MONDAY - Nov 24, 2008

Ghon Eckley is going HOME

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Hello Everyone,

I would like to start off saying thank you for all of the support, prayers, phone calls, cards, and emails that I have received during this rough spot in the road for me and my family. It has meant more to me than anyone can possibly fathom. A lot of people don't know this, but aside from the physical damage and stress that the body goes through during valve replacement surgery there is an equal and/or greater emotional stress and damage. A lot of depression is common in people who have this procedure. All of your support has helped me weather that storm with relative ease. There were a few days where I was just so depressed that it was a real struggle to get out of bed to try and rehab. But my wife would help me on the internet and I read all of the posts from all of my chili friends. Or she would bring me in stacks of cards from home, or she would send me pictures of the floral shop I've started at home. It finally made me realize, you guys aren't "chili friends" you are true friends. I am truly blessed to have friends like you. All of you have proven to me why we do what we do. We do this because we care about people. In this day and age that is treated more like character flaw than a trait. Please don't lose it there are more people out there who need people like you. Not to sound like pep rally, but for all of the people you touch every year keep the ICS supported so other people can feel like I feel about you. Hope to see you all in Rhode Island.

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Forever Grateful

Ghon Eckley

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Note from Kim Eckley

OK local folks - Ghon's ready for visitors. Give us a call if you'd like to see him. :)

Thanks again everyone. Enjoy your Thanksgiving. I know we definitely have a lot to be thankful for.

Kim & Ghon

1400 Willow Oak Drive

Frederick, MD 21701

301-694-7340 (home)

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River Resorts Regional

Saturday, November 22nd was the 22nd Annual River Resorts Regional Chili Cookoff. It was a great success, with fantastic weather (great temperatures and no W___), and an excellent turnout of chili cooks and judges.

When we arrived on Thursday afternoon, there were already several campers in place. Jim and Willma Maehl arrived on Wednesday, followed on Thursday by (in no particular order) Mike Austin, Bob and Ellen Dyer, Bill Woodring, Ron and Maggie Harris, Armando and Patricia Sanchez, Gary and Barbara Nelson and Mark and Cindy Haught. We knew we had a happening!

Arriving on Friday were campers Marty and Richard Leitner, Tony and Donna Inglese, Mark Boman (sorry, I didn't get the wife's name, but one of the dogs is Dude), Terry and Karen Archer with Keith and Dawn Caroselli, Kent Winkler and Steve Hofstad, and Judy Cariker with her group of "Whiskey Girls". Jim Stoddard and Steve Wolf joined us on Friday, and Dennis and Allene Macklin also shared our rented mobile home. Vendors also started pulling in. There's an event going on here!

Joining us on Saturday morning for the day were Bob and Jodi Wiseman, Paul Whitney, Skip and Dione Cooley, Dick and Nancy Swenberger, Charlie and Barbara Ward, Mike and Bonnie Ford, Dave Thomas and brand-new ICS members Theresa White and Bill Flores. On Friday morning the breakfast chefs began preparing the Saturday morning breakfast, which was served at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday to the hungry folks---fruit with champagne, scrambled eggs garnished with chives, maple bacon, sausages, Southern breakfast potatoes, and biscuits and gravy were provided by Bill and Karen Ray, accompanied by bloody Marys and mimosas provided by Armando.

It was a gorgeous day at the River. When we made the Contestants Lists, it was interesting to note that, of the 26 red contestants, two were brand-new cooks; of the remaining 24 only two cooks had a member number without a letter preceding it---is this an old-timer's cookoff, or what!?! One of the newcomers, a judge who is chairing his own cookoff in 2009, remarked about the mix of folks attending the cookoff. There were families, small children, teens/tweens, adults and seniors---all were having fun together at the River, and almost everybody had a dog. Speaking of dogs, People's Choice Chili is optional at this cookoff. Of the 26 red cooks, 15 provided People's Choice Chili---thanks to all of you! Our "deal" at this cookoff is that, when we sell the tasting kits and the public votes, the cook with the most votes receives half of the proceeds of the sales; our personal charity, English Springer Rescue America, receives the other half. Well, we sold $1,197 in tasting kits, so the winner received $598.00, with ESRA receiving $599.00! Sincere thanks to those cooks who participated in this contest.

Chief Judge was Bob Dinnewith, assisted by his wife, Louise, and supervised by the ever-efficient Donnie Gordon as Chief Scorekeeper, assisted by Val Gereghty. Judges and Scorekeepers who came to support were Rollie and Sharon Ayers, Bill and Marilou Corraeo, and (sorry, I missed their names) Bob and Louise's daughter and son-in-law. OK., I'm done---the winners were:

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Booth and Showmanship:

3rd, Ron and Maggie Harris, Hillbilly Chili

2nd, Mike Austin, The Bun Burner Chili Shack

1st, Keith Caroselli, Roadkill Chili & BBQ Team

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Salsa:

3rd, Mark Haught

2nd, Jim Stoddard

1st, Charlie Ward

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Chili Verde:

3rd, Mark Haught

2nd, Bob Wiseman

1st, Skip Cooley

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People's Choice Chili:

2nd, Ron Harris

1st, Tony and Donna Inglese

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Best First-Time Cook:

Bill Flores from Arizona---there was a tie for first place; the tie-breaking judge said that this chili had excellent flavor!

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Traditional Red Chili:

3rd, Charlie Ward

2nd, Bob Dyer

1st, Dione Cooley

Congratulations to all of the winners, but especially to the Cooleys, who came 600 miles from Reno, NV to show us how it's done at the Colorado River!

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Florida "Chiliblast 2008"

We had a new venue this year for the Florida "Chiliblast 2008". It was held at Harley Davidson of Brandon as part of their 8th Anniversary Celebration. While the weather was windy and on the cool side for Florida, it was a great day for a chili cookoff. The crowd was big and over a 100 gallons of chili was served to the public. Every cook I talked to seem to love the venue. Silvana Golzman and Britni Buss were the organizers of the event and they did a superb job. I want to thank Sergei and Marshall for being our Chief Judge and Head Scorekeeper. They drive up from Key Biscayne and their help is invaluable. I know the judging component of the cookoff is in good hand with them in charge. I especially want to thank my wife Carolyn who is there to keep me focused on the job at hand. She also made a Harley leather trimmed propane koozie for each participant.

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The results

Best Booth - Carolyn Roy K.A.T.N. Chili

People's Choice - Pam Nelson Ole' Orlando

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Salsa - 17 cooks

1st - Allen Case - Landshark Chili

2nd - Gene Morelli - Christmas Chili

3rd - Smokey Colwell - Tar Heel Chili

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Chili Verde - 16 cooks

1st - Dave Sinclair

2nd - Debbie Sinclair

3rd - Gene Morelli

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Red Chili - 30 cooks

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Finals Table - Ken Burke, Tim Nunn, Bonnie Tomasek, Brian Alcorn, Paul Nunn, Gene Morelli, Bob Hall, Allen Case, Scott Sprouse & Sue Sprouse.

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1st - Scott Sprouse

2nd - Bob Hall

3rd - Allen Case

4th - Tim Nunn

5th - Brian Alcorn

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Steve McIntire Thank You

The Lord called my Mom home October 24. She's at peace now.

Thank you for your prayers and support.

Steve McIntire

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