Mississippi State University’s T.K. Martin Center for Technology and Disability became the first local charity to win Starkville Restaurant Week’s $5,000 grand prize donation twice, securing first place in this year’s event with 4,741 votes.
Children’s of Mississippi, the University of Mississippi Medical Center umbrella that includes Batson Children’s Hospital, won $1,000 for second place, while Young Life’s Starkville chapter placed third and received a $500 donation.
In 2014, T.K. Martin Center Director Janie Cirlot-New accepted the $5,000 donation from Cadence Bank and put the money together with other outside donations to buy a van to service the community. This year’s donation, she said, will support the agency as it faces funding issues because of state-level budget cuts.
An emotional Cirlot-New thanked supporters during the check presentations Friday for helping support the T.K. Martin Center.
“Most of our contracts are with state agencies. Because they’ve had cuts, those cuts trickle down to us,” she said. “The community support we receive is tremendous. We would not be here if not for the families of the children we serve. I think they got out and ate every meal out they could this year.”
Restaurant Tyler won the “Good Eats, Do Good” award for its efforts promoting Starkville Restaurant Week and the number of ballots it generated in the contest.
“Thanks to the commitment of our local restaurants, charitable organizations and community, Starkville Restaurant Week continues to be one of the largest in the state. This event not only aims to drive economic impact in our city, but it also celebrates the great work that nonprofit organizations are doing to serve the Starkville area,” said GSDP Interim Tourism Director Jennifer Prather. “Starkville’s culinary community is thriving, quickly becoming a restaurant destination in our region, and we love this event because it celebrates the unique and authentic connection of those restaurants and the patrons who support them.”
Overall ballot count down
This year’s Starkville Restaurant Week yielded about 3,000 fewer ballots than last year’s event, but Prather said her organization is not worried about the low figure and instead focuses its efforts on promoting Starkville’s culinary scene as a way to entice tourists back to town on future trips.
Diners could cast ballots at 26 Starkville restaurants for the charity of their choice.
Approximately 9,096 ballots were collected by the Partnership this year — the T.K. Martin Center secured first place with 4,741 votes, while Children’s of Mississippi (2,820) and Starkville Young Life (1,535) failed to break the 2,000-vote threshold.
In 2016, officials collected almost 13,000 votes.
“The restaurants had great traffic, and that’s what’s important — restaurant promotion,” she said.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.