Steve Littlefield, Dwayne Sears take Grand Champion in Stew Contest

There were 109 chicken stews entered into the 50th anniversary World Champion Hopkins County Stew Contest. Following are the winners announced by the Hopkins County Chamber of Commerce:

• Honorable Mention Campsite/Costume: # 84 Phillip Gabbert and Kathy Sponsored by VFW Post 8560.
• Campsite and costume winner this year was site # 111 Wade Juarez and Anida Reed sponsored by Diamond Bar J. Their $200 prize was provided by: Best Western
• Honorable Mention Super Campsite/Costume: 18B Amanda McKinney and Dares Roach sponsored by Roach Construction.
• The John Chester Award for Super Campsite winner was site #7 Chris Gibbins and Scarlett Gibbins sponsored by Texas Heritage National Bank. Their $250 prize was provided by: Sulphur Springs Centre for Dance.
• Honorable Mention Beef Stew: # 87B Greg Cravens and Stacy Cravens sponsored by Ocean Spray Cranberries.
• Third place beef stew winner was the team of # 91 Debbie Jones and Mariah Edwards sponsored by Sulphur Springs Health and Rehab. Their $100 prize money was provided by VF Outlet. Their third-place stew was purchased for $250 by Legacy Ag Credit.                                     
• Second place beef stew winner was the team of #8 Bruce Millard and Trevor Reger sponsored by Sulphur Springs Professional Firefighters. Their $150 prize money was provided by East Texas Physical Therapy.  Their second-place stew was purchased for $450 by Farm Country.
• First place beef stew winner was the team of # 37 Joe Wallace and Breanna Yager sponsored by Saputo Dairy Foods. Their $300 prize money was provided by Hampton Inn. Their first-place stew was purchased for $600 by Texas Heritage National Bank.
• Honorable Mention Chicken Stew: # 20 Nikole Lamb and Sharon Sink sponsored by Sulphur Springs ISD.
• Third place chicken winner was the team of #13 Debbie White and Ann Tanton sponsored by Hopkins Rains Farm Bureau. Their prize money of $100 was provided by 4-J’s Body Shop. Their third-place stew was purchased for $250 by Legacy Ag Credit.
• Second place chicken stew winner was the team of #16 Kathy Lennon and Chris Black sponsored by JKL Farm. Their prize money of $150 was provided by East Texas Physical Therapy. Their second-place chicken stew was purchased for $450 by Farm Country. 
• First place chicken stew winner was the team of #25 Kimberly Kirkland and D’Anne Chaney sponsored by NetData. Their prize money of $300 was provided by Hollis Mechanical. Their first-place chicken stew was purchased for $600 by GDC Industrial.
• Honorable Mention Super Stew Beef: #77 Katie Patterson and Linda Henton sponsored by: Alliance Bank.
• Third place Super Stew Beef award was won by # 15 John Wilburn and Rudy Ellis sponsored by CD Ballard Trucking. Their prize money of $100 was sponsored by Jiffy Signs. Their third-place Super Stew Beef was purchased for $300 by Corner Grub House.
• Second place Super Stew Beef award was won by # 111 Wade Juarez and Anida Reed sponsored by Diamond Bar J. Their prize money of $250 was sponsored by Atmos Energy. The second-place Super Stew Beef was purchased for $500 by ONCOR.
• First Place Super Stew Beef winner was the team of #62 Tonya and James Ross sponsored by Alliance Bank. Their prize money of $500 was provided by Janet Martin Realty. Their winning quart of Super Stew Beef was purchased for $900 by Clayton Homes.
• Honorable Mention Super Stew Chicken: M-W I.L. Balkom IV and Cathy Carr sponsored by The Lazy B Ranch.
• Third place Super Stew Chicken award was won by # 43 Carmen Crouse and Craig Clifton sponsored by SomeThing 4 Every Season. Their prize money of $100 was sponsored by Advantage Copy Systems. Their third-place Super Stew Chicken was purchased for $300 by Peoples.
• Second place Super Stew Chicken award was won by # 21 Wayne Caldwell and Lyndsay Palmer sponsored bys Mattison Insurance. Their prize money of $250 was sponsored by Jay Hodge Chevrolet. The second-place Super Stew Chicken was purchased for $ 500 by Sister Babyz.
• First Place Super Stew Chicken winner was the team of # 86 Elaine Merrell and Doris Humphrey sponsored by CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital-Sulphur Springs. Their prize money of $500 was provided by Circle E Western Wear. Their winning quart of Super Stew Chicken was purchased for $900 by Interstate Body Shop.

Results of the one time only Grand Champion Stew category were:

• Site # 9 Don Sapaugh and James VanWinkle
• Site # 28 Steve Littlefield and Dwayne Sears
• Site # 29 Nancy Fite and Larry Fite
• Site #30 Steve Littlefield and James McMahan
• Site #48 Garrett Glass and Brandon Williams
• Site #92 Richard Brantley and Ashley Brantley
• Site #117 John Mark McAfee and Bambi McAfee
• Site # 125 LaWana Hohenberger and Broc Hohenberger
• Site #M-L David Joslin and Robert Edwards

Four Honorable Mentions in the Grand Champion category were give to:

• #29 Nancy Fite and Larry Fite sponsored by Berry Appraisal Services,
• #48 Garrett Glass and Brandon Williams sponsored by Guaranty Bank and Trust,
• #117 John Mark McAfee and Bambi McAfee sponsored by McAfee Farms and
• #9 Don Sapaugh and James VanWinkle sponsored by City National Bank.

Finally, the Grand Champion winner’s stew was purchased by Grocery Supply Company and Fidelity Express. Their $700 prize money was provided by City National Bank.  

The Grand Champion Winner of the 50th annual Hopkins County World Famous Stew Contest was #28 Steve Littlefield and Dwayne Sears sponsored by Ben E. Keith.

The following sponsors provided products for the contest:  

• Brookshire’s—Title Sponsor
• Down to Earth Services – Down to Earth Friday Night
• Clarion Pointe – Hotel Sponsor
• Saputo – Cheese Sponsor
• Southwest Dairy Museum – Cheese Sponsor

Service tents were provided by:

• Hopkins/Rains County Farm Bureau
• ETC- Environmental Tank and Container
• CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital-Sulphur Springs

Other sponsors included:

• Alliance Bank and Galyean Insurance
• CNC Pro Audio Video 
• Latson’s.com
• Chili’s
• CBJ
• State Representative Dan Flynn
• Carriage House Manor
• Central Baptist Church
• Pizza Inn
• Rock Creek Health & Rehab
• Super Handy
• Sunny Springs Nursing Home
• Joe Bob’s Convenience Stores
• The Sweet Grind
• Dr. Liao Ortho Center
• Sign Gypsies
• Hope Family Fellowship
• Fix ‘n Feed
• 95.9 Star Country
• KSST
• Cheyenne Smithers with Preuss & Flecker
• Bright Star Baking Company

Volunteers included: Blue Blazes, Juvenile Probation, HOSA, Hopkins County Leadership Class-Volunteer and student workers, and Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and ambassadors.