The Tebbetts Odd Fellows Lodge will hold a chili cook-off Sunday to raise funds for Amy McKenna, a local resident recently diagnosed with cancer.
The cook-off will start at 5 p.m. in the Tebbetts Community Center. There is no cost to enter a chili into the competition. First-, second- and third-place winners will be announced for the best hot chili and best mild chili.
The suggested donation for attendees is $8 for adults and $2 for children. Soup, hot dogs and homemade desserts will be served.
A 50/50 raffles will take place at the event, and a community member has donated handmade dish towels and a quilt top to be auctioned off.
Proceeds will go to help McKenna, 46, handle living expenses. A mother of four and grandmother of two who lives near Tebbetts, McKenna was diagnosed recently with stage 4 metastatic cancer.
"Amy has always been the person to help others, taking in several teens that didn't have a safe place to be and nurturing them, cooking for a soup kitchen, and donating and cooking for families in need," a news release from Tebbetts Odd Fellows Lodge stated. "It is now our time to help Amy."
Odd Fellows member Sam Richards said much of McKenna's community involvement is from before she moved to the area, but the organization still wanted to help.
"Our thought was, even though she is not as well known by local community people, she's still in our community," Richards said. "And we felt she had a need and wanted to help her out."
Richards said the organization hopes around 120 people attend the event, with a goal to raise $1,000.
More competitors are needed for the cook-off. Six have entered, and around 10 is preferred, he added.
People interested in competing should email Richards at [email protected] or call him at 573-295-4786.
Contestants can have more than one entry. Chili must be cooked off site, not use home-canned vegetables or juice, be kept at a proper temperature, be checked in by 4 p.m. the day of the contest, and be brought in a slow cooker. A list of ingredients must be provided with each chili for people with food allergies.
The Tebbetts Odd Fellows Lodge is a chapter of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a fraternal organization focused on personal and social development.
The Tebbetts lodge has doubled in size the past three years to more than 40 members, Richards said, becoming more involved in the community. It helps with the town's monthly dinner and annual picnic.
"Two years ago, there was another lady in need," Richards added. "Her husband passed away; they had no life insurance. She couldn't even bury him. So we paid for the funeral and then had a fundraiser."