Sunny and chili

Click here for lots of great pictures of the cookoff.

The weather was perfect, there were no hitches or glitches and once again, the annual St. George Island Regional Charity Chili Cook-off & Auction, Inc. had a great day Saturday.

The 28th annual affair, featuring 55 booths and 60 chilis on the table, drew a large, well-mannered, fun-loving crowd, with no problems other than the predictable parking pressures that come with a large assemblage.

New this year was a $5 admission charge for visitors over age 12, which board member Grayson Shepard said drew about 5,600 paying customers through the gate. This didn’t include the four passes that were given to each booth, as well as all the children and volunteers and judges and guests that helped swell the crowd.

Shepard said treasurer Ticia Lipscomb has estimated that the event raised all told around $90,000, not including corporate sponsorships. All proceeds go to help the island’s volunteer fire department and first responders.

Shepard said things went even smoother because with all the fencing, the organizers decided not to allow cars on site. “It helped with the traffic flow and gave us a little more room,” he said. “Normally we’ve allowed car parking along Gulf Beach Drive.”

With no law enforcement complaints to speak of, the crowd was steady and robust all day, drawn by some stepped-up advertising the event put on thanks to a grant from the Tourist Development Council.

Organizers are looking for ways to boost the fortunes of the annual auction, which has fallen off in recent years, as patrons have become younger and are more attracted to the party atmosphere than in sitting down for an auction.

The weather couldn’t have been better all day long, as the day got underway with the annual Red Pepper Run (See page A7)

First to win on the day was Bobby and Patti Entrekin, from Thunderbolt, Ga., who won the amateur crock pot chili contest for the second year in a row. Finishing second among the 20 contestants in the competition, sponsored by Journeys of St. George Island, was Gina Lee, of Crawfordville, with Shane Armistead and Teresa Peterson, of Lynn Haven, finishing third.

The Entrekins finished in the top three for the fifth time with their chili, flavored with ground beef, chorizo sausage and Jimmy Dean sausage, as well as onions, peppers and black beans. The couple had cooked it the day before back in Thunderbolt, and then flown it down aboard a plane piloted by their friends Dave and Barbara Bormes, who have a house in the Plantation.

About midday, the affair heated up with a raucous crowning of Miss Chili Pepper and Mr. Hot Sauce, both won by members of the Bluewater team from Tallahassee. Hillary Lamont was Miss Chili Pepper, beating out a crowded field, while John Grauer was Mr. Hot Sauce.

The top prizes waited until the end of the afternoon, when the KATN (Kick A** and Take Names) team out of Clearwater, a veteran competitor, took the top prize, with Doug Roy accepting. The team won $500 cash and the right to advance to the International Chili Society (ICS) nationals, when KATN finished in second place last year.

Finishing in second place, and winning $300, was the Three Sheets to the Wind team out of Panama City, represented by Wanda Gangswich. In third place, and taking home $200, was the Outlaw Chili team out of Lawrenceville, Ga., represented by Glenn Chandler.

Finishing fourth was The Great American Chili Company, out of Red Bluffs, Calif., represented by Ron Judson, with Panama City’s Beach Bums, represented by John Kowals, finishing fifth.

Shepard said that because the regional cook-off has grown in size to the point it is sixth or seventh largest in the nation, he plans to ask ICS whether the event in the future can send both the first and second place finishers to the nationals.

Winning the award for the Best Showmanship was Team Toilet Bowl, represented by Ed Branch. The Wild and Organic booth, manned by Garden Inc.’s Amanda Koller, won for Best Booth.