Wings, Wings, and More Wings of Jubilee!

Teams Setting Up for Competition

Nineteen teams competed for the title of Holiest Hot Wings in Memphis at the 2017 Wings of Jubilee.

The Northwestern Mutual team led by Bill Drennan took home the top prize. I have a feeling the good folks at NM are going to enter a few more wings contest now that they have won the Wings of Jubilee. Rumor has it that Drennan is going to cook wings full-time.

Frank & Teddi Niedzwiedz with Team Skrydetka Kurczaka (Polish for chicken wings) came in second.  I noticed Frank eyeing the specialized cookers from some of the other teams (especially the Fat Head BBQ cooker). I believe next year, he will use his engineering and computer skills to design and build his own specialized wing/bbq cooking trailer. That will raise their game a notch or two.

Philip Schulte

Craig Blondis and Central BBQ, the big boys in the competition, came home in third. Who doesn't love Central BBQ wings! Central BBQ had the largest cooking trailer in the competition. Very impressive.

Most importantly, Team Blue Streak (my team), under the guidance of grill master Philip Schulte, took fourth place! Team Blue Streak was so happy not to finish in last place again. Schulte has been perfecting his special dry rub ever since last year's last place finish. He came all the way from Jefferson City, MO to help Blue Streak compete. Wouldn't surprise me if he started bottling his secret dry rub and we see Blue Streak Dry Rub in grocery stores.

Here' a little about each of the competing teams:

Coach/Chef Wood

-Ryan Trimm from Sweet Grass prepared wings with blue cheese. Doesn't get much better than that.

Mike Callahan

-James Shelton, principal at Resurrection, had the hottest wings in the competition. He claims they weren't hot but boy were they ever hot.
-Coach/Chef James Wood, representing Memphis Catholic, claims his wings were so good that they were all consumed before the judges got to sample.
-Mike Callahan was representing the cooking talents of all the Callahans with his secret Purple Haze sauce.
-The Knights of Columbus showed up in full force representing the area Catholics. Amen!
-901Q brought their monster mobile cooker/kitchen (a tiny house on steroids) representing Arlington.

901Q

New Wing Order

-Duncan Williams, led by grill master Kyle Gowen, had the best party area set-up. This wasn't their first rodeo.
-The youngest team to compete was led by Jonathan & Brittany Aur and Dustin & Kelly Jones. Their wings didn't quite make it to the top of the list, but they had the biggest/best party including a game of beer pong. Oh to be young again.
-New Wing Order was one of the new teams competing this year. Don't know much about them except they had the best shirts and banner.
-Mariko and Tiffany Wiley from Riko's Kickin Chicken (they serve up my favorite at their restaurant: Jerk Chicken with a side of broccoli and cheese) made the WOJ their first wings competition. Bet you it won't be their last. Their restaurant is located at 1329 Madison. It is worth the visit.
- Wings of Fire were a first time entry into the Wings of Jubilee. Thank you for your support.
-Neil's Music Room entered a team as well. Neil Heins is a graduate of Memphis Catholic and a fantastic supporter of all things Memphis Catholic.

Riko's Kickin Chicken

-R.J. Young, last year's winner, participated for a second year in a row. They had to defend their title and glad they did so.

Fat Head BBQ

-Wingy Dingy is another two time entry.  We hope to have them as a three time entry next year.
-Fat Head BBQ was the last team to enter the competition. It was great having them participate in the WOJ. I also want a cooker just like theirs.

A special thank you to our main sponsor for the second year in a row, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen. We had three new sponsors as well: Christian Brothers High School, Paulo and Jeanne Aur, and Reynolds Bone & Griesbeck. Thank you to all the sponsors for investing in the Jubilee Schools.

Our in-kind sponsors were Little Caesars Pizza Pizza (donated pizzas, of course), Ledbetter Meats (donated hamburgers), Jonathan and Brittany Aur (donated beer for the VIP tent), Central BBQ (donated food for the VIP tent), and Jeremy Park & cityCURRENT (advertised the event). Thanks for helping to make Wings of Jubilee a success.

Bishop Emeritus J. Terry Steib

Everyone was thrilled to see Bishop Emeritus J. Terry Steib. Not only did he make an appearance, he also visited all the tents. Bishop Steib created the vision of the Jubilee Schools and we thank him for his dedication to the students of the Jubilee Schools.

Br. Chris Englert

Br. Chris Englert, president of CBHS, was also present. The Christian Brothers are huge supporters of the Jubilee Schools and sponsor De La Salle at Blessed Sacrament, the Jubilee School in Binghampton. We thank the Christian Brothers for their support and the thousands of volunteer hours CBHS students perform at the Jubilee Schools every year.

None of this would have been possible if it were not for the leadership of Angela Fox. Angela is the director of marketing and events for the Jubilee Schools. The Wings of Jubilee is her brain-child and she works tirelessly to make sure all Jubilee events are a success.  Thank you Angela for your leadership and strength. You have a special touch and I'm thrilled to be able to work with you.

Thank you to the many, many, many volunteers, including the students of Memphis Catholic and Jubilee School staff members, who gave of their time and energy to make this happen. A special shout out to Richard Jones, Lolita Miller, David Justice, Jeff Justice, Joe Fox, Philip Schulte, Mercedes Durham, and Kelley Aur for going above and beyond in setting up, working the event, and breaking down after the event was over. These folks are the super-volunteers we cannot do without. They did the same thing last year at the Wings of Jubilee and earlier this spring at the Tails of Jubilee. These events just don't happen and it takes a lot of effort to make the events fantastic.

We are already working on 2018 Wings of Jubilee. Our goal is to have forty wing teams competing for the title of Holiest Hot Wings in Memphis.

Our next event is the Memphis Catholic/Education That Works Golf Tournament on Friday, September 29th at Greens of Irene with a shotgun start at 8:00 am.  If you are interested in participating, volunteering, or sponsoring, please call me at 901-373-1226 or click on http://www.memphiscatholic.org/news-events/golf/ to sign up.

God bless you,
Didier Aur