20 varieties of chili put zing into Boardman church today

Staff report

BOARDMAN

To some degree, Ed Metzel was circumspect about sharing certain ingredients of the chili in his pot, but he made no secret of expressing what was in his heart regarding Susan M. Hernan.

“I am so fortunate that I was able to have time with her. She was like my sister, believe it or not,” the Boardman man said about Hernan, who died in a drowning accident Aug. 1, 2010, after having dived into Berlin Lake to try to save her two grandchildren. She was 51.

Metzel was among the hundreds of participants and attendees who honored Hernan during Sunday’s fifth annual Sue Hernan Memorial Chili Cook-Off at Boardman United Methodist Church, 6809 Market St.

Sponsoring the 90-minute competition, which had 20 entries, was the Boardman United Methodist Missions Possible Team.

Proceeds are to go to the Cleveland-based Nehemiah Mission, an organization dedicated to rebuilding the lives and homes of people with physical and financial challenges via volunteer groups, according to its mission statement. Projects include cleaning vacant lots, painting, rehabilitating and building homes, performing yard work and conducting vacation Bible camps.

Hernan, a 1976 Boardman High School graduate, worked as a nurse and case manager for St. Joseph Hospital in Warren. She also was a Boardman United Methodist member who took part in numerous church-sponsored mission trips, including to Juarez, Mexico, and to New Orleans to assist after Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, Metzel noted.

Michael Hardy won the cookoff for his venison-based chili.

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator.