All winners, no losers at great Rotary Chili Feast

By GILBERT HOFFMAN Star-Courier

Highlands Rotary held their 37th Annual Chili Feast, Raffle and Auction last Saturday, that yearly event that brings out the whole community to the St. Jude’s Catholic Church social hall.

The day is a festive occasion, with the participants enjoying a combination of good food, good company of family and friends, and the excitement of a raffle with a very large prize – a new car or pickup truck.

Rotarians look forward to this fund-raiser all year, with everyone pitching in to help make it a success. The money raised is used throughout the rest of the year for community projects, scholarships, and international projects through Rotary International.

The raffle is limited to 600 tickets at $100, to increase the odds of winning for the ticket buyers. As a result, about 1000 people come every year to eat, talk with old friends that they might not see every day, bid on auction items, and hope their ticket is the last one drawn – i.e. the Winner!

This year the honor went to Stacey Graham, an employee of Woodforest National Bank in Highlands. The ticket was sold by branch manager Tonya Russell. Thirteen other prizes, worth more than the cost of the ticket, were also awarded.

Rotary expects to net about $50,000 from the event, which will be returned to community projects.