Worshipful Master's Message Chicken Challenge 2016

​

Friends and Brothers: 

 

I hope your years are going well so far! We at Hiram 1 have been busy and would like to see if we could help you have some fun while raising money for charity. A number of us Lodges in Connecticut have a line item in our budgets that go towards the Masonicare Quality of Life Fund (QLF) where residents can purchase items that Medicare or other insurance providers will not cover: a second set of dentures within a certain period of time or a motorized wheelchair for example. 

 

If yours is one of those Lodges with the QLF already in your budget and have not yet made your donation I am writing to see if you would consider participating in the 2016 Quality of Life Chicken Challenge V. Your donation would still go to Masonicare's QLF, but also your Lodge would come together to compete, meet Brothers from all over the district (and possibly the state), and, if you win, donate the entire sum raised to Masonicare in your Lodge's name!  (There's also a cool trophy you can display for the year.)

 

The registration fee for your team is only $200 which may only be a portion of your Lodge's budgeted donation. From there we ask each Lodge to provide at least one team of six eaters and three judges. I've been a Mason for seven years and we all know that Masons can eat!  You will then split up your eaters into two groups: four Sprinters and two Marathoners. As the names suggest, Sprinters will eat as many chicken tenders as they can in a short period of time while the Marathoners will do the same over a longer period of time. The Judges will be assigned to another team just to keep everyone honest. All participants will get a t-shirt and all eaters will get all-he-can-eat chicken, all-he-can-drink beer/soda/juice, and a shot at gastric glory! The participation fee for each individual, often provided by the participant himself, is $30 for eaters and $10 for Judges. You may decide to have the Lodge pay for a portion of the participation fee if your budgeted donation to Masonicare is larger than the registration fee. That's up to you. 

 

In the past, the Challenge has also required Lodges to sell spaces on a Grid of Squares for $5 a square. At the end of the competition, the squares are randomly assigned numbers and the person who purchased the square that corresponds with the total number of tenders your Lodge ate wins half of the collected squares fee! The other half was automatically added to the grand total. This year, however, the Lodges are not required to sell squares; but if you do, you can decide where the cash goes: to Masonicare, to a charity of your choice, or to replenish any overages you incurred to participate in this event! 

 

Finally, there will be day-of fundraising opportunities to bump up the final grand total such as t-shirt sales from this Challenge and previous years. All we know is that it is a fun day for a worthy cause (and has nothing to do with us winning the trophy back from Ansantawae/Friendship Tuscan Lodges who won Chicken Challenge IV!)

 

The Masonicare Chicken Challenge V will be held on Saturday, June 18th at Doody's Totoket Inn, North Branford. For more information and official event rules, please contact Hiram's Junior Warden, Bro. Brendan McGann at hiram1jw@gmail.com .

 

We hope to hear from you soon!

 

Sincerely & Fraternally, 

 

Bro. Michael Calderone

Worshipful Master

Hiram Lodge No. 1

New Haven, CT

Chartered 1750