The Minden St. Jude Auction came back bigger and better than ever this year, raising a whopping $2,415,317 for the Children’s Research Auction over the course of the event’s four days, outpacing previous year’s records by nearly a million dollars.
A large part of setting this year’s record so far above and beyond was due to the late Alford Davis, who generously donated a hefty sum of $674,072 in his will to the Minden St. jude Auction, the largest single donation the auction has ever received. As a token of gratitude, the organizers of Minden St. Jude dedicated this weekend to the life and memory of Mr. Davis.
This year also saw the return of the beloved Chili Cook-Off. While the weather was not ideal, the head cooks and their teams persevered and the chili enthusiasts came out in strie, raising $8,200 for St. Jude, which translates to roughly 1,640 chili tasting cups sold.
The winners for the St. Jude Chili Cookoff are as follows. In the main competition the judges selected Big Jon’s Big Eats with Head Cook Jon Roger with Team Member Nancy Roger as the winners for the 2022 St. Jude Chili Cookoff. The winner of Best in Show was “Bayou Boujee” with Brooke Smith as Head Cook and Team Members Lacy Berry and Kathy Dick. For People’s Choice the public voted for Heat Stroke with Head Cook Tyler Mandino as their chosen winner.
Early Saturday morning runners from all around gathered in the First Baptist Parking Lot to take part in either the 5k, 10k, Half-marathon, or Fun-Run. The 5k and Fun Run were accompanied by color throws, painting the participants in all manner of vibrant colors before and during the run.
The Male 5K winners were Vathan Vogel with a time of 17:29 in first place, Tyler Davis with a time of 19:49 in second place, and Jairo Aguinaga with a time of 20:01 in third place. Aguinaga chose to donate his winnings back to the auction.
The Female 5K winners were Isabelle Russell with a time of 20:24 in first place, Vivian Still with a time of 22:42 in second place, and Avery Dixon with a time of 24:31 in third place.
The Male 10K winners were Jack Eaton with a time of 38 minutes in first place, Heath Hunt with a time of 41:54 in second place, and Kailon Caldwell with a time of 43:56 in third place.
The Female 10k winners were Linzie Hebert with a time of 43:24 in first place, Angel Turnbow with a time of 44:15 in second place, and Crystal Gantt with a time of 46:47 in third place.
The Male Half Marathon winners were Brandon Graham with a time of 1:15:07 in first place, Joshua Acosta with a time of 1:19:41 in second place, and Cameron O’Reilly with a time of 1:29:13 in third place.
The Female Half Marathon winners were Alexandra Hall with a time of 1:22:26 in first place, Shelley Armstrong with a time of 1:30:00 in second place, and Allison Mayfield with a time of 1:31:01 in third place.
The winners for the four team categories are as follows. Social Team went to Calendar Tribe, School Team went to Glenbrook Apaches, Church Team went to Trinity United Methodist, and Business Team went to Minden Family Dental.
Last year’s auction unfortunately had cutbacks that had to be made to adhere to safety precautions for the pandemic, but even last year, Minden’s giving spirit was on full display. This year, with nothing holding them back, the Minden St. Jude Auction was able to become a relentless force for good, raising over two million dollars for the hospital. This feat was only possible due to the countless hours and hard work donated by the auction’s volunteers, as well as the generous contributions in the form of raffles, pledges, donations, and of course bids from all who tuned in either live or in person, and as a result, Minden once again showcased what can be accomplished when people work together for the greater good.