Chilly at the Lodge: Food, Fun, and Fundraising

by Michelle Cardenas

In a small town like Huntsville, Texas, tradition beats it all. So when the first Saturday in February rolls around, everyone is eager to indulge in one of the tastiest community events of the year!

For the past 3 years ,“Chilly at the Lodge” has brought together the community and chili chefs from all over the country for a chili cookoff. The fundraiser has proven to be a great success and fun-filled event, with much of the work being led by Karla Christian and a team of community volunteers. All the proceeds go to support the Josey Scout Lodge, where the event is held.

This year, the LEAP Ambassadors were fortunate enough to be guest judges for the community youth and adult division. Although our credentials for cooking chili are a bit lacking, we can determine what we like. As the time for judging approximated, we all headed into the judges’ area in the lodge. We were greeted by many familiar faces, including Mac and Leanne Woodward; SHSU’s Gene Roberts; former City Attorney of Huntsville Thomas Leeper;

…Assistant City Manager Sam Maisel; SHSU’s Mandy Dunbar; Pete Sessions’ District Coordinator, Jeff Murski;

…and former LEAP ambassador and current City of Huntsville Economic Development Specialist Miranda Estrada. We also had the privilege of meeting Walt Pinegar, former investigator for the Walker County District Attorney’s office.

The judging process was very official; we began with a judges’ meeting directed by Don Cullum, six-time International Chili Society World Championship qualifier.

The stakes were high, and we did not take our roles as judges lightly. We were soon divided into two groups and so Olivia, Cinthia, Jessica and I ended up judging the community youth category ,while Morgan judged the community adult chili. We quickly grabbed our ballots and got to tasting!

There were other categories such as traditional red chili, veggie chili, chili verde, and homestyle chili. With such an extensive amount of chili to be tasted, there was a wonderful lineup of judges, including Mayor Russell Humphrey, City Manager Aron Kulhavy, Michelle Lyons, and our very own, Professor Yawn.

After judging, we couldn’t help but sample the other delicious chilis from across the country, one of which was California! The chilis ranged from all walks of spice and fixings and while it was hard to choose a favorite, we ultimately cast our ballots for the ‘People’s Choice’ category (for the winners, see the bottom of the article). We had a wonderful time conversing with the many people in attendance. Who knew that chili was such a good hors d’oeuvre!?

Many thanks Leanne Woodward and Karla Christian for the opportunity to participate as judges at this amazing chili cook-off. We had a great time, and it is always a pleasure to take part in the happenings of this amazing community!

To see the winners, go to Chilly at the Lodge!