Soup'R Bowl
January 2010
(click on any photo to enlarge)

Soup’R Bowl XIII was a great success!  Eric Norris, his wife, Tami, and daughters Hannah and Isis, reigned victorious with their winning “Pat’s Meatball Soup”.  We congratulate them on earning the coveted “Chef’s Golden Ladle Award” for the Hays Public Library!  (Who is “Pat”, anyway?)

Runners up were Doug & Cathy Pfannenstiel of Auto World, who received second place for their “white chili”.  This was the Pfannenstiel’s first year at Soup’R Bowl, and they are expected to provide fierce competition in years to come.  This soup has been a great hit at the Pfannenstiel’s tailgate parties!

Becky Kiser & Casey McAvoy’s “Kielbasa sausage soup” received third place this year. Becky indicated that “it tastes much better than it looks…” but we all thought it was splendid, and obviously, so did the crowd!  The “cheddar square” dog treats were also a hit among the canine set!

Vegetarianism was a common theme this year… Soup’R Bowl’s founder, Dr. Lou Caplan of Fort Hays State University, and his wife, Harriet, (see photo at bottom of page) delighted us for their 13th consecutive year with “Vegetarian Spicy 3 Potato Soup a la Tabasco”.   Marleah and Ryan Augustine represented the Western Kansas Vegetarian Society with their “Vegetarian chili” (go to wkvs.org for more information). 

Rick and Louwayne Davidson of Brunswick Antiques made a refreshingly fruity “Pink Pony Soup” with over 100 home-baked pink pony cookies!

Bunnie Bowen of Fur is Flying pet
grooming, and Brenda Meder of the Hays Arts Council gave us “Easy Cheesy Chicken Corn Chowder”, as well as an assortment of beautifully presented, bakery-quality dog treats!  They were so delicious, we even caught some humans trying them out!

Thank you, too, to Cindy & David Lang of The Hays Daily News, who gave us not only “Hearty Potato Chowder” but special cupcakes whose recipe was recently published in “Cooking for 2” magazine.  Cindy grew up in her parents’ bakery (Neuburger’s, formerly of WaKeeney and Hays), and has become an inspired cook and baker.  Cindy has offered to provide her cupcake recipe by contacting her at lyric1972@yahoo.com.

We want to thank Danita Schroeder, Mary Billinger, Scott Reese, and Charlie Dorzweiler, not only for their wonderfully spicy “Santa Fe Soup”, but for the care that they provide all of us throughout the year.  Their “Star of Life” cookies are a symbol of their great dedication and concern (please google “star of life” for a very interesting read).

Henry & Jayson Schwaller’s “Baked Potato Soup” continues to be a crowd-pleaser.  Henry googled “best soup recipes” in 2002, and has been creating a variation of this winning soup each year!

The Humane Society of the High Plains also wishes to thank our electrical wizard, Odus Trober, for making sure that our lights are bright, our soups are hot, and our venue is always warm…

We thank Girl Scout Troop 10264 (Rochelle, Mackenzie, Ashlen, Alyssa & Angel), and their fearless leader, Teresa, for handing out door prizes…

We thank Rick Sabath, coach of the Fort Hays State University baseball team for helping with set-up, clean-up and drinks- we wish them luck at their home baseball games beginning in February in Hays….

We thank Kim Perez for her continued dedication in jump-starting a much-needed dog park in Hays (see “Friends for a Hays Dog Park” on Facebook)…thank you to Micki Armstrong for her whimsical and colorful work-of-art quilt, and to Catherine “Cat” Ross for her door prize donations….and finally, we thank our veterinarian, Dr. Steve Mosier, for his wonderful soups in past years and his expertise in current years…

Thank you to our Humane Society friends and businesses for your generous donations: Dr. Vic & Carol Eddy!  Dean Ellner Realty!  Jeffrey & Jana Lowe of Lifetime Dental Care!  Walmart!  Dr. Steve Mosier!  Signs & Designs!  Whiskey Creek!  We thank you!

Thank you to the Hays community for eating our soups and caring about our pets!