Are you ready for the best Jambalaya you have ever tasted? And does the price of $2.00…yes, that is two dollars….for a plate of jambalaya, salad, roll and soft drink make your mouth water even more? If so, come on down to the third annual United Way Jambalaya Jamboree Cook-off on Thursday, August 30, 2007. This event, kicking off the annual United Way of the Greater Miss-Lou pledge drive, will be held at the Natchez Convention Center from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Join our “Secret Agents of Change,” eat well, and support a good cause.

You may remember that our first year’s event was a sold-out success. Last year we doubled the number of teams to ensure plenty of food. This year there will be even more. Local businesses and companies from both sides of the river have gathered their top chefs and secret recipes to prepare their taste-tempting treats and the competition is already heating up (pun intended!). A panel of independent judges will select the best jambalaya. This occasion kicks off the United Way annual drive with a bang and plenty of spice.

While enjoying your jambalaya, there will be lots of fun and music. Roscoe and Terri will handle the MC duties and Section Eight will provide the music. United Way agencies will have information booths so that you can see the work they do in the Miss-Lou community and how your contribution does make a difference. Spirit Awards will be given to the best- decorated booths for both the cooking teams and the agencies. Everyone is keeping their themes highly secret to prevent undercover spies (i.e., competitors) from infiltrating and decoding winning ideas.

Cooking teams include Alcorn School of Nursing, Britton and Koontz Bank, Concordia Bank and Trust, Supermarket Operations, Natchez Regional Hospital, Natchez Community Hospital, Callon Petroleum, Slough Daddy’s, Isle of Capri, the Coalition for Youth and Children, Mississippi River Corporation, and the Natchez Senior Citizens’ Center.

Names of judges will be kept HIGHLY CLASSIFIED until Thursday to prevent any pre-event pressure from the enthusiastic teams. Suffice it to say, they represent the best tasters from Adams County and Concordia Parish!

The United Way Board of Directors and our Executive Director, Kathy Stephens, invite everyone to come join us for lunch on Thursday. Special thanks to the community leaders and officials who have joined together to support this event.

Jimmy Hibb is the United Way Campaign Chair