This year’s Hoosier Egg Fest, held on June 14 at Thompson Furniture, raised more than $35,000 for Turning Point Domestic Violence Services.
According to Minority Owner and Vice President of Thompson Furniture Nick Partin, that comes to the second highest amount the event has ever raised.
“We were missing a couple of key players that were typically grillers and everybody else stepped way up,” Partin said. “The food was probably the best it has ever been, there’s a lot of excitement in the air, it was a great event.”
For almost a decade now, the Hoosier Egg Fest has invited teams of grillers out to Thompson Furniture to showcase their best barbecuing skills for a panel of judges and attending patrons. This year’s event saw 20 teams competing, with the BBQ Rehab Team winning the Judges’ Choice award and the Turning Point Team taking home the most votes.
Maddie Hatchett, Grants and Communications Manager of Turning Point Domestic Violence Services, called this year’s event a huge success. She said they were unsure of what the turnout would be like because of unpredictable weather, but she said they saw great crowds.
“At one point, I looked out in the crowd and there wasn’t an open spot anywhere,” Hatchett said. “So there were lines and it was a really good day, I was really pleased with the turnout.”
In total, the event raised $36,694.16, all of which go towards Turning Point’s service provision and helping survivors directly, Hatchett said. She said Turning Point is grateful for any money they receive, but they are happy to have raised more funds this year than anticipated.
“… we’re always grateful for that, and then we also love partnering with Thompson Furniture,” Hatchett said. ”Nick and (Thompson Furniture President) Spencer (Thompson), they’re wonderful to work with and they put a lot of hard work and dedication into this event and we wouldn’t be able to do it without them, so we’re truly lucky to have such great community partners.”
According to Partin, Thompson Furniture alternates between Turning Point and Columbus Firemen’s Cheer Fund for who they donate to from Hoosier Egg Fest. In total, they have now raised over $200,000 for both beneficiaries, he said.
“As you add to it, that number obviously grows but I just never imagined we’d have given that much through Egg Fest,” Partin said. ”It’s pretty exciting.”
