Over 100 men cooking to benefit National Guard families

Vegetable options may be sparse when over 100 men cook for a cause next week in Huntingburg.

With delicious dishes like grilled boar, pheasant-on-a-stick and other delectable animals only softened by a few sweets (pineapple upside-down cake from yours truly) — although we hear there will be soup, it will be a heavy meal for those attending the 100 Men Who Cook fundraiser sponsored by Old National Bank on September 6 at the Huntingburg Event Center.

According to Tom Krodel, Regional President Old National Bank, the 100 Men Who Cook fundraiser began in Terre Haute in 2006 when the regional president there used it to raise funds for the Terre Haute Children’s Museum.

Due to the great success of the event, Old National began to use them as opportunities to generate funds for selected beneficiaries in the regions they serve.

This is the first year for the 100 Men Who Cook in this region and the chosen beneficiary is the Indiana National Guard Relief Fund.

Old National has helped the Indiana National Guard Relief Fund in the past when they assisted the Huntingburg and Jasper Optimist clubs with providing special stuffed bears to the children of deployed soldiers. The stuffed bears contained a recorded message from the absent family member.

“This [event] has really touched a lot of peoples’ hearts,” Krodel said about the charity. “Who better to support than the men and women who get called away from their families to protect and serve here at home or overseas.”

Through ticket sales and corporate sponsorships, Krodel stated 100 Men Who Cook has already raised over $60,000.

“The National Guard has told us that if we raise 50- to 60-thousand dollars, they will restrict those funds to be used in our area,” Tim Robinette, Old National Senior Vice President of Commercial Loans, said. “That amount will supply relief for all the National Guard families in our region for two years.”

That area includes Dubois and Orange counties and the counties the surrounding counties.

Across the state, Indiana has over 14,000 National Guard members. In recent years, they have been called on regularly to serve overseas; over 21,000 members have been deployed in the past ten years.

When family members are deployed, their pay in the Guard can be less than half of the income they are accustomed to from their civilian employment. The Indiana National Guard Relief Fund is designed to assist those families who run into hardships from this drop in pay. It also assists guard members who have returned from deployment and now need help while they are re-acclimating to civilian life.

According to Krodel, the response to 100 Men Cooking has been great.

Over 100 men have volunteered to cook and entertain the evening’s guests. Each is tasked with creating 25 servings of their culinary delight and each serving will be split into four apetizer portions. Chefs are encouraged to be creative with their serving areas.

Patrons will have free reign to visit the chefs’ tables to sample the food and if they especially enjoy a certain cook’s creation, they can leave a tip. The chef with the most tips at the end of the evening will receive the coveted Golden Spatula.

Additional events that night include a silent auction for items that have been donated like $100 gift certificate to Olinger Diamond Center, signed pieces of Tony Stewart’s and Danica Patrick’s cars, a Scott Rolen autographed bat, and even a membership to a beer-of-the-month club.

A live auction will be held during the night for several travel package including a seven day Florida vacation with Disney passes and more.

The event is scheduled for Saturday, September 6 at 6 p.m. at the Huntingburg Event Center.

Tickets are still available for the event and can be purchased by contacting Denise Schnell at Old National by calling 812-634-5299 or email denise.schnell@oldnational.com. Tables are $450 and seats are $60.

An accompanying cookbook with recipes provided by the cooks will be available for those attending the event

“As this community does, when you bring in a great cause, they come out and support it,” Krodel said. “It has been a great reception; more than we thought it was going to be.”

Many local businesses have stepped up to assist in sponsoring the event, including; WITZ AM/FM, French Lick Resort, Ewing Properties, Best Home Furnishings, Versteel, DC Broadcasting, OFS Brands, Infrastructure Systems, Inc., Jasper Engines, Your Story Photography, FC Tucker, Hedinger Beverage/Dad’s Root Beer, Seufert Construction, Memorial Hospital, IU Health Paoli, Ruxer Ford Lincoln, Hoosier Uplands, United Minerals, Koch Development, Nonte Chiropractic, Air Ride Technologies, 39 Degrees North, Nonte and Company LLC, and Woods Printing.