Author Spotlight
Lucy Stephens
The senior class hosted their second annual chili cookoff through the Student Council on Wednesday, Nov. 15 raising around $320 for the Johnson County Christmas Bureau.
After raising over $300 last year, the senior class stuco — consisting of seniors Ryder Hendon, Collin Ford, Emma Kuhlman, Max Kuhlman, Reece Algren, Aanya Bansal, Taylor Borchers, Ryan Dehan and Laynie Manning — decided to continue the chili cook-off. They are hoping to make it even better than last year according to Senior Class Secretary Emma Kuhlman.
“Once we started doing the chili cook-off, we realized how much money we could be raising,” Emma Kuhlman said. “I think it’ll stay a tradition.”
The StuCo seniors worked hard to promote their fundraiser by creating and posting a flier on social media and spreading the word to friends and family.
Each of the six teams paid a $30 fee to compete. The teams provided a crockpot of their homemade chili and any additional toppings. East parents, students and teachers were encouraged to come and could pay $5 to sample each team’s chili and vote for their favorite.
At 6:45 p.m. the votes were counted by the StuCo members and the winners were announced.
Winning first place with their bean and corn chili were seniors Marin McElhinney, Ella Howard, Maggie Leonard, Nora Friskel and Autumn Sun. Each of them were awarded matching “2023 SME Chili Cook-Off Champion” aprons.
In second place and winning a silver ladle were seniors Ashley Zastrow, Lauren McGuire, Claire Schudy, Veronica Mangine, Abigail Long and Ava Weiland with their traditional chili recipe provided by the Zastrow family.
Taking third place were seniors Max Kuhlman, Ryder Hendon, Ryan Dehan and Collin Ford, winning bronze medals, with their spicy brisket chili.
“I feel like we reached more people [than last year],” Special Events Committee Chair Abi Limbird said. “There was a more competitive atmosphere so it made the awards more exciting.”
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