Camilla Chamber of Commerce hosts annual Chili Cook-Off
CAMILLA, Ga. – As the temperature drops in Camilla, the community finds warmth in a hot cup of chili.
The Camilla Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual Chili Cook-Off, an event that draws families and organizations across the area to downtown Camilla.
Participants prepared and served a variety of homemade chili, offering the community a chance to come together and enjoy a day of food and fun.
“Well, I’ve been in Camilla since 2014 and everything’s really nice. There’s a lot of farmers, a lot of people that work hard. I just really enjoy Camilla. It’s a small nit town. There aren’t a lot of us here, but we come together as a community. It’s warming and inviting. It gives a reason for people to come together,” said Abby Rykard, Bank of Camilla Loan Operations Manager.
Participants enjoyed sampling a wide variety of chili recipes, but it was the judges who had the final say on the best dish.
First place went to Five Star Credit Union, whose chili really stood out among the competition.
“I’m surprised just feeling good about it because we actually just came just to help out and show some love to the community. So, it wasn’t really expected to win just to engage because we had a great time for our first time last year,” said Kristy Everson, Five Star Credit Union.
Five Star Credit Union shared the secret to their award-winning chili recipe with us.
“Love. Yeah, I definitely feel like it’s love because we enjoy making it and it was all fun and just everybody enjoying it and seeing everybody saying it was great was, you know, it’s always a good feeling,” said Everson.
The business stated that the welcome they received from the City of Camilla was just as warm as the chili served at the cook-off.
“I just love how they embraced us. Like here, just coming to work every day doesn’t feel like work because these people really do care about each other and it’s a great community overall. So, we’re excited about being here. We love actually being able to do more and more in the community as Five Star Credit Union, and as actual civilians here,” said Everson.
De’Andra Jacobs reporting.
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