Saturday night Central Baptist Palmyra held its third annual Chili Cook Off in support of Baptist Camp Lebanon's “Cedars of Lebanon 2020” campaign. This campaign was established to raise $2,020,000 endowment by the year 2020. These funds will establish the camp for years to come, and dividends will keep costs affordable for families. Central has been proud to be a partner in this endeavor.

Proceeds from the cook off were generated two ways.

First, of course, were ticket sales.

The second revenue stream came through voting. Each ticket came with one vote but additional votes were sold at one dollar each, or fifteen for ten dollars. It was, of course, all a farce. But the church has a lot of fun watching people as they attempt to buy enough votes to assure they’ll “win.”

Some of Central's neighbors have also become involved in supporting the event, and one has insisted he’s been a judge since the event’s inception. This year he made his self-appointment official by having a trophy made up to be awarded to the chili he believed was best. Dubbed “The Ancker,” after his last name, this bowl will have the winner’s name engraved on the side and be left on display at the church. The image below shows how much chili he had to eat in order to come up with his decision!

This year Central raised $1358, through the cook off. If you’d like to contribute to the campaign, you can do so through ABCNJ’s on-line giving. Just type “Cedars of Lebanon” in the note line.