A pizza eating contest, where everyone wins.

Yesterday, I went to the 9th annual pizza eating contest at Flancer’s Cafe in Gilbert, AZ.  The rules were set up to see which of the 25 contestants could eat the most pizza in 15 minutes.  The winner would receive $500, a crown from Miss Arizona, some bragging rights, and a sort of pizza allergy for the next week at least.

The contest would eventually be won by Jimmy Peng.  Jess Harter gave a nice write up and pics for the East Valley Tribune here.  Even better than the the $500 that Jimmy won and the publicity that Flancer’s received, was the nearly $20,000 that was raised for the Wounded Warriors Project with Disabled Sports USA.  Kirk Bauer is the Executive Director of the program and has been involved in the Flancer’s fundraiser for a few years now.  However, this was his first time down to Arizona to see the contest live, in action.  He was a very gregarious, encouraging, and outgoing man.

Having a disability himself, Greg has a deep personal passion for helping others achieve success in life.  He lives this success himself.  He finished the Boston Marathon in 2000, winning in the Mobility Impaired class.  He is a fantastic man involved in a wonderfully effective organization.  It was very encouraging to see.

I also met a member of the Board of Disabled Sports USA, Gregg Baumgarten.  He lives and works locally in Arizona with Arizona Disabled Sports.  We hit it off quickly and he told me about the Desert Challenge that was commencing that afternoon.  He invited me to the archery competition and following luncheon.  It was incredible to see the successes achieved by the athletes in the competition, all with varying physical disabilities.

I got to meet many talented athletes and their families.  It was so very beautiful to see the comeradery amongst the competition.  Lane Jeppesen told me all about the organization and it’s purpose.  She clearly believes in the athletes that she works with and sees how their success in competition carries over into success and happiness in life.  The disabled athlete community in Arizona is clearly strong and thriving.  Gregg and Lane have a lot to be proud of.  I’m looking forward to getting more involved with this community in the near future.

All in all, it was an amazing day!