By Taylor MacPherson

Power 99 Chili Championship supports Children’s Haven

Mar 25, 2017 | 4:00 PM

Supporting a great cause was the secret ingredient at the 29th Power 99 Chili Championship.

The annual event, hosted this afternoon at the Prince Albert Inn, featured several unique offerings including vegetarian and bison chilis. Several teams dressed up for the occasion and many secret recipes were carefully guarded. Each year the event raises funds to support the Prince Albert Children’s Haven, which provides temporary care and shelter for children during crisis situations where parents or guardians may be unable to care for their children.

This year’s event raised just over $15,000 for the haven.

The Chili Championship had plenty of support from community partners. Northern Light Casino donated $6,000, while Scotiabank staff volunteered at the event and matched $5,000 in donations. Brad Baker, home financing advisor with Scotiabank, said the bank was participating as part of their Scotia Cares program.

“Scotia Cares is a program where the bank gets involved in raising money and helping initiatives raise money for charities,” Baker said. “Children’s Haven, we supported it last year, so we definitely know that it’s a worthwhile charity.”

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Scotiabank also entered a pot of chili into the competition, which took home the top prize. Baker said more bacon was added to the recipe after missing out on last year’s title.

Staff from Mr. Mikes Steakhouse Casual teamed up with the Saskatchewan Roughriders to give their chili an extra kick.

“We’re here for Children’s Haven,” Fullback Spencer Moore said. “It’s nice to be able to come out and have some fun while we’re supporting a worthy cause.”

Offensive Lineman Dan Clark, who had previously participated in the championship as a judge, echoed Moore’s sentiments.

“It’s great when a community can come together when there’s a crisis in a family,” Clark said.

POWER99 Operations Manager Garth Kalin said the event is less about competition and more about helping out the worthy cause.

“We like to say it’s a competition but it really isn’t,” Kalin said. “The end goal is to raise as much money as we can to help out the Children’s Haven do all the great work they do here in Prince Albert.”

Kalin said Power 99 has supported the Children’s Haven with an annual radiothon for 29 years running, which helps offset basic maintenance costs and keeps the service available. The haven provided help to more than 6,500 children last year alone, Kalin said.

“It’s a really important day and a really fun day,” Kalin said.

Taylor.macpherson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TMacPhersonNews