Central Texas Tolbert Chili Group

     Welcome!  Come on in and look around!

     Stay for a spell - there's a lot to see!

     A few of the Usual Suspects made the trip to Blanco on the 19th for the 5th Annual 'Just A Chili Cookoff' at Yett Memorial Park.   Susie Higgins of San Marcos (the promoter/director of the event) took home 1st Place Chili, as well as 3rd Place Show.   There were a total of 16 cooks in attendance.  Steve Reeder of La Grange won the Coleman Ice Chest Raffle, and he reports that because they (he and the missus) already own four coolers, this one will go to his grandson, a student at UT Arlington.   Steve was kind enough to share photos, which are posted on the JACC page along with the official results.

     Word spreads like wildfire, so you may already know the big news.  But, just in case you've been out of the loop, here's a little note Dewey sent us the other day.

May 25, 2012

Dear Chili Friends- 

     I have accepted an offer to become the principal of a private elementary school in Ponce , Puerto Rico, which is on the south ( Caribbean ) side of the island. The school is non-sectarian, and all instruction is provided in English.  The entire school is a PK – 12th grade system, and I will supervise and be the principal of grades PK – 6.  

     Beth and I are moving there at the end of June to begin the next chapter of our lives, and I will begin work on July 2nd.  I signed a 2-year contract, knowing that it can be extended if they like me, if I like them, and I like what I am doing.  The headmaster (superintendent) there used to work with Beth at Hays High School , so, we will have someone we know to ease us through the transition when we get there.

      We are blessed and fortunate to have this opportunity, and even though we know we will dearly miss our family and our dear friends, but this is too good of an opportunity, and adventure, to pass up.  Who knows, maybe I will find a chili cook-off down there I can win or at least place in.

See you later!

Dewey

Dewey said that barring anything unforeseen, they will be at Bill & Deba Center's Chili on the Guadalupe in Boerne on June 23rd for more personal goodbyes.

              Deba Center's new footwear.... for four weeks.

   She ran into a table but good.  Thank heavens she waited until after she got home from a 10-day Alaskan cruise before beating herself up.  

     We've been having an interesting email exchange with a Ms. Jennifer Winberg, a very nice young lady from New York City.  Jennifer recently had a very special reunion at the Circle C Ranch in Rockne with her best friend from high school, Teri Hamilton's daughter Candice.  Using the cookoff as an excuse for the get-together, Jennifer brought her NYC boyfriend along for a little taste of Texas.  No surprise, they had a great time.  Jennifer sent pictures too, so there is a brand new slide show on the NYC Visitor page under Circle C.   She got some great shots and plenty of 'em!

     Sad news with the passing of Charlie Bartley of Kyle on Friday, May 18th after a long illness.  Dwight recently spoke with Charlie and during that conversation Charlie told Dwight how much he'd always enjoyed going to the CTTCG cookoffs, and how he often thought about all his chilihead friends.  

Known to give folks a hard time, he once asked the Martini Girls to refrain from participating in kareoke.  He'll be missed by many for a long time.

     There was also a posting on Facebook by Bobby & Sharon Haynes regarding the sudden death of Frank Fox, the Chilifox, on May 17th from a massive heart attack.  

   Next weekend is the short drive to Lockhart for the chili and barbecue portion of the Chisholm Trail Roundup (CTR).  See the What's Coming Up page for more details and a link to the official website for the rules and entry forms.  

    They're kinda particular out there too.  #1 Bring your fire extinguisher, #2 Chili Grind Only, and #3:  A Mandatory Cooks Meeting is scheduled for 10 am.  Registration needs to be completed before the start of the meeting.  It'll be a last minute bottle neck for sure.   Be a Boy Scout, follow the link to the CTR website to download the PDF, and print out the entry form so you can fill it out in advance.  You'll be glad you did.

We'll see you there!

Happy Trails & Viva Terlingua!

______________________________________________

     Congratulations to the winner of the 2012 Al Hopkins-Tolbert Texas State Chili Championship, Mr. Fred Lazarus from San Angelo, Texas.  He beat out 60 other cooks to take home 1st Place Chili, and is now qualified to join us Behind the Store in November.      

     This is the Peanut Debbi Tucker is supporting these days.  Peanut will be her mount for the ALS Ride for the Cure in November.    

    Come late October, these two brave and adventurous gals are gonna borrow a couple of horses with saddles, and a trailer for 'em too.   It's gonna be Martini Time on the Trail as our gals accompanyTom Nall and Patrick "Sidekick" Hendricks on the horseback ride from Alpine to Terlingua to raise funds for ALS.   It's about an 80 mile trip and the plan is cover somewhere in the 15 mile per day distance.   My calculator says that's going to be about 5.33 butt-numbing days.   Their goal is to raise $10K between now and November 3rd, and they need sponsors!   Click on the Yippee-Yi-Yo picture above to send 'em an email of interest.

_______________________________________________________ 

Click anywhere on the photo for an email form to attach jpegs to. 

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2011 WORLD CHAMP!

George Odom

of Manchaca, Texas

He's one of ours!

     The Central Texas Tolbert Chili Group didn't stop there either! Four of the top ten chili (indeed, 12 out of 20), and six of the nine show trophies were presented to some of our Usual Suspects as well! Yeah Us! We Rock - Literally!

2011 Ladies State ChampionJill Burrows of Lockhart, Texas

 Photo courtesy of Bud Rozell.

2011 and 2012 Tolbert Men's State Champion

Jimmy Smith of Harker Heights, Texas

2011 Texas State WinnerTabitha Williams of Luling, Texas 

Did you see the new banner we're hanging these days?

Cool, huh?

Who We Are

Mike "BB" Hughes & Dwight Hamilton, BFF

A group of friends who just happen to cook award winning chili and BBQ while we raise awareness and funds for some mighty worthy causes.

It's me - Laury McCulloughI'm your webmaster and always available atchili.reporter@yahoo.com

What We Do

Well, that's simple.  We cook and promote the Official State Dish of Texas:  Chili. 

We host over 30 chili events per year at a variety of locations, including the Al Hopkins Tolbert Texas State Chili Championship in Lockhart.  

Why We Do It

Aside from having a lot of fun, we support a long and varied list of charitable causes like Phone Cards for the Troops, the VFW Scholarship Fund, Special Olympics, and Breast Cancer resources to list just a few.    Check the Where We've Been and Why We Do It  page for beneficiary details for some of the cookoffs.

When We Do It

Most every weekend!  Be sure to check the What's Coming Up page for the details on this week's cookoff!

Where We Do It

All over Central Texas!  For most events we will have a map and/or directions on how to get to the various locations on the Map Page to help you out.