Southern Nevadan to compete in burger cook-off

Henderson resident Rebecca Reece, 63, will compete in the 17th Annual Sutter Home Build A Better Burger National Recipe Contest and Cook-Off Saturday in Napa Valley, Calif.

Reece, who was one of 10 finalists selected from more than 8,000 entries, will be making her Little Italy Sausage Burgers at the cook-off.

Five finalists, including Reece, will compete in the alternative category, where burgers contain less than 75 percent beef to qualify, for a chance to win $10,000. The other five finalists are competing in the Best Burger category for $50,000.

At the cook-off, each finalist will have three hours to prepare and grill their burgers for the judging panel.

In other news:

* Two Las Vegas-based FedEx Freight drivers participated in the National Truck Driving Championships Aug. 22-25 in Minneapolis.

Bob Workman, 57, and Randy Johnson, 58, advanced to the Super Bowl of Safety after winning their classes at the Nevada State Truck Driving Championship held in Reno in June.

At the state level competition, Workman, a professional driver for 25 years, won the 5 Axle Twin class, and Johnson, a professional driver for 39 years, won the Straight Truck class. In the Straight Truck class, a van and tractor are attached together.

In order to compete at the national competition, drivers must have incident-free driving records for an entire year.

At nationals, Workman finished 11th out of 50 participants in the Twins class and Johnson was 26th in the Straight Truck class.

* Beverly Baumgartner of the College of Southern Nevada was awarded a $1,000 AKC/Bayer K9 Advantix Veterinary Technician Scholarship. Baumgartner, 30, is in the second year of the veterinary technician program. The American Kennel Club, Bayer K9 Advantix and the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America awarded scholarships to 25 students attending 24 U.S. accredited schools of veterinary technology.

* The fifth annual Danny Gans Run for Children's Charities 5K race will be held Oct. 20 at Boca Park, 700 S. Rampart Blvd. The event, which features a 5K run and 1-mile fun walk, also will have live entertainment by the Wedge Brothers, a raffle and refreshments. Following the run will be the Champions Run for Life, a minirun for youths with life-threatening illnesses. Proceeds for the run will benefit the Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation, the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Nevada and the Lili Claire Foundation. For more information, call 480-1917.

If you know of a worthy candidate for this column, mail information to Newsmakers, Las Vegas Review-Journal, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125-0070, or send faxes to 383-4676.