By Joycelyne Fadojutimi

It turned out to be a flaming upset as the favored police officers came up short in their donut-eating contest with the men and women of the Longview Fire Department (LFD.) Captain Clint Steelman, however, had his own ideas going into the savory competition, and was confident of his firefighters’ gastrointestinal ability.

“When you exercise you have energy to do anything, including eating because you need energy from the food to exercise,” he said.

Firemen Joshua Mosley and Brad Conrado could not have agreed more.

“Absolutely we will win this competition,” said Mosley.

“We are more ready for this competition,” added Conrado, “Let the best team (us) win.”

Longview Police Department (LPD) Officer Chris Dotson chimed in with his own opinion.

“Not so fast. We came here to win,” he said. “Fire fighters sit around and eat a lot. They practice year-round for this, but they won’t win.”

It was all the brainchild of Julie Woods and Associates Real Estate CEO Julie Woods. This donut eating, donut throwing and racing was called Donut Lympics 23, and eager crowds swarmed to The GREEN to watch this event designed to honor and assist the city’s vital first responders. This celebration has grown from a simple handing out of donuts, to making them the objects of a delightful game.

“We have been celebrating Donut Day at Julie Woods and Associates Real Estate for five years, and it is always a blast,” said Woods. “We are always looking for an excuse to honor and recognize our first responders, so it just seemed like a natural fit.”

She went into detail as to how her company conceived and executed this production, and the motives pursued and accomplished by the participants.

“Events like this take a village, and we have such a great team here at Julie Woods and Associates Real Estate, that consistently come together to celebrate our community,” she said. “The LPD and LFD were so enthusiastic and such great sports. They jumped on board immediately, and the rest is history.”

Before the firemen and cops got started, Woods asked the audience who would win. The police were favored. It turned out to be a false prophecy. The officers did start out in the lead in the Donut Pong contest, but the firemen burned their opponents in the Donut Toss competition and never looked back. Police officers may be famed for gorging on donuts, but the other team had a novel tactic.

The firefighters soaked their donuts in water, making them soggy, soft, and easy to gulp down, sending the LFD to a lead it never relinquished. By the time the LPD caught on to what was happening, it was too late – the contest was over, and the firefighters hefted the trophy in triumph.

Held against a backdrop of COVID-19 and other threats to the public, the Donut Lympics exhibit positive community engagement at its finest.

“It is not often that we go out and just have fun with our police and firefighters,” Woods said. “They are always working hard for us, and we just feel like the community really comes together when there is an opportunity to celebrate our first responders, have silly games, visit with each other, laugh, act a little goofy and of course eat donuts.”

It is a truly sweet way to show appreciation.