October 2015 – The Van Wert County 4-H Endowment Board will be conducting their first Trot-N-Trough 5K Run/Walk and Chili Cook-Off fund raiser event on Saturday, October 24, 2015. The event will raise money for academic scholarships for graduating 4-H seniors, scholarships and financial assistance to 4-H youth interested in attending 4-H Camp Palmer, and 4-H club grants for community service projects and special programs.
The race was the kick-0ff of our event, with a 5K loop that went around most of the Jr. Fair grounds end, and looped the grandstands track. Participants received a free green “Trot-N-Trough” shirt for registering!
Following the race was the Chili Cook-Off! 3 Teams from the community served up chili, including Ag Credit, MMMGood, and OSU Extension. The Winner of the Event was Ag Credit, with a close second from the MMMGood team!
Chili Cook-Off OSU Extension Recipe Veggie Chili (from the USDA What’s Cooking website)
4-H Professional Notes for Recreating Your Own Event
- Measuring the course is the hardest part of a 5k!
- If you have a running company in your area, see if they will help you, or work for a small fee.
- Make sure you publish that it is a WALK and RUN. People will walk for a good cause!
- For the chili, the hardest prediction is how much to make, how many to expect, and what to provide. We went with gut instinct and still had plenty extra!
- Having a great team is irreplaceable.
- Work with your health department to find the best way to do your cook-off. For us, it was having already prepared chili brought on-site, and doing a donation system for tickets and voting.
