WEDNESDAY - Jan 14, 2009

LAUGHLIN REGIONAL

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Well, here we were again in Laughlin, NV in January for what has become a real tradition among many chili folks. And, wouldn't you know, somebody invited that enemy of chili cooks, Mr. Wind, to the party. Whoever you are (and I know you won't admit to it) please let Mr. Wind know that he isn't welcome here any more! Thanks.

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Even with the windy conditions (they have been worse), the cooks and judges had a nice day and a great time, seeing old friends, making new friends and enjoying the camaraderie of chili. We had cooks from far and wide. California led the roster with 47, with Nevada a distant second of 11 cooks. There were 6 each from Arizona and Colorado, 2 each from Ohio, Illinois, Connecticut, Texas and Alberta Canada. Finally 1 each from Idaho and New York. That's a total of 82 individual cooks who contributed their concoctions to the totals of 29 salsa entries, 35 chili verdes and 69 traditional red chilis. Among the contestants were 8 former World's Champions and many, many State and Regional champions, too numerous to mention. You might say that it was a tough neighborhood!

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As always, Patty O. and her Golden Nugget staff provided all of our needed supplies quickly and correctly, making the event move along smoothly. The day was very ably coordinated by Chairperson Dawn Nehf. The judging area was efficiently commanded by Chief Judge, Gary Nehf. Yours truly was the Chief Scorekeeper, assisted by Donnie Gordon, Allene Macklin, Nicole Caimi, Louise Dinnewith and Val Gereghty. Dennis Macklin and "Dirty Ole Phil" Morosky handled the table setups. There were too many willing workers to mention everyone, but know that your efforts are recognized and appreciated always.

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Throughout the day our thoughts were never far from those of our chili friends who were not able to attend because of various afflictions. Among those missing from our ranks were Carl Baker, Leah Wieland, Ormly Gumfudgin, Chris Nicoll and Dick Swenberger. All were sorely missed. On the other side of that coin, it was wonderful to be joined by Bill and Gail Donovan. Bill's cancer is still in remission, and it was special to be able to join him as he led us in the YMCA Dance. And at the cooks' meeting that morning, Harry and Lynn Robinson supplied a lovely birthday cake to celebrate J.R. Knudson's 93rd birthday!

It was still daylight when the awards were announced. The happy, lucky winners were:

People's Choice Chili:

Alex Faccioli, Joe's Crab Shack Chili

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Salsa:

5th, Terry Brow, Calgary Alberta Canada

4th, Jodi Wiseman, Las Vegas NV

3rd, Mike Freedman, Somers CT

2nd, Gene Beller, Bakersfield CA

1st, Dave Schulman, Avon CT

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Chili Verde:

5th, Bob Hall, Taylorville IL (the defending champion)

4th, Jodi Wiseman, Las Vegas NV

3rd, Sonny Allen, Dayton NV

2nd, Susie Decker, Pleasanton CA

1st, Rick Decker, Pleasanton CA

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Traditional Red Chili:

4th, Bob Hall, Taylorville IL

3rd, Skip Cooley, Reno NV

2nd, Adrian Fuhrman, Ben Lomond CA

1st, Bob Dyer, Canyon Lake CA

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Congratulations to all and best of luck in the World's Championship!

Submitted by Karen Ray

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Ghon Eckley Update - 2 Months Postop

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Ghon had his post-op appointment today (Tuesday) at Johns Hopkins. Both the surgeon and his cardiologist there were impressed with how he looked and sounded. Have I mentioned before that he ticks? His cardiologist thinks he looks the best he's ever seen. His surgeon showed us his chest x-ray and was cool enough to email it to us on the spot. It's pretty cool to see the wire around the sternum, the pacemaker, and the pacemaker wires running to their spots in the heart. He has one more month before he can return to bowling and work. One more month to play with Jonathan, who is getting bigger everyday. The three of us and Ghon's older son Eric will be traveling to Rhode Island next month for the Rhode Island State Chili Cookoff.
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Thanks again to all our family and friends for your support. Even though he's home with Jonathan, Ghon loves company. For all you local folks who promised to visit....please do!
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Take care and our love to all,
Kim & Ghon

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Laughlin – Men in Pink

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Todd from the Friendly Undiscovered chili Kookers or as John Jepson called us the MIP Men in Pink! there are 7 of us between Bakersfield and Modesto Cally!, and Richard Goodding is the Brain trust of the Peoples Choice for our group... Oh Yea, Mike put a sticker on the bus but we also put chili in the Drivers hand! Had to find cups! The Taxi guys caught on! Thanks to Gary and Mother for the People's Choice category and for all the advice to a bunch of young punks. Patty at the Hotel was great and we are looking forward to the AVI. Nice to meet all of you again, and Danny and John for the great time!

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