Chili Cook Off Raises $53,869 for Hospice of Care

The 12^th 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

1^st Flavors of Fall—TCMH Medical Complex sponsored by Dr. Cory Offutt

2^nd Happy Feet Chili Sponsored by the Raymondville United Methodist Church

3^rd Houston R-1 Schools

Spiciest Chili

1^st sMASHin Chili—TCMH med surg sponsored by Dr. Jason Loden

People’s Choice

1^st Happy Feet Chili

2^nd Crase-y Good Chili—TCMH Family Clinic sponsored by Dr. Doug Crase

3^rd Houston R-1 Schools

Best-Decorated Booth

1^st The A Team sponsored by Air Evac Lifeteam

2^nd sMASHin Chili—TCMH med surg

3^rd Crase-y Good Chili—TCMH Family Clinic

Best TCMH Chili

1^st En Caso De Emergencia—TCMH EMS sponsored by Dr. Selina Jeanise

Team Fund-Raising

1^st Team Jayson Jurassic Chili sponsored by People’ Community Bank who raised $5,994

2^nd Happy Feet Chili who raised $3,140

3^rd #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.