Beech Tree News Network

The giving nature of Butler Countians was on display again last Saturday at the Eva Hawes Ag Expo and Convention Center in the City Park. The event was a fundraiser for Steve Merideth, who is battling cancer. The event featured a car and tractor show, a tractor parade, an auction, and a bar-b-que cook-off.
A large crowd gathered both inside and outside the Ag Center for various activities. Of special interest to the crowd were the smells coming from the bar-b-que cooking area. Four teams were tasked with doing their best cooking job with chicken quarters and Boston butts. The teams were comprised of; Ron Glass, Richard Tucker, BJ Belcher and Scott Keen, and Josh Tanner and Danny Nelson.

The cooking drew lots of spectators, but anyone hoping for some b-b-q secrets was disappointed. When questioned, the cooks were reluctant to divulge any secrets. Some might have even spread some misinformation concerning their recipes, but everyone was in agreement that the food smelled and looked good enough to distract even the biggest fans of tractors and classic cars from the show.

After the judging was finished it was Gary McKee that was chosen as the winner of the tractor show. Gary's International F12 was chosen as the winner. In the classic car division it was Mark Dockery's black 1968 Chevy Camaro that was chosen as best of the best.

After the car and tractor show it was time for the judges--Dale Willis, Graham Mitchell, and Joe K. Morris--to venture inside the Ag Center to judge the cooking. The judges were given a large portion of Boston butt and chicken from each team, and were left to the tough task of picking the winner.
With the four teams watching from the foyer the panel went to work sampling the pork and chicken. After nearly an hour of sampling, debate, more sampling, and discussion amongst the panel the winners were chosen.

The team of Tommy Nelson and Josh Tanner, from Lewisburg, were announced as the winners. The team, that calls themselves The Farmer and The Hippie, was quick to ask the judges what put them over the top. The Farmer specializes in cooking the pork, with the Hippie handling the cooking duties for the chicken.

Despite their questions they were assured by the panel that the win was a team effort, with both the pork and chicken being equally tasty.
Judging the event was no easy task. As Graham Mitchell put it, "It's hard to pick the best when it's all good." To drive that point home the judge's left all four sample platters empty at the end of the event.

While the judges sampled the food an auction was held. Various items ranging from food to UK memorabilia were donated to the auction, including a gift certificate from Holley Performance for any of the company's carburetors. Auctioneer Bruce White donated his time and skills to conduct the auction.
When the proceeds from all the activities were tallied the event ended up raising more than $8,300 dollars to help Steve Merideth and his family.
The Merideth family and even organizers would like to thank everyone for attending, donating items, and making the day a special event for everyone involved.

"I want to thank everybody for their hard work.  A person never knows how many friends they have until they get down. The good Lord has blessed me with a bunch.  Ienjoyed talking and visiting with everybody.  That meant more to me than anything," said Merideth.