United Way's Hot Wing Eating Contest brings the heat— and donations

Contestants were given eight minutes to eat as many wings as possible. Participants could be sponsored by other patrons, with a set dollar amount given for each wing eaten.

Tom Rhine, 2017 United Way campaign chair, participated in the contest.

“This is just one of the most awesome competitions of the year. It’s exhilarating in here,” Rhine said. “You can feel the excitement and the energy level.”

Tina Yoke, executive director of the United Way of Harrison County, said the event went better than she could have hoped.

“Last year we raised $33,000, and our goal was $40,000, so we exceeded that,” she said. “It’s just amazing to be in a room and see that many people come out for a common cause. And that’s to improve the lives of people in Harrison County. The fact we raised over $43,000 in one evening is simply amazing.”

Yoke said that without the help of every person involved, the event wouldn’t have been as successful.

“But we really appreciate the support from all the contests because we wouldn’t have raised that much money if everyone didn’t participate,” Yoke said. “We want to thank the management of Buffalo Wild Wings for hosting the event. Everything ran smoothly because of their hard work.”

Trophies were given out for most wings eaten in the male and female divisions, as well as for most money raised.

Josh Wyckoff won the trophy for most money raised individually — $25,300.

Loriana Lafferty was the women’s division winner, with 14 wings eaten.

Jim Wilson was the overall winner for the second year in a row. He ate 31 wings.

“I did it last year, and it’s a great fundraiser for the United Way. Antero let us come over here and sponsors us, and it’s great for the community,” Wilson said. “It’s just good fun.”

All the winners were sponsored in some way by Antero Resources.

Rhine said the $43,290 raised through Wednesday’s Hot Wing Eating Contest “all goes towards our campaign goal of $850,000.”

“Right now we’re around 83 percent of our campaign goal,” he said. “We have five more weeks to reach that goal. It ends Feb. 28.”

Anyone interested in making a donation to this year’s campaign may do so at www.give2017.com