TUESDAY - January 29, 2008

99.9 KISS COUNTRY REGIONAL CHILI COOKOFF

How do you get tens of thousands of people to a chili cookoff? Well, if you are 99.9 KISS COUNTRY – FM, you try adding "a little entertainment".

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How about: BIG & RICH with COWBOY TROY, GRETCHEN WILSON, TAYLOR SWIFT, JOE NICHOLS, SAWYER BROWN, CHRIS YOUNG, CAROLYN DAWN JOHNSON, PHIL STACEY and RISSI PALMER…with Guest Host – JEWEL.

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The 23^rd Annual 99.9 KISS COUNTRY CHILI COOKOFF was held on January 27^th, at CB Smith Park in Pembroke Pines, Florida (this is in Broward County, directly north of Miami Dade County and better known for Ft. Lauderdale to the east). Although the gates/parking opened for the crowd at 8:30 AM (chili teams allowed in at 6:30), some folks in the large crowd began "tailgating" the previous evening, in order to insure being at the head of the line…I guess some people just simply love chili.

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34 Salsa Teams and 86 Red Chili Teams were entered, showed up and cooked. However, only 30 Salsas and 80 Red Chilis were actually turned in…which may be some sort of an indicator as to the "level of partying" involved.

As an aside; in Marshall's and my humble opinions, there isn't another cookoff in the country (that we are aware of), which matches the level of "Booth & Showmanship" at this event. It would bring back many memories to long time ICS members…"real long time" members.

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Now for the results:

Booth & Showmanship

5. Bunker Boobs Foxy Chili II

4. Die Hard Dolphin Fan

3. Farmer Rich and the Share Croppin Chili Cookers

2. Colorado Chili Cowboys

1. Gator Done Chili, Featuring the Swamp Sisters

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Salsa

Finals Table (12 Salsas)

The Hurricane Chili Machine – John Francioni; Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off – Shelley Sarros; Three Guys Chili – Adam Berman; Fire House # 5 – Carlos Galera; Dynamic Chili Cooks –Karen Cooper; It's In There! 2 – Lori Sorenson; General Banshee's Chili – Ellen Devito; Let It Rip – Timothy Phelps; 4 of a Kind – Karen Edwards; Farmer Rich and the Share Croppin Chili Cookers – Chelsea Doole; Rick and the Chili Chicks – Rick Pinard; Colorado Chili – Chris Everhart

3. Rick Pinard

2. Shelley Sarros

1. Chris Everhart – will represent 99.9 KISS COUNTRY at the 2008 WCCC

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Traditional Red Chili

Finals Table (23 Chilis)

All In the Family – Shana Pender; Slack Attack –Jon Slack; Sunset Chili – Brian Cigalotti; Tropical Fins – Lynea Jones; Tailgators Get-R-Done Chili - Mike Molloy; Maggot's Revenge – Wayne Lambert; Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off – Shelley Sarros; Trailer Park Chili – Brian Gibbs; Team Thermal – Neil Caporale; Pics Place – Tim Pickering; Hudson Hurricanes – Chris Hudson; Fire in the Hole – Nick Lee; Girls Soccer Rules I – Alexandra Jacques; Rick and the Chili Chicks – Rick Pinard; Chemical Hazard – Mark Khayala; Chili Champs – Stacey Christianson; Roadkill Chili – Ed Lally; Passing Time Chili Team – Jose Hernandez; Spice It Up – Elizabeth Phelps; Miller's Ale House – Carlos Navas; Young Hot Chili Chicks – Debra Barron; Bunker Boobs Foxy Chili - Tim Sullivan; The Swedes – Ed LaPlante

5. Shelly Sarros

4. Nick Lee

3. Jose Hernandez

2. Lynea Jones (defending champion)

1. Shana Pender – will represent 99.9 KISS COUNTRY at the 2008 WCCC

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Congratulations to all the winners!

Additional congratulations and thanks to 99.9 KISS COUNTRY – FM for putting on this great event; as well as to Show Management, the group in charge of managing and overseeing all the "nitty gritty" of this huge event.

However; the biggest winner of the day was, by far, THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF BROWARD COUNTY!

Sergei Kowalchik

Chief Judge

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P.S. Please remember the South Florida back-to-back Regional Cookoffs in Key Largo, on February 9^th and 10^th - that is the weekend after the Super Bowl. We hope to see lots of you there.

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Maria Austin's recovery update 1-29-08

Maria has had a setback in her recovery. The doctors had removed her vent tubes two days ago, and she had to be revented last night. Maria did get her Pepsi while the vent tubes were out. She was delighted to say the least. She even had a little food by mouth. She was really struggling to make it on her own. They even tried the cpap. When I left there last night she was being sedated and finally getting some rest. She had really labored to keep up. I'm going to see her as soon as I finish this note and have a cup of coffee. Keep the prayers coming and thank you all for the cards and calls. We all love her so much and want a speedy recovery, but I think this is going to be a slow process.

Thanks from the Fam-Lee

Mike

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