Oink! Let's go HOG wild!

By Becky Fitzgerald on September 21, 2017

Friends of Meadowlark have a fun and tasty opportunity to support the Meadowlark Foundation’s Good Samaritan Fund when the doors to Cox Bros. BBQ open at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 26. Brothers Bud and Bobby Cox, sons of Meadowlark Hills resident Ellie Cox, pledge to donate 10% of that day’s proceeds to the Fund.

Food specials on Oct. 26 at Cox Bros. BBQ, 223 McCall Road, include a pulled pork slider combo, available from the restaurant’s opening to closing at 9 p.m., and a hog roast buffet beginning at 6 p.m.

Back by popular demand will be two nods to traditional Oktoberfest favorites. Live music will be provided by accordion player Rusty Schwerdt, Bud Cox’s brother-in-law, and a beer tasting and buying station will be operated by Flint Hills Beverage beginning at 6 p.m.

HOGtoberfest would certainly be fun with just barbecue, brews and music, but keep reading, there’s more! In order to create additional opportunities to raise money and awareness for the Good Samaritan Fund, a Hog & Kisses Contest has begun, and 50/50 raffle tickets are now on sale. The 50/50 raffle winner takes home half of the money collected by ticket sales, and half of the proceeds support the Good Samaritan Fund. Our goal this year is to sell $5000 worth of tickets, meaning the winner would receive a HOG-size cash prize of $2500!

Raffle tickets are $5 each, and may be purchased at the Hospitality Desk, at the Prairie Star Restaurant hostess station or from the following resident board members: Jean Beatty, Bob Crawford, Sandra Emley, Harriette Janke and Nyle Larson.  

Five hog kissing candidates will solicit votes in the form of dollars, with the candidate collecting the most money kissing a (young) hog shortly after 6 p.m. on Oct. 26 at Cox Bros. Our little hog was born recently at Parks Farm east of Manhattan, so her snout will be just the right size for smooching in late October.

The Foundation reached out to Manhattan real estate agencies, and fun-loving, enthusiastic realtors or brokers answered our call for kissing candidates. Participating (in alphabetical order) are Keith Eyestone, Alliance Realty; Travis Hecht, Coldwell Banker Realty Group One; Cindy Sloan, Rockhill Real Estate Group; Jodi Thierer, Legacy Realty of Kansas, and Jerry Weis, Realty Executives Weis Real Estate Co. Last year, the Rev. Cam McConnell, senior pastor at First Presbyterian Church, was our top vote-getter and hog kisser.

Vote for the candidate of your choice by placing cash or check in his/her hog jar, located in the lobby, or online at www.meadowlark.org.  Click the HOG & Kisses Contest link at the top right of the home page.

Residents and employees who purchased HOGtoberfest T-shirts are invited to wear them on a special Jeans Day for employees on Tuesday, Oct. 10, Wednesday, Oct. 18, and on the day of the event. Employees who pay at least a $1 on the 10th and 18th and 26th may wear jeans, and those dollars will support the kissing candidates.

Monte Spiller, Resident Services Leader, is working to arrange free transportation to Cox Bros. on Oct. 26 for those who would like a ride. Watch future Messengers and the Blue Book for a departure time and registration sheet.

HOGtoberfest wouldn’t be possible without the help of local businesses. In addition to Cox Bros. BBQ, Meadowlark Foundation would like to acknowledge returning sponsors McCullough Development, Flint Hills Beverage, B104.7 and GoPowercat.com/247 Sports and NZone. New sponsors this year are E&K Premier Specialty Contractor, which is part of the NBAF project, and Sunny 102.5. 

Please circle Oct. 26 on your calendars and support HOGtoberfest in one of the ways described. It’s sure to be a day of FOOD, FRIENDS and FUNdraising!