Connie Bishop and Henry Gruno use their vintage wood-fired smoker at last year's Smokin' Super Bowl Pig Butts Fundraiser.

    Organizers are hoping for a big turnout at the third annual Smokin’ Super Bowl Pig Butts fundraiser, which will be held Feb. 6 from 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. at Methodist Senior Services-Aldersgate.

    “With the Super Bowl coming up, we thought this would be a great way, again this year, for area residents to enjoy the game without having to worry with the hassle of cooking,” said Susie Broadhead, with the Lauderdale County Council On Aging, the event’s sponsor.  

    The benefit raises money for free activities for senior citizens during Older Americans Month in May, and Broadhead said the success of the sale will come to fruition when the agency plans its May calendar.

    “The activities will honor area senior citizens by offering them solutions to improve their daily lives through activities that are designed for them and offered free of charge,” Broadhead said.

    Morrison Community Living’s Connie Bishop, along with her fiancee’ Henry Gruno, will again fire up their vintage wood-fired smoker Friday prior to Super Bowl Sunday. They plan to smoke 360 Boston Butts.

    Their smoker is an old 750-gallon butane tank adapted with two racks to hold up to 50 butts in one cooking. Two thermometers were added to the front and back of the tank in order to monitor internal temperatures. After injecting the butts with a special marinade and rubbing them with a unique combination of spices, the smoking process takes about eight hours.

    “Connie volunteers her culinary talents to make the butts the most delicious you have ever put in your mouth,” said Lawona Broadfoot, the executive director of Methodist senior services at Aldersgate. “She and her team work a continuous 24 hours. They never take a break and they never sleep until every order is off the grill and in the hands of ticket holders.”

     Thanks to corporate sponsors like Morrison Community Living and Methodist Senior Services–Aldersgate, $9,000 was raised from last year’s fundraiser, which Broadhead said was more than double the first year’s amount of $4,100.

    She also credits the city of Meridian and The Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors for their financial support for the event.

    Tickets are available from any council member: Kathy Anderson, Lawona Broadfoot, Susie Broadhead, Teresa Brown, Ann Calcote, M.A. Copeland, Rachel Feeman, Ned McCormick, Everett McShepard, Liz Nix, Mary Perry, Freda Smith, Mary Stewart, Barbara Wells or Shelley Whitehead, as well as Meridian Activity Center, located at 3300 32nd Ave.