Ben Oden Memorial Cook Off

10/02/2026

*we have located the buyer! Thank you for you efforts!

We had a great turn out Saturday, thank you all again!

Though we have unfortunately had a mishap with the contact information for one of our auction items.

If you are, or know, a Jerry Schulze (spelling may not be correct) who purchased half a hog from our auction last Saturday please have them contact us (636) 204-7949.

We’ve tried to make contact, but unsuccessful, and we want to make sure you receive your items!

We apologize for this inconvenience.

09/27/2026

We had such a beautiful day yesterday for our event. Again we want to thank Jonesburg Lions Club for their generosity in hosting us and making it such a successful day. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the day visiting and cooking and listening to the band. We had a VERY successful auction as well, bringing our total for this year’s event to well over 9500.00!!! Thank you to everyone that helps us continue to support our local youth through YOUR generosity! A huge thank you to Jackie Brower for auctioning off our donations. Again, thank you to ALL who continue to support our cause and helping us to keep Ben’s legacy alive. We couldn’t do it without you ❤️

09/26/2026

09/26/2026

Today is the day!!! We have several teams here cooking trying to earn a trophy in memory of THE CHEF Ben Oden. Come out and grab something to eat from Jonesburg lions club, get your chance at a gun raffle, 50/50 drawing or a lotto board. Then stay around for the results of the contest, followed by a live auction and THEN Butch Wax and The Hollywoods.

09/25/2026

We are a little over one day away from cook off! Along with the cook off, we will be having our annual live auction Saturday evening after judging.

So start getting your head nod ready and those arms warmed up because you don’t want to miss out on these items😏

*the items listed below are not in any specific order and will be auctioned at random

🍸 Martini basket donated by Bobby and Stephanie Norris

🥃 Bar basket donated by Bobby and Stephanie Norris

🇺🇸 Vintage style American flag corn hole set donated by Doug Brown with Shelter Insurance

🔩 Milwaukee two piece drill set donated by Metalflakes

🕺 One night use of merchants building donated by Montgomery County Fair Board

🐷 (2) halves of a hog donated by Lewis Clark

🚗 Car Clean Up donated by Mike’s Autocrafts

⭐️ Ben’s Recipe Kraut donated by Isaac Oden

🍽️ Fish, tators, wings and drinks for 12 donated by Dave and Tammy Teeter and Steve Davis

💥 Weatherby 12 gauge donated by Floy Oliver

🌟 One of Ben’s vintage tackle boxes with lures hand painted with his signature slogan “this sucks” donated by Jordan Oden, Kayla Roberts, Isaac Oden and paint donated by MK John

Along with these auction items, we have a gun raffle, 50/50 raffle and lotto board raffle tickets being sold up until drawing!

💰Lotto board donated by Bob and Sue Schlanker

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to those who donated for this years auction and raffle items. Without you, and our other contributors, we could not continue to put this on.

Hope to see you Saturday!

09/22/2026

We are closing in on grill day!

We would like to take the time to say a BIG thank you to our cook-off sponsors for this year. Their donation helps cover the prize money for each category. That we’re sure you put towards next years benefit😏

So please give a nod towards your phones for the following:

👉The Next Chapter: Event Planning and Rentals - April McCown

👉Gilbert Construction - James and Kaley Gilbert

👉Independent Stave Company of New Florence

🍽️Speaking of categories, you need 5 samples of food for each category you enter. We will provide the containers for you to use to plate.

And don’t forget to pack canopy’s or anything you may need to be comfortable. The weather shows some rain, so please think ahead. See you Saturday!

09/18/2026

The cook off is right around the corner! Only ONE week to get your recipes in order and that grill prepped.

We’ve had some contestants interested in entering more than one plate for specific categories. We’ve talked it over and we have decided you CAN have more than one (1) entry per category; as long as the entry fee of $20 is paid for the extra plate.

With that being said, we do $20 per category or $50 for all three (3). This will still apply. If you would like to enter all three categories and then add an extra entry, that will be $50 plus $20 per added entry. If you want to enter two (2) rib plates and one (1) wing plate, it will be $60.

So, if you can’t decide which rib rub you want to use, just enter them both! Or have too many vegetables from your garden that need gone? Grill them all, next Saturday! It gets them out of your fridge and helps us raise more money to support the youth of Montgomery County.

See you next Saturday, September 26th, at Lions Park in Jonesburg, MO.

**please see previous posts regarding registration and judging schedule

09/15/2026

Every cook off we have a gun raffle and a 50/50 drawing. These tickets are only sold on the day of the event, but can be purchased up until the winners of the competition are announced and the auction starts!

For those of you who don’t want to cook, you can come out and watch the volleyball tournament going on hosted by the Jonesburg Lions Club, grab something to eat (also from the Jonesburg Lions Club), and purchase your tickets to win money and/or the gun!
Here’s the gun you will be taking home if your name is picked.

This years gun is donated by Jen’s Shear Styles-Matt & Jennie Adams

09/12/2026

Last year’s event was unavoidably cancelled last minute. We already had our shirts purchased and weren’t able to use them…..However, sometimes things just work out for the good. Those shirts are perfect for this year’s celebration of our country’s 250 year! With that being said, here are the shirts for purchase at this years event and the sponsors that make them possible. Thank you to each and every one of them!

09/07/2026

We are closing in on the big day! Here is some info regarding the entries.

Meat/vegetable:
These categories will be registered at 9:00. We ask that you do NOT pre marinate your items. You are welcome to marinate or season all items once they have been registered. This helps to keep an even playing field for all.
The grilled categories are:
Wings
Ribs
Any vegetable
It is $20/entry OR all three for $50

Prizes for all grilled categories include:
Trophy and $100 for 1st place
$75 for 2nd place
$50 for 3rd place

Pies:
All pies need to be entered by 12:00. Any homemade pie with a homemade crust is eligible. Registration is $10/entry.
If you would like to donate an extra pie for the auction that would AWESOME, but not required.
Prizes for pies include:
Trophy and $30 for 1st place
$20 for 2nd place
$10 for 3rd place

H***h:
These need to be entered by 4:00 and it is $10/entry.
This is a fun category. Bring your favorite concoction for us to judge.
And we do love to judge this one 🤪
This category has no prize money but you get a cool trophy and braggin rights !!!

LOOK AT THESE BEAUTIES!!!!
This is what you will be competing for.