COMMUNITY GATHERING

For 30 years the Men's Prayer Group has been putting on the Chicken Jamboree, drawing in community members for a day of music, prayer and delicious chicken. "It's a lot of work, but it's worth it; I really enjoy doing this event," said Don Burrell, the man in charge of the Men's Prayer Group and who himself has been organizing the event for over 20 years. The food and music were free to all visitors, though donations were appreciated.

The event got help from several other groups, including Reflections Academy and Wood Creek Academy (WCA), which sends a few students to participate and help out every year. Sixteen-year-old Lane Riggs from the WCA helped serve food during the event, as well as sang with other WCA students and Charlie Denson during the jamboree. "I think it's actually a really nice event. It's good to give back to the community and feel good about myself," Riggs said about the jamboree.

Burrell, along with his son Steve, and Dee Rogers cooked over 400 pounds of chicken, for over 300 people. The last few years, with the exception of last year which saw no jamboree, the event has been held at Power Park in Thompson Falls. The chicken cost $385 this year, and another $400 to cook it, according to Burrell. The chicken is precooked at Clark Fork Custom Meats, then is seasoned and grilled the day of the jamboree. This year the group had about 60 pounds of chicken leftover, which they donated to both WCA and Reflections.

The music portion was put on by Charlie Denson and the Gospel Mountain Assembly of God. Local groups and visitors play musical performances for the show, which Denson said are "spur of the moment." Denson explained that participants can elect to be put into the show, and many acts are put in on the day of the event.

The Men's Prayer Group is nondenominational and meets the second Saturday of every month, alternating meetings at the Rimrock and Minnie's Cafe. The next meeting will be at the Rimrock, September 11 at 7:30 a.m. The prayer group is skipping the meeting in August on account of the Huckleberry Festival, where members of the group will be helping out. The group organizes several events throughout the year and is responsible for the hot dogs during the Christmas on Mainstreet event. "It's about doing mission work," said Burrell. "I'm a Christian man so I feel it is important to get together, especially with other churches, to help people in the community."