Mark your calendar for Saturday, Nov. 11! Broadway Street, along the Natchez Bluff, will fill up with competing teams of chili cookers vying for bragging rights from both the Judges’ Choice and the People’s Choice awards.  A prize will also be given for the best decorated booth.

Tasting kits are $5, and there will be homemade root beer floats, signature chili bowls by local potter Tom Hughes, face painting, a children’s blow up slide and a silent auction which includes a trip to Orange Beach, a stay at a Victorian Chalet in Gatlinburg, a squirrel hunt with Redneck Adventures and much, much more! Entertaining us with their tremendous talent will be Taylor Spring, Brandon McCranie and John Cooper on the guitar!

All proceeds will benefit the Natchez Children’s Services.  In 1816, the Female Charitable Society cared for orphaned children in the Mississippi territory.  In 2016, through partnerships and collaborations, Natchez Children’s Services is a bustling center for children in five southwest Mississippi counties who have been the victims of felony child abuse: sexual, physical, or emotional, or who have witnessed a crime or domestic violence.

The Natchez Children’s Services Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) uses a multi-disciplinary approach to investigate abuse by providing recorded forensic interviews of young victims in a child-friendly setting.  A victim advocate is assigned to each child, and family, trauma-focused therapy is offered, necessary resources are accessed, and court preparation and child abuse prevention programs and education are taught to children and adults. Over 200 forensic interviews of children from age 3 to 18 have been conducted since the CAC opened.

The Rotary Club of Natchez gladly organizes this wonderful event in our quest to fulfill the Rotary motto, “Service above self.”  Our 120 member club is one of 35,000 Rotary Clubs worldwide. Rotary International is 1.2 million neighbors, friends and community leaders who come together to promote peace, fight disease, provide clean water, save mothers and children, support education and grow local economies.

The Natchez Rotary Club has hosted the annual chili cook-off for the last seven years, raising thousands of dollars to ensure no cost services for the children and families who so desperately need Natchez Children’s Services.  Home Bank is this year’s major sponsor, and it is not too late to enter a team, buy a sponsorship or offer an item for auction. Plan to join in the chili-tasting fun beginning at 11 a.m. on the beautiful Natchez Bluff behind the Natchez Grand Hotel.

For more information, call Natchez Children’s Services at 601-442-6858.

Thank you for making this a fun and profitable annual event!
Suzanne Steckler is Service Chairman of the Rotary Club of Natchez and President at Natchez Pathology Laboratory, Inc.