Chili Cookoff receives great turnout

Published 11:30 am Thursday, October 1, 2026

Saturday at Left Field in Oakland, many citizens gathered for a chili cookoff with other food items as well as other activities for people to participate in.

“The cookoff was a great success,” said FOOF Member Ashley Johnson. “Attendees enjoyed 11 different chilis, cinnamon rolls, and Husker football and volleyball victories.”

Connect Four and corn hole were also available for the public in the back outside.

With the 11 different chilis available to be judged by the celebrity judges, who have been past scholarship winners, two individuals were fortunate enough to win best chili.

“Wyatt and Jade Jacobsen won Best Chili from the Celebrity Judges and Quinn Webster won People’s Choice,” Johnson said.

Johnson also said she was grateful for all the other people who participated in the contest.

“A huge thank you to our chili cookers: Kirk and Bridget Eriksen, Shannon and Cori Harney, Tim and Sheri Slatt, Travis and Keri Thomsen, Rusty and Cheri Droescher, Wyatt and Jade Jacobsen, Gene Poppe and Jeff Rennerfeldt, Greg and Alison Mockenhaupt, Kyle and Tiffany Lechtenberg, Marshall Stalp, and Quinn Webster,” she said.

Johnson acknowledged many sponsors who helped make the evening and the event a reality and a success.

Thanks to our generous sponsors who made the event possible,” she added. “They were Nelson’s Bar and Grill, Rennerfeldt Financial, Red Barn Vet Clinic, KM Johnson Inc., Matt Nelson Farms, Cornhusker Ag, J&K Webster Excavating, Christensen Electric, Kevin Anderson Farms, Jennings Heating, Plumbing, and Air, Anilog LLC., Anderson Structures, Franciscan Healthcare, Richards Ag Agency, Classic Clean Car Wash, Pelan Funeral Services, Anderson Valuation, Northeast Eyecare, State Farm Insurance, First Northeast Bank of Nebraska, Foundation Wealth Advisors, Farm and Home Insurance, Tim and Annie Magnusson, and Wolken Therapy and Wellness.”

FOOF member Sue Beckner mentioned the money raised will help support the FOOF Scholarship Fund for Oakland-Craig High School seniors.

“I believe we’ve been doing this for over 20 years,” Beckner said. “It started out as us giving eight $500 scholarships each year, and then we’ve built it up throughout the years. We have given thousands of dollars from private donors who have left us money. We have a lot of pass-through scholarships where people designate where they want to give a scholarship in memory of someone, so we take care of those, and now we’ve expanded it to giving out continuing education scholarships.”