{"id":248140,"date":"2025-10-24T08:35:18","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T08:35:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/248140\/"},"modified":"2025-10-24T08:35:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T08:35:18","slug":"28th-annual-tallahassee-bar-association-chili-cook-off-a-record-breaking-success-the-florida-bar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/248140\/","title":{"rendered":"28th Annual Tallahassee Bar Association Chili Cook-Off a record-breaking success \u2013 The Florida Bar"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>                28th Annual Tallahassee Bar Association Chili Cook-Off a record-breaking success<\/p>\n<p>                Over $32,000 raised for the Legal Aid Foundation of Tallahassee<br \/>\n                <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-549351\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-549351\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Ti-Adoro-Studios-TBA-Chili-Cook-off-2025-33-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Tallahassee Bar Association Past President Erin Tilton and TBA President-elect Liz Desloge Ellis at the 28th Annual TBA Chili Cookoff. \" width=\"300\" height=\"200\"  \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-549351\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tallahassee Bar Association Past President Erin Tilton, left, and TBA President-elect Liz Desloge Ellis at the 28th Annual TBA Chili Cookoff. The event benefitted the Legal Aid Foundation of Tallahassee, raising a record-breaking $32,602 and bringing more than 300 attendees.<\/p>\n<p>The Tallahassee Bar Association\u2019s 28th Annual Chili Cook-Off shattered records this year, attracting 308 attendees and raising $32,602.32 for the Legal Aid Foundation of Tallahassee.<\/p>\n<p>Presented by Baxter Law, all proceeds benefit the foundation\u2019s mission to provide free civil legal services to low-income residents in the Tallahassee area.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are deeply grateful for the extraordinary support shown at this year\u2019s Chili Cook-Off,\u201d said Lauren Stafford, executive director of the Legal Aid Foundation of Tallahassee. \u201cThe generosity of our sponsors, participants, and community partners allows us to expand our reach and help even more individuals and families facing life-changing legal challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis year\u2019s event was an incredible testament to what our community can accomplish when we come together for good,\u201d said TBA Past President Erin Tilton of Stearns Weaver Miller.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe record turnout and funds raised ensure that more neighbors in need will have access to justice and critical legal support,\u201d said TBA President-elect Liz Desloge Ellis of Stearns Weaver Miller.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-549356\" class=\"wp-image-549356 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Kevin-Forsthoefel.jpg\" alt=\"Kevin Forsthoefel\" width=\"113\" height=\"113\"  \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-549356\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kevin Forsthoefel<\/p>\n<p>Kevin Forsthoefel of Ausley McMullen co-chaired the event with Tilton and Ellis.<\/p>\n<p>The community event brought together\u00a016 teams\u00a0from local law firms, businesses, and community organizations for a night of spirited competition, camaraderie, and community giving. Alongside the main chili contest, guests enjoyed fun award categories like\u00a0Best Margarita,\u00a0Most Unusual Chili, and\u00a0People\u2019s Choice.<\/p>\n<p>The panel of judges, pictured at the top, included local elected officials and members of the judiciary, who lent their taste buds and good humor to help crown the 2025 winners:<\/p>\n<p>Leon County Commission Chair Brian Welch<\/p>\n<p>Second Circuit Judge Steve Everett<\/p>\n<p>Leon County Commissioner Christian Caban<\/p>\n<p>Second Circuit State Attorney Jack Campbell<\/p>\n<p>Second Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh<\/p>\n<p>For more information about the Legal Aid Foundation or to learn how to get involved, visit\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.legalaidfoundation.org\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">www.legalaidfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"28th Annual Tallahassee Bar Association Chili Cook-Off a record-breaking success Over $32,000 raised for the Legal Aid Foundation&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":248141,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4,450,451,3,452,453],"class_list":{"0":"post-248140","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-breaking-news","8":"tag-breaking-news","9":"tag-breakingnews","10":"tag-headlines","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-top-stories","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248140"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248140\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}