Page 6 - MAY 2020 Barbecue News Magazine

Wet and cold and still running on adrenaline, the first mate literally gave Casey the clothes off his back to help him get warm. It wasn’t until they made it to the boat terminal on land that Casey started to shiver, and the reality of the events started to sink in. The employees of the terminal rallied to find warm and dry clothes for all the passengers. Casey received a shirt one size too small and initially a pair of pants that were way too small. Eventually he received a pair of pants about six sizes too big, but the belt that saved his life was now holding up his pants.
and serve? The answer came to him one day around Thanksgiving when he heard on the radio that the Salva- tion Army had lost a donor and they were going to be 300 turkeys short. He rallied his friends and family and in a short 24 hours provided 140 turkeys. He has continued this every Thanksgiving for the last ten years. Last Thanksgiv- ing, he was able to provide 783 turkeys, bringing the overall total to nearly 4,000 turkeys since he started. Casey has a saying, “I believe in miracles” and that belief coupled with his strong faith, the support of his family and friends, really
When he got to the hotel and looked in the mirror for the first time, the image he saw staring back at him was that of a homeless person. What a profound, impactful image after such a mind-blowing ordeal. That day gave Casey a compassion for the homeless and less fortunate that he never would have had without going through that experience. Casey had been through some amazing things in the course of only a few hours ... a successful plane landing on water, the selfless generosity of others and he was alive. It was then that it dawned on Casey ... how was he going to get home? ... his car keys were at the bot- tom of the Hudson!
does make miracles happen.
Always looking for ways to combine his passions of food and philan- thropy, Casey is working on perfect- ing an SCA cook-off/steak dinner fundraising event that he has suc- cessfully piloted at several local churches. After a standard SCA con- test during the day, the steak teams each prepare 6-8 steaks for the public in the evening. Using an efficient vol- unteer model, the churches have been able to serve around 200 steak din- ners generating much needed funds. To engage the attendees, each diner gets a card with the name of the team that cooked their steak. Once every- one is done eating, awards are pre-
sented and everyone who came for dinner has a team they are rooting for. Prizes are awarded to the winning steak cooking teams as well as the diners who ate the winning steaks.
So where does their cooking passion come from? For Casey, it can be traced back to a stint as a manager at Burger King after college. He built on that by eating at different restau- rants when he was traveling on
business and then returning home and attempt replicating the food he had tasted. Judy has always been a talent in the kitchen and her competitive juices run deep. Applying her artistic talents and creative energy to the sweet side of things has been her comfort zone. Their friendly competi- tion grew their interest in cooking and expanded their palates. Let’s not forget the annual family Thanksgiving food competition that usually centers around dessert.
The Jones’ received a call from the casting staff of the show The “F” Word Live starring Gordon Ramsay. The “F” doesn’t stand for what you might think it does. It stands for Food, Family and Fun. Their outgoing nature, their ability to
BBQ HERO TRIBUTES
The “Miracle on the Hudson”
strengthened the Jones’ family
and deepened their commit-
ment to serve others in need.
For over ten years, the Jones’
have cooked a hot BBQ meal
for 60-120 people each month
through the Dining with Dig-
nity program at Home Again St
John’s in St Augustine, Florida.
Realizing that food insecurity
is a real issue, they recently
added a sack breakfast/lunch
so the people attending could
have a meal the next day as well. Even with a busy SCA schedule that has them traveling most weekends, they don’t miss their once a month Friday cook. As we all know, BBQ is one of those foods that bring comfort to your soul. When Casey and Judy look out at the outdoor picnic area of people quietly eating the food they prepared, Casey recalls what his mom used to say, “it must be good, everyone is quiet”. I’m sure it is.
Casey’s experience had a profound impact on him and his family and he felt they could do more in addition to what they were already doing. But what need could he uncover
(L to R) son Michael Jones, niece Zoe Suto and Casey after completing meal preparation
BarbecueNews.com - 6
MAY 2020
(L to R) Chef Gordon Ramsay, Casey, Judy, daugh- ter Cailin and son-in-law Alex on the set of The “F” Word Live