Capital Area United Way 25th Annual Jambalaya Jam a Huge Success
Family-friendly event draws thousands as 46 teams compete for the best jambalaya;
record amount raised for local agencies
BATON ROUGE, LA (October 16, 2012) – The results are in for the Capital Area United Way Jambalaya Jam, and more than $60,000 was raised at this year's event, a 35% increase from 2010 and 2011. The event, in its 25th year, was held on Thursday, October 11 and hosted thousands of attendees as well as 46 cooking teams in a new venue of the North Boulevard Town Square.
Attendees, young and old, enjoyed live entertainment and a sampling of jambalaya from teams representing some of the top companies in the CAUW workplace campaign. The event continues to be United Way's signature community event, and "was the best Jambalaya Jam,” as described by several attendees.
Over 4,000 strolled through the North Boulevard Town Square and jammed out to live music from After 8, The Allison Collins Band, and Nashville recording artist Jana Kramer. Guests were encouraged to download the free "Jambalaya Jam” iPhone app developed by NewAperio to cast their vote for the 2012 People's Choice Award.
Awards were presented as followed:
2012 Premier Sponsor: The Dow Chemical Company
2012 Jambalaya Jam Cook-off Winners (Judged by Tee Wayne Abshire, former champion with Jambalaya Festival Association; Sandy Breland with WAFB Channel 9 News; Jay Ducote with biteandbooze.com; Jody Elisar, former champion with Jambalaya Festival Association; Shane Martinez with Krazy Kajun; Sam McGuire with WYNK; Wally Taillon with the Jambalaya Festival Association; and Scott Varnedoe with Stroube's)
· 1st place – St. Elizabeth Hospital
· 2nd place – Turner Industries at Syngenta
· 3rd place – Champion Technologies
Best appetizer judged by cooking teams: Performance Contractors, Inc. – Pork Tenderloin Medallions
People's Choice Award judged by event guests through the "Jambalaya Jam” iPhone app: The Dow Chemical Company
Community Games Overall Champion: BASF
Community Games Corporate Division First Place Team: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana
Other Partners: After 8; Baton Rouge Business Report; Baton Rouge Convention & Visitors Bureau; Baton Rouge City Police; Baton Rouge EMS; Baton Rouge Parents Magazine; BiteandBooze.com; Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana; BREC; City of Baton Rouge; Coca-Cola Bottling Company; Clear Channel Media and Entertainment (96.1 The River, 101.5 WYNK, 102.5 WFMF, 1150 WJBO, Hallelujah 1210 and Downtown Radio 97.7); Dawn Bourget, Photographer; Downtown Business Association; Downtown Development District; Downtown Duplicating; Downtown TV Show; EBR Department of Public Works; Edible Events; Ed's Plumbing; EMCO Technologies; Event Rental; FastSigns; Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center; InRegister; Jana Kramer; Jeanpierre Family Spices, L.L.C.; Kleinpeter Farms Dairy, L.L.C.; Krazy Kajun; Lard Oil Company; Lokka Med Spa; Louisiana Fish Fry; Manship Theatre; Mockler Beverage Company; Mosaic; NBC33 Baton Rouge Lagniappe; NewAperio; North Boulevard Town Square; Premier Sound Systems; Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers; Red Six Media; Regions; Republic Services/Allied Waste; Shaw Center for the Arts; Silk Screen Shop; Sincerely Sweet; The Advocate; The Allison Collins Band; The Roux House; Tony's Seafood; Town Favorites; Verizon Wireless; WAFB Channel 9; and Zapp's Potato Chips.
In addition, several local eateries, such as Kleinpeter Farms Dairy, LLC and Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers provided free samples of their products.
United Way Jambalaya Jam first place winning team St. Elizabeth Hospital
From left: Alden Gautreau and Byron Gautreau
United Way Jambalaya Jam second place winning team Turner Industries at Syngenta
From left: Jean Benton, Todd Kling, Bernie Diez, and Annette Corkern; not pictured: Tammy Candler
United Way Jambalaya Jam third place winning team Champion Technologies
From left: Troy Gomez, Neal Normand, Gretchen Blank, Katie Purgatorio, and Kevin Knepple
Employees from The Dow Chemical Company pose with Nashville recording artist Jana Kramer at the United Way Jambalaya Jam. This is the fourth consecutive year that Dow has sponsored the Jambalaya Jam.
