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North Country Chili Cook-Off 25th Anniversary
Celebrated
Published: February 26, 2024
at 08:00 p.m.
By: Press Release from Volunteer Transportation
Center
North Country Chili Cook-Off 25th Anniversary
Celebrated
Awards Given for In-Person Competition, Restaurant
Winners Announced
 WATERTOWN, NY— The Volunteer
Transportation Center hosted its in-person portion of the Annual North
Country Chili Cook-Off Saturday, Feb. 24, drawing hundreds to the Dulles
State Office Building in Watertown. This marked the 25th anniversary of the
competition.
The event — which
raises money for the Volunteer Transportation Center to fund crucial
transportation to medical appointments and grocery shopping trips for local
veterans and their families — is estimated to have raised more than
$40,000.
“It was an
amazing day to celebrate 25 years the North Country Chili Cook-Off,” said
cook-off Chairperson Amy McEathron, owner and president of Independent
Medical Evaluation Company, Carthage. “We had a great turnout, with
everyone coming together for a good cause.”
That was a
sentiment echoed by VTC Executive Director Sam Purington and Jeremiah S.
Papineau, Director of Communications and Foundation Director for the VTC.
“It was a great
day,” said Mr. Purington. “It was one of the busiest cook-offs we’ve had in
a long time, especially during the first hour. Everyone seemed to have a
great time.”
“That’s what I
really enjoy — seeing everyone enjoying themselves. Friends getting
together. Families. It’s an awesome event to witness,” said Mr. Papineau.
“Best of all, we again held a hybrid format with the cook-off
and it was a hit once again.”
This year’s
in-person event saw 19 teams participate, with a mix of professional and
amateur entries. Attendees were able to taste chili from each team,
sampling traditional styles and ones with different takes like white
chicken chili, vegetarian chili and others.
Entries were evaluated by a panel of judges and the special category awards
were given by another panel of judges.
In the
Professional Category, first place went to the Children’s Home of Jefferson
County team from Watertown, led by Chris Manning; second place went to the
Whistle Stop Tavern team from Deferiet, led by Aaron LaGasse;
and the team from Samaritan Medical Center in Watertown, led by Katrina
Slate, took third place.
In the Amateur
Category, first place went to the Volunteer Transportation Center team from
Watertown, led by Terra Thompson; second place went to the Sons of Sam
Motorcycle Club from Oswego, led by Steven Price; and third place went to
the Watertown International Airport team, led by Tony Bender.
Other awards
included Best Vegetarian entry going to Baked, a team led by Melissa and
Chris Fitzgerald, Clayton; Best Decorated going to the Volunteer
Transportation Center team; Best Dressed going to the North Country
German-American Club team, led by Barbara Eddy; Most Congenial going to the
Children’s Home of Jefferson County team; and Most Unusual Recipe going to
the Watertown International Airport team, for which Chef Tony Bender said
consisted of steak marinated for five days with his special secret seasoning.
Judges for the
event included Mel Busler, Makenzie Piatt, John Dillenback, Lee Hinkleman,
Michelle Lejeune, Ann Gibbons and Lindsey Gibbons.
The public was
able to have its say by casting ballots for the People’s Choice Award. As a
result, the Watertown International Airport team took home the honor.
Other teams that
also competed include EF Team Upstate New York, Adams; Empire Square,
Watertown; Garland City Beer Works, Watertown; Hall Pass Tavern, West
Carthage; Joel Pilon, Watertown; Media Shriners, Black River; Stewart’s
Shops, Watertown; The Arc Jefferson-St. Lawrence, Watertown; The
Battlefield Eatery, Sackets Harbor; Tim Wewer Tax Service, Watertown; and
the Watertown Red and Black, Watertown.
This year’s
in-person event also again included desserts created by Jessica Sheldon of
Mud Pie Designs, which were for sale by donation to the Volunteer
Transportation Center. That portion of the event raised $1,317. Raffle
baskets, coordinated by Mrs. McEathron and donated by several local
businesses, also raised $1,671. Everything came together to help make the
event a success, said Mr. Papineau.
“We cannot thank
everyone enough who came together to make our 25th year an extremely
special one,” he said.
That included
special guests Jefferson Community College President Dr. Dan Dupee, State
Assemblyman Scott A. Gray and Olivia Patterson, representative for State
Senator Mark C. Walczyk. Both Assemblyman Gray and Ms. Patterson presented
proclamations recognizing the event’s 25th anniversary. State Senator
Daniel G. Stec sent a proclamation in his absence and, earlier in the week,
Watertown City Mayor Sarah Compo Pierce, on behalf of the City Council,
also presented the city’s own proclamation to recognize the milestone.
During the
ceremonies that day, Ms. McEathron presented a certificate of appreciation
to Mr. Busler, longtime emcee of the event, for his years of service. Ms.
McEathron was herself presented with a certificate of appreciation by Mr.
Papineau for her longtime support and role with
the event. In addition, VTC Founder Benjamin Coe was in attendance to sing
the National Anthem, as has been a tradition since the inception of the
cook-off.
During the event,
winners were announced for the restaurant-to-restaurant format of this
year’s North Country Chili Cook-Off, which saw competition among
participating restaurants and businesses in Jefferson, Lewis
and St. Lawrence Counties. This year, the People’s Choice Award for that
format went to Silver Leaf Diner in DeKalb Junction, which received the
most votes from people in the community and was last year’s winner. The Top
Fundraiser Award, for fourth year in a row, went
to Meme’s Diner in Felts Mills, which raised $1,500 in donations for the
VTC.
Those that
participated in the restaurant-to-restaurant format included:
• Spookhill Bar & Grill, 12139 U.S. Route 11,
Adams Center
• The Dockside Pub, 11 Market Street,
Alexandria Bay
• JRECK Subs, 210 State Street, Carthage
• The Church Street Diner, 107 Church
Street, Carthage
• Highmarket
Inn, 4441 Highmarket Road, Constableville
• The Cottage Inn, 9794 State Route 12,
Copenhagen
• Silver Leaf Diner, 3231 U.S. Route 11,
DeKalb Junction
• Meme’s Diner, 31606 State Route 3,
Felts Mills
• L.E.A’S Diner,
90 State Street, Heuvelton
• JRECK Subs, 7596 South State Street,
Lowville
• Lloyd’s of
Lowville, 7405 Utica Boulevard, Lowville
• munch., 7570 South State Street,
Lowville
• Ella’s On The
Bay, 209 Main Street, Morristown
• Smuggler’s Café, 54 East River Street,
Ogdensburg
• Hoof & Horn Butcher and Eatery, 32
Market Street, Potsdam
• Saint Larry’s Bar and Grill, 6 Elm
Street, Potsdam
• Nu Pier Restaurant, 13212 State Route
3, Sackets Harbor
• The Battlefield Eatery, 213 West Main
Street, Sackets Harbor
• The Sandwich Bar, 113 West Main Street,
Sackets Harbor
• Tavern230, 4173 West Road, Turin
• Empire Square, 65 Public Square,
Watertown
• Johnny D’s, 1 Public Square, Watertown
• JRECK Subs, 1201 Arsenal Street,
Watertown
• JRECK Subs, 605 State Street, Watertown
• JRECK Subs, 525 Mill Street, Watertown
• Panera Bread, 21872 Towne Center Drive,
Watertown
• Pete’s Trattoria, 111 Breen Avenue,
Watertown
• The Grille at Hilton Garden Inn, 1290
Arsenal Street, Watertown
• Hall Pass Tavern, 19 Bridge Street,
West Carthage
• Jose O’Connor’s, 15 Bridge Street, West
Carthage
The 25th Annual
North Country Chili Cook-Off is supported by “Underwriting Level Sponsors”
Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, Watertown Savings Bank, Stewart’s Shops,
United Food Service Operators, Tim Wewer Tax and Accounting Services,
WWNY-TV 7News/Fox28/MeTV, Tunes 92.5/Intrepid
Broadcasting, PixelIt, NNY360/Watertown Daily
Times, Victory Promotions, Advanced Business Systems, and The American
Legion Family. Platinum Level Sponsors include Benefit Services
Group/OneDigital, Credo Foundation, Kinney Drugs Foundation, Price Chopper,
Purcell Construction Corporation, Samaritan Medical Center, The ARC of
Jefferson-St. Lawrence and Watertown Internists. Gold Level Sponsors
include American Legion Post 162 Auxiliary, AmeriCU
Credit Union, Bob Johnson Auto Group, Disabled Persons Action Organization,
Keller Williams-Amy Kenney, Knowlton Technologies, NFP Corp., North Country
Insurance Company, Northern Credit Union, Northern New York Community
Foundation, SeaComm Federal Credit Union, State
CS Employee Federal Credit Union, Watertown International Airport. Silver
Level Sponsors include American Legion Post 1788; American Legion Post 588
Sons of the American Legion; American Legion Post 789 Auxiliary; American
Legion Post 821 Auxiliary; American Legion Post 832; American Legion Post
904 Sons of the American Legion; Brotherton Trucking; Carthage Savings
& Loan; Cazenovia Equipment Company; Chimera Integrations; Clayton
Lions Club; Community Bank, N.A.; DOCO Quick Print/Midgley Printing; Fuller
Insurance Agency; GEICO Insurance; GYMO Architecture Engineering & Land
Surveying; Haylor, Freyer, & Coon; Hilton
Garden Inn; Hospice of Jefferson County; RBC Wealth Management; Slack
Chemical Company; and Steve Shannon. Friends of the Cook-Off Level sponsors
include American Legion Post 162 Sons of the American Legion, American
Legion Post 1757 Sons of the Ameri-can Legion, American Legion Post 586
Auxiliary, American Legion Post 586 Sons of the American Legion, American
Legion Post 588 Auxiliary, American Legion Post 832 Auxiliary, AMVETS Post
282, Atlantic Testing Laboratories, Children’s Home of Jefferson County
(CHJC), CNY Office Furniture, DGM Coon & Company, Jake Johnson
Properties, Johnson Lumber LLC, Lowville Elks Lodge 1605, Meade Optical,
North Country German American Club, Syracuse Orthopedic Specialists, The
Dockside Pub, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6338, Veterans of Foreign Wars
Post 6338 Auxiliary, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7227 Auxiliary, and
Watertown Elks Lodge 496. Additional in-kind support was provided by Blue
Mountain Spring Water, Doldo Bros., Gray’s Flower Shop, Hannaford
Supermarket, Independent Medical Evaluation Company, JRECK Subs, McQuade
& Bannigan/The Sign Shop, Mud Pie Designs (Jessica Sheldon), Panera
Bread, Pepsi Bottling Group, Sam’s Club, Staples, ZAPET Vibrations (Tom
Ellis).
Proceeds of the
North Country Chili Cook-Off will benefit the Volunteer Transportation
Center, which provides essential rides to health care appointments, grocery
shopping, and other destinations for residents with no transportation
alternatives. Funds raised through the cook-off are earmarked to provide
transportation to Veterans and their family members, which make up roughly
one-third of those transported by volunteer drivers through the
VTC.
For more
information about the 25th Annual North Country Chili Cook-Off, contact Mr.
Papineau at 315-303-2590 or via email at jeremiah@volunteertransportation.org.
Additional information is available on-line at www.volunteertransportationcenter.org/chili-cook-off.
PHOTO: The Volunteer
Transportation Center marked its 25th anniversary of its Annual North
Country Chili Cook-Off Saturday, Feb. 24, drawing hundreds to the Dulles
State Office Building in Watertown.
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 2023,
volunteer drivers provided 25,314 charitable trips over 855,471 miles in
Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence Counties. Of those miles, 329,819 helped
those in Jefferson County, 101,766 in Lewis County, and 423,886 in St.
Lawrence County. That equated to approximately $427,736 in mileage
reimbursement for our volunteers. That’s why the community’s help is so
important.
The staff, boards
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 315-644-6944, 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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