Getting a 'Taste' of community

By Our Opinion

Fund-raising kickoffs rarely taste as good as the one that's scheduled for Saturday to open the 2004 campaign for United Way of Lawrence County.

For the second year in a row, the campaign will begin with an event called Taste of Lawrence County, and will feature food from a number of restaurants in the county. As if that isn't enough, the event will include the Limestone Chef Grill Off, with competitive, but friendly, chefs challenging each other. The Taste of Lawrence County is scheduled for Saturday from 3 to 8 p.m. at the Lawrence County 4-H Fairgrounds. Advance tickets are available at the United Way office, and all who sign up for some of the foods that will be coming from local restaurants or off the grills on Saturday will be giving their taste buds a treat.

A variety of teams have been assembled for the grilling contest. Twenty community leaders have agreed to taste the foods and do the judging.

The grilling teams represent the various components that combine to make for a favorable quality of life in Lawrence County. Representatives of the education field, representing both school systems, will compete in a one grilling contest (cooking chicken), while other competitions will see representatives from the two hospitals squaring off to decide who cooks the best ribeye, and Mitchell Mayor Morris "Butch" Chastain and Bedford Mayor Joe Klumpp donning chef's hats to determine who makes the best grilled tenderloin.

A Taste of Lawrence County isn't just about food. It's about a variety of other activities that will delight people of all ages. Also scheduled are slot car racing, a puppet show, karaoke, classic cars and face painting.

More importantly, the Taste of Lawrence County isn't simply about the combination of good food and enjoyable activities. It's about a spirit of community, and that's the spirit that organizers of the Taste of Lawrence County, and the United Way campaign in general, have captured in calling this year's campaign "A Community That Cares."

Supporting this weekend's event and pledging to give to the United Way of Lawrence County will demonstrate that county residents are dedicated to consistently making the county a good place to live and work. United Way, in materials promoting the Taste of Lawrence County, called attention to the need for thanking everyone who has devoted their energy, their effort and their good humor, (which will abound at the grilling competition), to helping out with a good cause. Everyone who has worked to make the upcoming event a success truly is worthy of the gratitude.