On Saturday, June 17th, nearly 300 guests filled the event center at the Lucky Eagle Casino & Hotel for incredible cuisine and a night out to support United Way of Lewis County’s mission of lifting families out of poverty. The sold-out crowd on Saturday night had the unique opportunity to cast their votes for their favorite savory and sweet dishes prepared by six talented local chefs; Darin Harris of Boccata Restaurant, Dawn Lawson of Dawn’s Delectables, Donnie Stancil of McMenamin’s Olympic Club, Jeremy Wildhaber of Jeremy’s Farm to Table Restaurant, Shane Wright of O’Blarney’s, and Frank Magana of Lucky Eagle Casino.
Two Top Chef Awards were given out at Chef’s Night Out. Dawn Lawson won the Judge’s Choice Award, and Jeremy Wildhaber took home the People’s Choice Award. “Our chefs really shined and stepped out of the box this year with their cuisine,” stated Angela French, Resource Development Director for United Way of Lewis County. “We are so appreciative of all the hard work they put into making Chef’s Night Out a resounding success for United Way.”
An additional highlight to the evening came during the Fund-A-Need portion of the auction; Lewis County Sheriff Rob Snaza gave a heartfelt speech about the importance of coming together as a community to break the cycle of poverty in Lewis County and creating pathways of stability and success for all children in our community.
“United Way of Lewis County’s Chef’s Night out was a HUGE community success! The local Chef’s put their hearts and souls into the food they served and we are so proud to be able to showcase their creativity and amazing culinary skills at this event,” said United Way of Lewis County Executive Director, Debbie Campbell. “On behalf of our Board of Directors we are pleased to announce that over $65,000 was raised on Saturday night, June 17 so United Way can do the work necessary to lift families out of poverty in Lewis County. We are grateful beyond words to our sponsors, volunteers and donors to be the organization that YOU believe in and continue to support.”