Surprises at this year’s Steak in Oconee

The Oconee County Chamber of Commerce hosted Steak in Oconee Tuesday night at West-Oak Middle School. The yearly farm to table dinner celebrating the county’s agriculture industry was moved due to rain in the forecast, but Oconee County Chamber executive director Jillian Lusk says it was a success nonetheless. “To my knowledge no one had any problems getting to the new location. In fact, being at West-Oak Middle School was a positive, it is a beautiful facility, they have stained glass windows that kind of represent agriculture, so it was a perfect fit for us. It didn’t interrupt our live band, but we were a little sad not to have it at the Fairgrounds because it is always a really fun atmosphere. The event went great, great speakers and wonderful food. We do a partnership every year with the Hamilton Career Center, the Culinary Arts students were there to serve us and they did a fantastic job. So, overall the event was wonderful.” Ken Martin from Springer Mountain Farms and Roy Copeland from the SC Beef Council and Cattleman’s Association were this year’s featured speakers. The highlight of the evening was the annual awarding of a $500 scholarship. Lusk says that this year it came with an added surprise for the recipient. “Each year the Oconee County Chamber does a $500 scholarship to a FFA student and the young woman who won, her name is Bailey Hawk and she is a senior at Seneca High School and she is the actual FFA President there. Unbeknown to her she won the award and we called her up on stage, well at that moment, Springer Mountain Farms, who was doing a small presentation but they also provided our chicken for the night. Well, the marketing director for Springer Mountain Farms stepped up to the stage and they decided to match our $500 scholarship. So, not only did this girl get surprised with a $500 scholarship but she actually won $1,000.” The Chamber rotates schools each year allowing the schools to choose who receives the scholarship. Hawk plans to use her $1,000 scholarship at Clemson University next fall.