RIB COOK-OFF YET ANOTHER ‘BEST EVER’

31 departments, hundreds of guests and a final cook-off for retiring organizer Chad Soulek makes Saturday’s fundraiser one for the books

Given the size of the event, the high level of competition and the strong reputation it has built the past 11 years, winning at the Freeman Volunteer Fire Department Firehouse Rib Cook-Off isn’t just a feather in the cap, but potentially a game-changer for the cook.

That was no doubt in the back of the mind of Avon firefighter Jarod Myer as Freeman Fire Chief Josh Andersen approached with a clear plastic container late Saturday afternoon, Aug. 10 to retrieve six of his ribs for the judges to taste and score.

Myer was fourth a year ago and said he was hoping for at least another top four finish, although his wife, Robin, said she would settle for top seven, perhaps as a way to ease the disappointment should it come.

It didn’t.

In fact, Myer and the Avon Volunteer Fire Department ended up winning the whole darn thing, taking first place among the 31 departments participating in the rib competition.

Myer appeared to be in disbelief when Avon was announced as the winner and instinctively took the mic from event founder and organizer Chad Soulek.

“Loving you all,” Myer said. “Giving you the best we can; we’re just here because of all of you. We appreciate it so much.”

And, after all the awards were announced, he was ecstatic, emotional and practically speechless.

“It means the world,” said Myer, who has been smoking ribs for 15 years and just a year ago opened O’Daddy BBQ in Avon, which caters ribs on-site and may eventually lead to a restaurant. “I’m at a loss for words.”

The announcement of Myer and all the other winners in both the ribs and brisket competition highlighted the local fire department’s biggest fundraiser of the year held amidst perfect weather conditions on Saturday. It was also a farewell tour for Soulek, who founded the rib cook-off in 2014 and is stepping down as a Freeman firefighter after 25 years, and thus, as the chief organizer of the event.

Chad said his son Ty will likely take it over.

“Bittersweet,” Chad said following the announcement of the winners, as dozens mingled in the perfect setting that is the Freeman Swimming Pool Park, which would continue as the party place as the BS Band played late into the night. “This afternoon I literally turned around and started crying. I just love it. I love people. You treat people right, they’ll treat you right.”

Soulek was in awe of what was once again a “biggest ever event,” surpassing last year’s record number of 28 departments and the throngs of people who filled the park.

“Even last year, with the number of teams we had and the people who showed up, we thought, ‘OK, yep, this is pretty much it,’ but no, it got bigger,” he said.

And he once again marveled at the weather, which has delivered a great day each of the past 11 years.

“I’ve said numerous times to people today that me and the good Lord are on the same page,” Soulek laughed. “We talk daily and work things out.”

More on Avon

Jarod and Robin Myer are joined in their O’Daddy BBQ venture by their best friend of many years, Keith Sassaman. All three are members of the Avon Volunteer Fire Department and all three were on site Saturday afternoon cooking from the southeast corner of the Swimming Pool Park.

And as Andersen approached to collect their six ribs for judgement, the three worked together to carefully select the best representation from the multiple racks that had been smoked for six hours on their 375-gallon, propane-powered, Texas-style wood smoker that uses oak harvested in New Castle, Neb. — a mammoth of a machine that can accommodate 60 racks of ribs at a time that debuted at last year’s Firehouse Rib Cook-Off, which was the team’s first time here and second overall competition ever.

“We’ve done really well since,” said Jarod, whose success and reputation as a cook is what led to the establishment of O’Daddy BBQ which features ribs made with homemade spices and homemade barbecue sauce.

Other than the ribs, he said, “there’s nothing store-bought. And different racks cook differently, which is why the Myers and Sassaman were particular in choosing the right six pieces for the judges. Said Jarod:

“They can’t be too sweet, they can’t be too spicy, it’s got to bite right, it’s got to be juicy …”

All those boxes were obviously checked because Avon won the rib competition by six points — a good amount based on the scoring system. The battle for second and third place, for example, came down to 1/1000th of a point.

“I put my heart and soul into this thing,” said Jarod, who became emotional in visiting with The Courier two hours before the winners were announced. “We try to support our locals; just last week there was a little league team that was going to state and we supported them the best we can. We do fundraisers and appreciation dinners; this is Midwest absolute.”

As for the FVFD Firehouse Rib Cook-Off, all three of Avon’s firefighters say it is a must-attend to-do.

“The atmosphere is amazing, the people are amazing — you couldn’t ask for a better event,” Jarod said.

“This is absolutely our favorite event for the whole year,” said Sassaman. “Chad does an amazing job and the whole Freeman department puts in a ton of work. It’s amazing, a lot of fun and we appreciate it.”

“And the camaraderie is awesome,” said Robin. “You don’t go hungry here; all throughout the day people are passing out all kinds of delicious stuff. It’s amazing.”

More on the event

While the park grounds didn’t start filling up until closer to the 5 p.m. serving time, there was plenty of activity throughout the day. With 31 departments set up by Saturday morning, the smell of smoke on ribs and brisket permeated the area, with a slight breeze from the northeast pushing it into town — advertising provided by Mother Nature.

A bean bag tournament began at 1 p.m. and a kids’ water fight started at 2 p.m.; both have been mainstays each of the 11 years. Food and drinks were available throughout the afternoon, too, and Mitch Kleinsasser was once again set up to provide music for people’s enjoyment, just like his dad, Collin, had done at various events prior to his passing in 2009.

Mitch has memories of playing music with his dad at wedding dances on mostly CDs, a few records and a few cassette tapes using household speakers.

“We’d have the whole lineup across the stage at the gym and hardwired everything with a stack of amplifiers and tape decks and all that stuff,” he says. “It was cool and it was fun, but the stuff we’ve got now is a big improvement. Plug in the computer, hit the button and adjust on the fly.”

And what would Collin think?

“He’d probably just sit back, have a beer and laugh,” Mitch says.

Mitch says he puts his playlist together ahead of time based on favorites.

“You get to know what people like,” he says. “You play the songs that everybody wants to hear and you see their faces light up and they start dancing — that’s rewarding.”

Mitch was also in charge of a new feature at this year’s cook-off — soft-serve vanilla ice cream served from under the tent he used for playing music. While traffic was hit and miss throughout the afternoon, by evening there was a steady line waiting for the perfect summer treat.

“We’ll do it better next year,” Mitch said.

“Doing it better next year” is something this event has been doing since the beginning and, for Soulek, it has been exceedingly rewarding, which is what makes this month’s retirement from the department a mixed bag.

“It’s been an honor and a pleasure,” he told the gathered crowd following the announcement of the winners. “And thank you public. I’ve always said, ‘Freeman’s been good to Chad and hopefully Chad’s been good to Freeman.’”

In speaking with The Courier a short while later, he doubled down on how much fun it’s been and the importance of the event.

“It’s the friendships I’ve made all over that have brought these departments here,” Soulek said. “They know the support that each of these rural departments need and they’re just willing to come out and help. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; when another town calls you for mutual aid, you hop in and you go. And that’s what this feels like; we’re calling for mutual aid and they come in to help us raise money.”

As for the work that the local firefighters put in to help make the event, Soulek calls it “insane.”

“We started meeting in April for this,” he said. “It takes every one of us to make this work, from handing out beers to making hot dogs to getting everything set up.”

And all of it is fueled by a camaraderie unlike anything else.

“We go into a burning building together and we have everybody’s back,” Soulek said. “We love each other, we fight for each other, we stand up for each other, and this wouldn’t happen if it wasn’t all of us working together, even when it ain’t a fire.”

As for him stepping down, he takes a philosophical approach.

“There’s always a beginning and there’s always an end and it’s been an honor and a privilege to represent this department,” said Soulek, who was 33 years old when he joined the Freeman Volunteer Fire Department shortly after moving to Freeman and opening his business, Lawns Unlimited. “I was the young guy when I started and now I’m the fourth oldest guy on the department. My time to let the younger ones step in and take over, and they will.”

But Soulek’s not going anywhere.

There’s a pretty good chance you’ll see him again at the event in 2025 — this time cooking.