Best-Decorated Booth.” From left, Jamie Dunn, Donni Dunn, Cristy Buckner, Glenn Buckner, George LaJoie, Teresa Click, and Sarah Hoffman.
Photo 8: Junior Greer holding his prize gun after hearing his name called for the raffle.
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For additional information, contact:
Kory Loden
Public Relations/Marketing Assistant
Texas County Memorial Hospital
Phone: 417/967-1251
kory.loden@tcmh.org