Throwdown Breakfast a Resounding Success

There was some smack talk, a little bragging, and a lot of good food.

That was the setting for what planners hope will be an annual event - the Throwdown Breakfast - showcasing the cooking talents of Cheyenne County's emergency services professionals. The Saturday contest was a fund raiser, this year for the Cheyenne County CERT Team, with proceeds going toward that team's goal of purchasing a tent to be used as a shelter and home base when the team is aiding other agencies in times of emergency.

The tent was the dream of the late Randy Haddix, who led the team from the time of its inception. After Haddix' death last year, team members and friends kept the dream alive to honor his service and fullfill the need for the rehab station.

The idea for the fund raiser came one day when MARC Air Manager Shannon Odiet, long-time Haddix friend Dave Sanders and others were sitting around talking about food, cooking and community. From that discussion emerged the idea of a cooking challenge.

It didn't take long and other agencies were jumping on board. MARC was joined by the Cheyenne County Sheriff's Office, Sidney Police Department, Cheyenne County Emergency Communications Center, Regional West Ambulance and the CERT Team as cook off contestant agencies. Cheyenne County CASA joined in for backup, and the Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce helped out as well.

More than 300 people turned out for the event, tasting samples of different breakfast burritos, french toast sandwiches, sweet oatmeal and other dishes for judging, topped off with bacon, sausage and hashbrowns from CASA for those needing a little more sustenance after making the rounds. Attendees made the choice of their favorite dish by dropping a ticket into a container at the serving tables.

In the end, the Cheyenne County Sheriff's office claimed top honors, earning the inaugural place on the cooking peel that Sanders said will be engraved with the winners' name each year.

But the cause was the real winner, as the event raised more that $1,900 through ticket sales and contributions. An additional $1,500 from MARC, plus $1,000 from another, anonymous, donor brought the tally to just shy of the $4,800 needed to purchase the rehab tent.

"Beyond successful" was how Odiet and Sanders characterized the event.

"We were surprised how many people came out," Sanders said. "We had incredible support from the community."

Sanders also tipped his hat to the agencies involved, saying "it was great to see everyone out here working together for this."

Sanders said the group hopes to continue the cook off, using it to help raise funds to meet the needs of different agencies each year.