Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors "put-out the signs" in
anticipation of Saturday's Texas State Ice Cream Contest.

 

Ice Cream Championship
"Stays In The Family"

 

by: Bobby McDonald

 

Entries were down slightly, as some potential ice cream makers decided not to "brave" Saturday's 100 degree temperatures and bring their entry to Buford Park for the Chamber of Commerce sponsored Texas State Ice Cream Contest, but for those who did, the quality was excellent and the contest named some familiar winners.

Linda Henton, Chairman of the 2006 Texas Ice Cream Contest, works to get everything ready to
receive the over 50 entries that were entered in this year's contest.

Other members of the committee transformed the gazebo in Buford Park into an "ice cream" stage
to host the contest and present awards.

 

 

Early registration door prize winners included: Corey Cotton, James Ross, Vonda Nelson, and David Gideon, who won a variety of items such as coolers, fold-out chairs, and ice cream freezers.

 

These awards were waiting for those who prepared the ice cream, as the judges tallied their scores.

In the "Little-Dip" Plain Category for children, Matthew Nelson won first place and Mandy Eckhart won second place.

These Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors were on hand to sell anyone a cup for $3.00 that allowed
them to eat all they could of the wonderful ice cream in Saturday's contest.

Then, in the "Little-Dip" Fruit Category for children, Ryan Henton was first place with his strawberry flavored ice cream, while in the "Little-Dip" Novelty Category, Tori Cotton won first place and Jordan and Taylor Boyles created a coconut concoction that won second place honors.

A large crowd was on hand to taste the many flavors of ice cream at this year's contest.

 

In the Adult Division Big-Dip Plain Category, Carley Penson won first place with her chocolate ice cream. Wesley Fouse took second place honors with his vanilla mixture. And, chocolate again won third place, with the entry of Chris Allen.

These folks look like some discerning judges of the ice cream offered.

In the Big-Dip Fruit Category, Henry Penson walked away with the top honors for his Peach flavored mix. Yvonne King took second place honors with her Banana-Strawberry Cream entry. And, Richard Allen took third prize for his Blackberry flavored mixture.

Henry Penson, right foreground, dips up some of his award winning ice
cream for hungry patrons.

The Big-Dip Novelty Category found the Coffee flavored entry of Chris Allen taking first prize. Gail Boyles' Banana flavored entry was selected for the second prize and David Gideon's "Oreo Surprise" took the third prize award.

The Gideon family awaits the judges results, and were happy to find David's Oreo Surprise in the
winner's column.

 

Kaylene Black was the "hands-down" winner in the People's Choice Award for 2006, as she received the most votes from the crowd gathered and sampling ice cream.

 

Ira Black, left, helps his granddaughter, Kaylene Black bring her People's
Choice winning ice cream to the tables for judging. Kaylene was the "hand's down"
winner in the selection by the crowd.

In the Super-Scoop Category and winning the Grand Prize Texas State Ice Cream Title was Jimmy Don Allen, son of last year's winner Joy Allen, who defended the family honor, with his Butter Pecan flavored entry. Runner-Up to the state title was James Ross, who prepared a Creamy Strawberry variety to land in the Reserve Champion slot.

So much ice cream, and so little room in the cup!

"We had a great contest and hope that next year the weather will be a little bit cooler and more people will come-out and try their hand at vying for the state title," expressed Linda Henton. "We had some great ice cream and want to thank all of those who supported this important part of Dairy Festival Week activities!"

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