Vizo Financials 7th Annual Hot Dog Eating Contest Goes Virtual for Kids
August 4, 2020
Middletown, Pa. (August 4, 2020) – Vizo Financial’s annual Hot Dog Eating Contest for Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Hospitals went virtual for kids on July 23, 2020! It was a record year for the contest – especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic – with nine contestants, 22 sponsors and a total of $7,500 raised for CMN Hospitals at Penn State Children’s Hospital in Hershey, Pa.
The contest was held via Zoom and began with some words from CMN Hospitals representative, Elizabeth Wilson, who works with Penn State Children’s Hospital. In addition, Miracle Child, Joella, and her mother, Janette, joined the festivities and shared their inspirational CMN Hospitals story.
Nine contestants from various credit unions competed from their homes or offices to see who could eat the greatest number of hot dogs in five minutes. The contest was broken out to include a men’s and women’s competition, with three women in the women’s competition and six men in the men’s competition. The contestants included: Greg Cosgrove, Utilities Employees CU; Jay Edmiston, Timberland FCU; Darysha Gomez, Belco Community CU; Mike Heider, Vizo Financial; Rodney May, Vizo Financial; Justina Mikalik, Vizo Financial; Toni Montgomery, Blue Chip FCU; Corey Mosby, Blue Chip FCU; and Aaron Mowery, Belco Community CU.
Justina Mikalik from Vizo Financial won the women’s competition, consuming six hot dogs. Aaron Mowery from Belco Community CU won the men’s competition, consuming 5.5 hot dogs.
The contest was sponsored by the following 22 credit unions and credit union service organizations through the purchase of the contest’s signature All the Fixin’s or Frankfurter sponsorships:
- AmeriChoice FCU
- Belco Community CU
- Blue Chip FCU
- EP FCU
- Feather CU Services LLC
- First Capital FCU
- Frick Tri-County FCU
- Greenville FCU
- Hershey FCU
- Lanco FCU
- Members 1st FCU
- Merck Sharp & Dohme FCU
- MY CU Services LLC
- New Cumberland FCU
- PSECU
- Riverfront FCU
- Shuford FCU
- Susquehanna Valley FCU
- Timberland FCU
- Utilities Employees CU
- Vizo Financial
- Wheatland FCU
In addition, contestants collected donations as part of their participation in the contest, and both Timberland FCU and Belco Community CU made significant donations to the contest. Timberland FCU, which donated $2,000 to the grand total, raised money by selling “Dogs for a Cause” at each of their branches leading up to the contest on July 23. Senior management did the cooking and staff members sold hot dogs to members for $1.00 a piece, although many members donated money beyond the cost. Belco Community CU reached out to their staff and volunteers to pledge money to the institution’s two contestants, raising $575 for the contest.
“This year’s contest was definitely different, as we had to get creative in the face of the pandemic, but we are so thrilled with the success of our first-ever virtual Hot Dog Eating Contest,” said Erin Doan, administration and community relations director for Vizo Financial. “Despite the challenges credit unions and members are facing, the outpouring of support and participation for our virtual contest was outstanding. We’ve surpassed our fundraising goal and raised the most money – $7,500 – during this contest than we have in any years prior. It just goes to show how dedicated credit unions are to helping our communities and being difference makers for CMN Hospitals.”
Since the contest began in 2014, it’s brought in more than $20,000 for CMN Hospitals. A huge thank you goes to all the credit unions, contestants, sponsors, donors and supporters of the annual Hot Dog Eating Contest for an outstanding contribution to CMN Hospitals at Penn State Children’s Hospital!
About Vizo Financial Corporate Credit Union
Vizo Financial Corporate Credit Union’s goal is to drive credit union success through proven EXCELLENCE, unmatched EXPERTISE and engaged PARTNERSHIPS. It is a state-chartered corporate credit union that serves CUSOs, leagues, chapters and more than 1,200 credit unions in the U.S. and Canada. Vizo Financial provides money management, payments, technology, risk management and people development solutions. For more information, please visit www.vfccu.org.