First public Cub Scout Chili Cook Off set for Friday

For the first time, this Friday at 5:30 p.m., the Cub Scout Pack 4426’s annual chili cook off will be open to the public at St. Jude Thaddeus Parish Center, an event organizers hope will help raise funds for the pack, celebrate the local scouts’ own fundraising efforts and raise awareness about scouting in general.

Pack 4426 Cub Master Jeremy Malley said they’ve been holding a chili cook-off for a long time now, but it was just for scouts and their families, and this time it will be open to the public.

Malley said scouts and their families will bring their personal favorite chili recipes to go head to head in competition with the local Boy Scouts as judges, with bragging rights as the prize.

He said they will also have mac and cheese for younger children or people who want to attend but aren’t into chili.

He said the scouts will also have a unique opportunity to celebrate reaching an ambitious fundraising goal, with Boy Scout Venture Leader Bill Lanier having agreed to let them shave his head if they raised $10,000 in popcorn sales.

Lanier said this whole thing started as a joke, but this year’s scouts managed to beat the funding goal by $300, which means he must say goodbye to his prized mullet, for now at least.

“I thought they’d get a kick out of it. I love watching the smiles on their faces,” he said. “… I just hope it grows back.”

Lanier said this isn’t the first time he’s had his head shaved as part of a fundraiser, and last time it came back, but it looks like he’ll be tempting fate twice.

Lanier and Malley said it will be a fun event and they hope it will help expose people to the fun things scouts do and call attention to what they accomplished.

“We’d love to see a lot of people there, and to get the word out about scouting,” Malley said.

Tickets will be available for a suggested donation of $5 at the door or from any scout.