After winning the Central Region 4-H Outdoor Meat Cookery contest, the DeKalb County 4-H grilling team went on to compete in the State 4-H Outdoor Meat Cookery Contest and was named the State Runner Up.  The team was comprised of Kaitlyn Hutchins, Cody Robinson, Caleb Taylor, and Darren Waggoner.  They competed against eight other teams across the state that had placed in the top three of their respective regions.  Along with the team placing second for the entire state, Caleb Taylor was the high scoring individual in the pork category, and Cody Robinson was the second highest scoring individual in the poultry category. 

The contest is comprised of four different species: beef, pork, lamb, and poultry.  Each contestant cooks a cut from one of the species and submits it for judging along with a copy of their recipe.  At the state level, the team also delivers a presentation, complete with a theme and a platter consisting of all four products that were grilled.  The team chose as their theme, ”Elvis’ Aloha from Hawaii”.  A special thanks goes out to the Smithville Food Lion store and the DeKalb County Cattlemen’s Association for helping to sponsor the team.  Congratulations to this hardworking group of young people.