Cook-off benefits area children

Last Saturday, Flathead residents indulged in a 16-year tradition that each year draws crowds to Lakeside, either to compete or satisfy their judicious palettes in the annual Shrine Chili Cook-off.

Twenty different cooks vied for this year's title.

The winning chili belonged to Lisa from the Short Branch in Lakeside.

The people's choice award went to Shriner member Tom Hall.

As in previous years, the cook-off took place in the Spinnaker parking lot and featured far more than chili.

Organizer and Spinnaker owner Rudy Heinle provided opportunities for West Shore and Flathead residents to take part in a series of events designed to raise money that will help local families in big ways.

This year's benefit generated around $2,500.

As always, proceeds from the cook-off and the rest of the day's events—a series of wiener dog races, a golf-ball drop and raffle'support the Shrine Children's Hospital Transportation Fund, which has long provided local children and families who receive care at Shriners Children's Hospitals with financial aid to travel to and from the hospital.

"The patient's family often needs help in getting both the child and themselves to the hospital for the initial treatment, as well as for follow-up treatments," Heinle said. "The transportation fund for the Flathead Valley helps cover these costs for families from this area, and that's what this is all about."

Heinle said the needs are far greater than one might expect, including more than 120 families in the Flathead alone.

And, while a single fundraiser cannot cover the expenses of every family, the funds raised during the annual chili cook-off have been able to provide one month of travel expenses to and from state-of-the-art Shriners' hospitals.

Shriners Hospitals for Children is a network of 22 pediatric hospitals, twenty of which are located in the Unites States and two of which are located outside of the United States (one in Canada and one in Mexico).

Of these, 18 specialize as orthopedic hospitals, three as burn centers and one provides care for orthopedic, burn and spinal injuries.

Families from Montana mostly make use of the Shrine children's hospital in Spokane, where about 8,500 children receive treatment each year.

However, some families must travel further, in order to see specialists at Shriners' hospitals in Portland and Sacramento.

Being a Shriner himself, Heinle started the annual Shrine Chili Cook-off as a way to help a cause that is near to the hearts of most Shriners, since his business and family prevent him from being more active in the organization.

Over the years, the event has grown in popularity with participating cooks as well as with those who come to reap the fruit of each chef's labor and cast their vote for the best recipes in the Flathead area.

The benefit has also grown in its offerings in recent years, like the golf-ball drop and raffle.

Most recently—about four years ago—Heinle decided to introduce a new feature to the mix, a "wiener dog race" for Dachshunds, which has proven to be equally successful.

The event concludes with a championship heat to determine the best of breed.

Many of the participants said they look forward to the event each year, whether they enter a wiener of their own or just enjoy watching the short-legged animals try to beat one another to the finish line without stopping to greet their new friends along the way.

Altogether, 34 dogs competed in this year's race. Fritz, owned by Don Clark, came out as the winner in the races.

"It was fantastic," Heinle said. "The first one was better than we expected it to be, and they get better the more dogs we have. We're getting dogs from all over. The crowd really likes it, and the dogs have a great time too."