HOMES FOR OUR TROOPS
November 6, 2011 dawned cold and dark for Kat and I as we made our way to Raynham, MA.
We were to join approximately 15 other International Chili Society chili cooks that were invited by Homes for Our Troops to participate in a non sanctioned chili contest. The contest would benefit Homes for Our Troops which is a nonprofit that builds homes for returning military.
This was the 2nd time that ICS cooks have assisted HFOT and I can’t begin to tell you just how much we all enjoyed ourselves. It was a chance for all of us to show our appreciation to our returning troops the best way we know how…with chili.
We were joined by International Chili Society cooks from NH, MA, CT, RI and NY, including the 2007 International Chili Society Red Chili World Champion and very proud Marine, Jerry Buma.
The highlight of my day came as I listened to Jerry’s grandson, Max Tankis, a winning chili cook in the Youth division as he replied to a reporter when asked why he was cooking chili. Max replied,” My grandpa is a Marine and I wanted to do something to honor his service and all of the other troops.”
I’d like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the following ICS cooks for traveling so far and cooking chili on a Sunday when they could have been home.
Mary Alice and Mike Kropp, David Daigle, Dean Harvey, Kathy Brunelle, Alison and Mario Sacciccio, Vicki and Max Tankis, Jerry Buma, Marc and Isaiah Frechette, Linda McGrath and all of her crew and Kat Freedman for putting up with me telling her at 5 a.m. on a Sunday…”It’s time to make the chili”. We couldn’t do all of these wonderful things for our troops without the help and guidance of Vickie Marnick and Carol Hancock.
Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
Next up for some of the Northeast chili cooks is Operation ELF in Hartford, CT 12-17. OPELF stands for Extending a Lending hand to Families. It is a big Holiday party for the families of deployed troops. This will be the 6th year that International Chili Society Chili cooks will be participating in this wonderful event.
Michael “Mad Mike” Freedman
