CAPTION: A team from Watertown International Airport, led by Tony Bender, took home the People’s Choice Award at this year’s North Country Chili Cook-Off Saturday, March 14, at the Dulles State Office Building in Watertown.

Awards Given for In-Person Competition, Restaurant Winners Announced

(WATERTOWN, NY) — The Volunteer Transportation Center hosted its in-person portion of the Annual North Country Chili Cook-Off Saturday, March 14, drawing hundreds to the Dulles State Office Building in Watertown. This marked the 27th anniversary of the competition.

The event — which raises money for the Volunteer Transportation Center to fund crucial transportation to medical appointments and grocery shopping trips for local veterans and their families — is estimated to have raised approximately $40,000.

“Even with less-than-favorable weather and other events going on that day, we had a great turnout,” said VTC Executive Director Sam Purington, who noted the money raised will go a long way in helping the organization transport people to their medical appointments. “It was another fun event for the community while raising some crucial funding for the Volunteer Transportation Center.”

That was a sentiment echoed by Jeremiah S. Papineau, Director of Communications and Foundation Director for the VTC.

“Despite the inclement weather we saw that day, we couldn’t have asked for a better crowd,” said Mr. Papineau. “This year was an even greater mix of professional and amateur chefs coming together to have some fun and, as Sam said, raise money to help us in our mission here at the VTC.”

This year’s in-person event saw 24 teams participate, which was eight more teams than the previous year. Attendees were able to taste chili from each team, sampling traditional styles and ones with different takes like white chicken chili, vegetarian chili and others.

The People’s Choice Award, for which attendees can vote for their favorite, went to a team from Watertown International Airport, led by Tony Bender. The award-winning chili consisted of marinated steak, sausage, hamburger, sweet peppers and sweet onion, cooked for over 13 hours, which Mr. Bender said is the key to the flavor of the team’s entry.

In addition to the People’s Choice Award, entries were evaluated by a panel of judges and the special category awards were given by another panel of judges.

In the Professional Category, first place went to Samaritan Medical Center, Watertown, led by Brent Shawcross and Kristi Whitfield; second place went to The Cottage Inn, Copenhagen, led by Ben Shambo; and third place went to Empire Square, Watertown, led by owner Vonnette Monteith.

In the Amateur Category, first place went to American Legion Post 162, Lowville, led by Jasyn Griffin; second place went to Baked, a team from Clayton led by Melissa and Chris Fitzgerald; and third place went to Citizen Advocates, Watertown, led by Megan Badour.

Other awards included Best Vegetarian entry going to Baked, a team from Clayton led by Melissa and Chris Fitzgerald. Most Unusual Recipe went to The Arc Jefferson-St. Lawrence, a team led by Trish Millard and Erin Ellingsworth. Their entry consisted of seven different peppers, along with cinnamon, brown sugar and cocoa. In addition, the awards for Best Decorated, Best Dressed, and Most Congenial went to Kenobi Krew, a Star Wars-themed team led by Alex Peer of Theresa.

In addition to plaques, cash prizes were awarded to all of the teams, with several teams donating their winnings back to the VTC.

“We were once again blown away by the number of teams that donated back their winnings,” said Mr. Papineau.

Other teams that also competed included Hall Pass Tavern, West Carthage; Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7227, Carthage; Sons of Sam Motorcycle Club, Oswego; Children’s Home of Jefferson County, Watertown; Kogut’s Contracting, Watertown; North Country German-American Club, Watertown; The Bad Apple, Watertown; The Salvation Army, Watertown; The Grille at Hilton Garden Inn, Watertown; The Whiskey Coop, Watertown; Watertown Urban Mission, Watertown; Tom Bellinger, Canton; Lindsey McCann, Watertown; and Locas Amigas, a team of volunteer drivers from the Volunteer Transportation Center.

Judges for the event included Mel Busler, John Dillenback, Lee Hinkleman, Les Shockley, Melissa Saffin, Lynn May, and Lindsey Gibbons.

This year’s in-person event also again included desserts created by Jessica Sheldon of Mud Pie Designs, which were for sale by donation to the Volunteer Transportation Center. That portion of the event raised $1,036. Raffles, coordinated by Chili Cook-Off Chairperson Amy McEathron and donated by several local businesses, also raised $1,445. Everything came together to help make the event a success, said Mr. Papineau.

“The sponsors, the teams, the volunteers, everyone who came to the event. It was all that combined that made this another successful fundraiser for the VTC and a fun one for the community,” he said.

During the event, winners were announced for the restaurant-to-restaurant format of this year’s North Country Chili Cook-Off, which saw competition among participating restaurants and businesses in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence Counties. This year, the People’s Choice Award for that format went again to Silver Leaf Diner in DeKalb Junction, which received the most votes from people in the community for the fourth year in a row. The Top Fundraiser Award went to Silver Leaf Diner for the second time in a row, as they raised $3,642 in donations for the VTC — more than double what they raised last year.

“We were blown away by how much Traci and the crew at Silver Leaf Diner raised this year,” said Mr. Papineau. “The support and generosity of all the restaurants and their customers was amazing again this year and it all came together to raise a record amount.”

Those that participated in the restaurant-to-restaurant format included:

• The Dockside Pub, 11 Market Street, Alexandria Bay
• The Brick Oven Inn, 9595 Main Street, Beaver Falls
• Hillbilly Inn, 35419 South Lake Road, Carthage
• Jreck Subs, 210 State Street, Carthage
• The Church Street Diner, 107 Church Street, Carthage
• Zero Dock Street Restaurant & Bar, 130 Canal Street, Carthage
• The Cottage Inn, 9794 State Route 12, Copenhagen
• Silver Leaf Diner, 3231 U.S. Route 11, DeKalb Junction
• Meme’s Diner, 31606 State Route 3, Felts Mills
• Jreck Subs, 7596 East State Street, Lowville
• Lloyd’s of Lowville, 7405 Utica Boulevard, Lowville
• Squishy’s BBQ & Catering, 6218 Number Four Road, Lowville
• The Bateman Draft House, 7570 South State Street, Lowville
• The Elm, 5422 Shady Avenue, Lowville
• JJ’s on the River, 54 East River Street, Ogdensburg
• Jake’s on the Water, 5726 State Route 56, Potsdam
• The Whiskey Coop, 214 1/2 West Main Street, Sackets Harbor
• Tavern230, 4173 West Road, Turin
• Jean’s Beans, 259 Eastern Boulevard, Watertown
• Jreck Subs, 1218 Arsenal Street, Watertown
• Jreck Subs, 525 Mill Street, Watertown
• Jreck Subs, 605 State Street, Watertown
• Panera Bread, 21872 Towne Center Drive, Watertown
• Pete’s Trattoria, 111 Breen Avenue, Watertown
• The Grille at Hilton Garden Inn, 1290 Arsenal Street, Watertown
• The Whiskey Coop, 133 North Massey Street, Watertown

Mr. Papineau said, like all fundraisers for the VTC, money raised goes to mileage reimbursement for volunteer drivers who transport clients across Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence Counties for the local nonprofit organization. This event specifically earmarks that funding for reimbursement to help transport those who are veterans or family members of veterans.

“That’s been the focus since the beginning, when this event was started thanks to collaboration with our friends from The American Legion Family,” said Mr. Papineau. “The VTC is here to transport everyone but this fundraiser is one where we focus on our veterans and their families. We’re incredibly thankful for all they’ve done and this is just one way we can give back to them.”

The 26th Annual North Country Chili Cook-Off was supported by “Underwriting Level Sponsors” Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, Watertown Savings Bank, Stewart’s Shops, United Food Service Operators, Advanced Business Systems, WWNY-TV 7News/Fox28/MeTV, Tunes 92.5/Intrepid Broadcasting, NNY360/Watertown Daily Times, Victory Promotions, and The American Legion Family. Platinum Level Sponsors include Kinney Drugs Foundation, Northern New York Community Foundation, OneDigital, Purcell Construction Corporation, Samaritan Medical Center, The ARC of Jefferson-St. Lawrence, and Watertown International Airport. Gold Level Sponsors include AmeriCU Credit Union, Bob Johnson Auto Group, Citizen Advocates, Clipper Inn, Disabled Persons Action Organization, Inkwell Graphix, Keller Williams-Amy Kenney, Knowlton Technologies, NFP Corp., North Country Insurance Company, Northern Credit Union, Overhead Door Co. of Watertown, SeaComm Federal Credit Union, State CS Employee Federal Credit Union and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1231. Silver Level sponsors include American Legion Post 1788, American Legion Post 583, American Legion Post 673, American Legion Post 904 SAL, Atlantic Testing Laboratories, Black Horse Group, Brotherton Trucking, Carthage Savings & Loan, Cazenovia Equipment Company, Chimera Integrations, Community Bank, N.A., DOCO Quick Print/Midgley Printing, Fuller Insurance Agency, GEICO Insurance, GYMO Architecture Engineering & Land Surveying, Haylor, Freyer, & Coon, Hilton Garden Inn, Lloyd’s of Lowville, RBC Wealth Management, Slack Chemical Company, Steve Shannon Tire and The Bonadio Group. Friends of the Cook-Off Level sponsors include American Legion Post 162 SAL, American Legion Post 583 Auxiliary, American Legion Post 586 Auxiliary, American Legion Post 586 SAL, American Legion Post 61 Auxiliary, American Legion Post 904 Auxiliary, American Legion Post 916 Auxiliary, AMVETS Post 282, Center Street Diner, Children’s Home of Jefferson County, CNY Office Furniture, Gouverneur Elks Lodge 2035, Hall Pass Tavern, Jake Johnson Properties, Johnson Pine, Lowville Elks Lodge 1605, Meade Optical, Potsdam Moose Lodge 2397, Snow Ridge Ski Resort, The Dockside Pub, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1143, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1231 Auxiliary, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5344 Auxiliary, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7227 Auxiliary, Viking Cives USA, Watertown Elks Lodge 496, Watertown Lions Club, Weldon & Trimper Law Firm, and Mr. Bruce Prior. Additional support is provided by Blue Mountain Spring Water, Doldo Bros., Everlasting Events by Heather, Hannaford Supermarket, Jen’s Backroad Blooms, JRECK Subs, Mud Pie Designs (Jessica Sheldon), Panera Bread, Pepsi Bottling Group, Price Chopper, Sam’s Club and Staples.

ABOUT THE VOLUNTEER TRANSPORTATION CENTER

The Volunteer Transportation Center, Inc. (VTC), established in 1991, drives thousands of miles each year assisting community members in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence Counties and beyond. Over the last 30 years, this essential non-profit organization has provided rides to health care appointments, food sources and other critical needs destinations for residents.

In 2025, volunteer drivers provided 25,533 charitable trips over 783,845 miles in Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence Counties. Of those miles, 294,999 helped those in Jefferson County, 80,033 in Lewis County, and 408,813 in St. Lawrence County. That equated to approximately $391,923 in mileage reimbursement for our volunteers. That’s why the community’s help is so important.

The staff, boards of directors and volunteer drivers look forward to a time when transportation to community activities and services is accessible to all North Country residents regardless of economic or specialized needs. But for now the mission drives on — striving to provide transportation to health, wellness and critical needs destinations utilizing volunteers and mobility management for anyone who has barriers to transportation.

For more information about how you can help the Volunteer Transportation Center, about its upcoming events, or to become a volunteer driver, contact the agency in Jefferson and Lewis Counties at 315-788-0422, in St. Lawrence County at 315-714-2034, or Western New York at 585-250-5030. Volunteers drive their own cars, set their own hours and receive mileage reimbursement but, more importantly, make a difference in the community. To learn more, visit www.volunteertransportationcenter.org.