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Winners Announced for This Year’s Annual North
Country Chili Cook-Off
Published: March 07, 2022 at
07:00 p.m.
By: Press Release
Winners Announced for This Year’s Annual North
Country Chili Cook-Off
(WATERTOWN, NY) – The Volunteer
Transportation Center, Inc. (VTC) has announced winners of the 23rd Annual
North Country Chili Cook-Off, an event that was again held in a modified
format this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
L.E.A.’S Diner in
Heuvelton received the most votes for the
People’s Choice Award and was declared the winner. Meme’s Diner in Felts
Mills collected the most donations, earning the Top Fundraiser Award. Both
participants won their respective awards last year.
“It was a real
Yogi Berra moment. It was like déjà vu all over again,” said Jeremiah S.
Papineau, Director of Communications and Foundation Director for the VTC.
“We almost couldn’t believe it but, after everything was counted and
recounted to be sure, we saw each of them bring home the same honors they
brought home last year. It was amazing.”
That was a
sentiment shared by Steven Bogardus, who owns L.E.A.’S Diner with his wife,
Tasha.
“It was
absolutely amazing to win again. We’re speechless. We’re at a loss for
words,” said Mr. Bogardus.
This year’s experience was even more special, he added, due
to the increase in participating locations from 28 last year to 34 this
year. Last year, L.E.A.’S Diner was the only business to participate in St.
Lawrence County. This year, eight others joined them.
“Participating
again was more exciting because there was more competition, which made it
more fun,” said Mr. Bogardus.
Brandy Snyder,
owner of Meme’s Diner, said she was again honored to participate and said
she was proud of her customers and employees who made that participation a
success, raising $1,000 – nearly doubling the $560 her business raised last
year.
“We did not raise
this money on our own. Knowing that our customers will get behind a good
cause is always very humbling,” said Ms. Snyder. “Seeing our customers
participate and advocate for the Veterans is an amazing experience.”
The cook-off –
typically held as a one-day event at the Dulles State Office Building in
Watertown on the first Saturday of February – is a fundraiser for the VTC
to support transportation it provides for Veterans and their families. This
year, the event was again held at participating restaurants in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence Counties throughout the month of
February. The move was made in an effort to host
the event in a way that would follow New York State mandates and adhere to
CDC guidelines.
This year’s North
Country Chili Cook-Off again focused only on the “Professional” award
category and was held in a “pub crawl” format, in which those wishing to
sample and vote on their favorite entries could do so at participating
restaurants.
Chili Cook-Off
Committee Chairperson Amy McEathron, Owner and
President of Independent Medical Evaluation Company, Carthage, said she was
excited to see the event be a success again this year.
“We thank everyone who did the chili crawl
and tried all the different chilies,” said Mrs. McEathron.
“It’s amazing how the tri-county area came together again to show their
support for our Veterans and their families. It’s an honor to chair this
event.”
Mrs. McEathron — who is a past 5th District President and
past Jefferson County President for the American Legion Auxiliary
Department of New York — added she appreciates “the many years of support
from our community and the American Legion Family.”
“We again congratulate L.E.A.’S Diner and
Meme’s Diner for receiving their awards and cannot thank enough all the
participating locations in the tri-county area who participated,” said VTC Executive Director Sam Purington. “Their
participation really made this format for the event a success again.”
In addition to
L.E.A.’S Diner and Meme’s Diner, the following restaurants participated in
this year’s North Country Chili Cook-Off: Beese’s
Depot Café, Adams Center; Bonnie Castle Resort & Marina,
Alexandria Bay; The Dockside Pub, Alexandria Bay; Belva’s Sahara
Restaurant, Carthage; The Church Street Diner, Carthage; The Mills Country
Store, Chase Mills; River Bottom Bar & Grill, Clayton; Whiskey Jack’s, Constableville; The Cottage Inn, Copenhagen; Silver
Leaf Diner, DeKalb Junction; American Legion Post 162, Lowville;
Montague Inn, Lowville; Deep Roots Fresh Market and Café, Lyons Falls;
River Valley Inn, Lyons Falls; The Blue House, Madrid; Smuggler’s
Café/Hosmer’s Marina, Ogdensburg; Hoof & Horn Butcher and Eatery.
Potsdam; Big Spoon Kitchen, Potsdam; Plum Brook Café, Russell; The Sandwich
Bar, Sackets Harbor; The Cottage Bakery, Three Mile Bay; Tavern230, Turin;
Black Waters Café and Trading Post, Wanakena;
Celest Jamaican Cuisine, Watertown; Cookie’s Goodies, Watertown; Empire
Square, Watertown; Flavors of the Philippines, Watertown; Flashback Brewing
Company, Watertown; Garland City Beer Works, Watertown; Johnny D’s,
Watertown; The Grille at Hilton Garden Inn, Watertown; and Hall Pass Tavern,
West Carthage.
The participants
– combined with generous sponsorship of the cook-off –
raised approximately $28,000 for the VTC.
“The amount we
were able to raise this year is comparable to what was raised last year.
And, as we continue to navigate our way out of a global pandemic, we’re
thankful for anything we can raise to help us continue to provide the vital
services we do for the community,” said Mr. Papineau. “We thank the
businesses and organizations that participated and our generous sponsors
for making this happen.”
Mr. Papineau
noted the North Country Chili Cook-Off’s planning committee will soon begin
to review plans for next year’s event. The plan is to focus on a hybrid
model which would include both this year’s format and the traditional event
at the Dulles State Office Building.
As for next year?
This year’s winners already have their sights set on making their victories
three-peats.
“We will
absolutely be participating again next year,” said Mr. Bogardus. “After two
People’s Choice Awards, we are going for a third.”
“Absolutely,”
said Ms. Snyder. “Meme’s Diner will need to defend their title of Top
Fundraiser for the third year in a row.”
The 23rd Annual
North Country Chili Cook-Off is supported by “Underwriting Level Sponsors”
Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, Watertown Savings Bank, Stewart’s Shops/The Dake Family Foundation, Glenn and Carol Pearsall
Adirondack Foundation, United Food Service Operators, WWNY-TV 7News/Fox28/MeTV, Tunes 92.5/Intrepid Broadcasting, Runningboards Marketing, NNY360/Watertown Daily Times,
Victory Promotions, and The American Legion Family.
Additional
support came from “Platinum Level Sponsors” AmeriCU
Credit Union, Black Horse Group, Kinney Drugs Foundation, Price Chopper,
Samaritan Medical Center and Watertown Internists. “Gold Level Sponsors”
included Advanced Business Systems; Benefit Services Group; Bradley’s
Military; Colello Air Technologies; Keller Williams-Amy Kenney; Knowlton Technologies;
Lake Ontario Cattle Company; McQuade & Bannigan;
Northwestern Mutual-Steven B. Yelle; Purcell
Construction Corporation; Rose & Kiernan Insurance; State CS Employee
Federal Credit Union; The ARC of Jefferson-St. Lawrence; and Waite Toyota.
“Silver Level Sponsors” included American Legion Post 1788; American Legion
Post 583; American Legion Post 588 Sons American Legion; American Legion
Post 789 Auxiliary; American Legion Post 904 Sons American Legion; Barrett
Paving Materials Inc.; Carthage Area Hospital; Carthage Savings & Loan;
Cheney Tire; DOCO Quick Print, Inc.; Fuller Insurance Agency; GEICO
Insurance; GYMO Architecture Engineering & Land Surveying; Hospice of
Jefferson County; Ives Hill Retirement Community; Lake Ontario Realty; Massey’s
Furniture Barn; North Country Insurance Company; RBC Wealth Management;
Slack Chemical Company; Syracuse Orthopedic Specialists; The Bonadio Group; Transitional Living Services of NNY;
Watertown Hearing Aid Center; and Westelcom.
“Friends of the Cook-Off Sponsors” included Jade Stone Engineering;
American Legion Post 586 Auxiliary; American Legion Post 61 Sons of the
American Legion; Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7227 Auxiliary; American
Legion Post 586; American Legion Post 586 Sons of the American Legion; and
American Legion Post 832 Auxiliary.
ABOUT THE
VOLUNTEER TRANSPORTATION CENTER
The Volunteer
Transportation Center, Inc. (VTC), established in 1991, drives thousands of
miles each year assisting community members in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence Counties and beyond. Over the
last 30 years, this essential non-profit organization has provided rides to
health care appointments, food sources and other critical needs
destinations for residents.
In 2021, our
volunteer drivers provided 26,711 charitable trips over 1,073,435 miles in
Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence Counties. Of those miles, 470,002 helped
those in Jefferson County, 151,954
in Lewis County, and 451,479 in St. Lawrence County. That equated to
approximately $477,679 in mileage reimbursement for our volunteers.
The staff, Board
of Directors and volunteer drivers look forward to a time when
transportation to community activities and services is accessible to all
North Country residents regardless of economic or specialized needs. But
for now the mission drives on — striving to
provide transportation to health, wellness and critical needs destinations
utilizing volunteers and mobility management for anyone who has barriers to
transportation.
For more
information about how you can help the Volunteer Transportation Center,
about its upcoming events, or to become a volunteer driver, contact the
agency in Jefferson and Lewis Counties at 315-788-0422, in St. Lawrence
County at 315-714-2034, in Oswego County at 315-694-6644, or Western New
York at 585-250-5030. Volunteers drive their own cars, set their own hours and receive mileage reimbursement but, more
importantly, make a difference in the community. To learn more, visit www.volunteertransportationcenter.org.
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