Every year the East Montgomery County Fair Association sponsors a BBQ cook off for adults and another for students enrolled in school.  The school age children must be between 9 yrs and 18 yrs of age.  The adults compete on Friday and Saturday and the children compete on Sunday. 

The students compete in the following catagories:  OPEN  CHILI  RIBS  CHICKEN

This year three of Splendora High School foreign exchange students joined with an American student to compete.  The three are:  Fernando Romanatto from Brazil, Alonso Moreno from Mexico both whom reside with David and Becky Rogers and David Straka from Slovokia who resides with Joanne Glau and family.  Their American team mate is Cheyenne Ebarb from Splendora TX.
Their team name was appropriately named "International Cookers".

For their OPEN entry they cooked a pork loin stuffed with boudin, the CHILI receipe was supplied by a friend of the host families, the RIBS were pork baby back, and the CHICKEN was leg/thigh quarters.

The cookers are required to do all the work without help from the adults.  The adults are allowed to monitor and instruct the young cookers.  All the meat entries are inspected before the cooking begins and must be cooked on a wood burning pit except for the chili which must be cooked on a burner outside.

Our International Cookers are the very proud and excited winners of 1st Place in the OPEN entry and 1st Place in the CHICKEN entry!!!!  Their host families and friends are also very proud of their accomplishments.  Fernando was quick to tell us that this is the first time he has ever won anything!!

The EMCFA BBQ Cook-off is just the beginning of the Fair that is followed by area students, who are involved in FFA and 4-H, compete with their animals.  After the competition is complete and the placement of the animals is complete there is an auction.  Before the auction, on the weekend after the cook-off, there is a buyers dinner.  The auction brings in large sums of money that goes to the student that many use to help pay for their college education and to additional scholarship funds.

Over the years many Exchange Students have been involved in the Fair through the FFA program at Splendora High School.  This is, however, the first year that any have competed in the Kids Q.  Once again the I.S.E. Exchange Student Organization has been represented in a positive manner that the school officials in the area are sure to remember in future years.