Last Saturday morning, under a cloudless sky with the temperature in the upper 60s —the kind of day Mother Nature regularly delivers to South Florida at this time of year — the Miami Springs/Virginia Gardens Optimist Club ordered up their 2nd Annual BBQ Blast Throw-Down at the Circle in Miami Springs.

     “It is the day we all waited for. It was two years ago when we were looking for a new venue for a fundraiser,” said Robert Vico, Optimist Club treasurer and brain child of the BBQ. “Our revenues had dropped due the economy and in order to meet our commitments to the youth programs of the community, we needed a fundraiser to replace those lost revenues. I felt the BBQ Blast was the answer. For those who attended I know they enjoyed it and we sold out the BBQ dinners.”

    The Optimist Club added a Cake Throw-Down category this year and anyone with a sweet tooth had a chance to enjoy a sampling of the mouth-watering entries. Andrea Ramirez presented a walnut praline cake with cream cheese filling that was good enough for a third-place finish.  Second place went to Robert Richards for a German chocolate cake with chocolate shards and cherries on top.

    The overall winner and best appearance trophies went to Rachael Cali, a Miami Springs native and homemaker. Her chocolate cake with coconut and raspberry icing was not only the judges’ choice but also the choice of the samplers.

    Before and during the cake contest, the contestants for the BBQ Blast were setting up their grills and preparing for the Throw-Down. The delivery truck from Ricky’s Meats with palates of baby back ribs, ground beef and chicken wings was circling the gazebo and delivering equal shares of the different meats to each contestant.

    “My company is supplying the meats, to the Optimist Club and I know how important it is for the club to be able to help the youth of the River Cities,” said Ricky Martinez owner and proprietor of Ricky’s Meats. “It’s my way of helping and I am glad I can do this. My family has been in the meat business for three generations.”

    As 11:30 a.m. approached, it was time to deliver the finished products for round one of the BBQ Blast — chicken wings and burgers to the judges for their opinion.

    It was sudden chaos at Santa’s Little Helper Pit as the Butter Knives were trying to dismantle Santa from his perch with one of their diversionary moves. The Helpers held their ground and finished third in the chicken wings division. The Optimist Club itself got second, thanks to the grilling skills of their wing master, MSSH girls soccer head coach William Drew, and a special rub called “Everglades Fish and Fowl Food Seasoning.” The Butter Knives took first place with their “super secret sauces.”

    Next came the hamburger division and the Butter Knives slipped to third place here. Virginia Gardens Water and Sewer was a strong second under the leadership of a veteran griller and returning champion, Butch Martin. The winner of the hamburger division was the Army of Champions, with pit-master Robert Richards.

    “I was inspired by my appetite and learned to grill by trial and error,” Richards said as he accepted his trophy.

    As 2:30 p.m. approached, it was time to pick the winners of the open division. A new participant this year was Extra Butter led by Carlos Fox with his wingman Robert Gomez, who took third place. The Butter Knives, who claimed all their success was attributed to plenty of cold beer and fellowship, captured second place. The VGWD scored another first-place win, as Martin produced a secret sauce that he had seen on YouTube.

    As 4:30 p.m. neared, the Pit-Masters were hard at work, tweaking the sauce for their final presentation in the Rib Division. The efforts were rewarding for third-place finisher DEMT, with Pit-Master Virginia Gardens Mayor Spencer Deno IV, with his Super Secret Alabama White BBQ Sauce, at the helm. Second place went to Team Incredible Fish, led by Pit-Master Tim Lycke and assisted by his wingman Jason Custer.  The winner of the Rib Division was Army of Champions, led by Pit-Master Robert Richards.

    After the rib judging, everyone enjoyed a BBQ fest of ribs and chicken plus all the side dishes one could imagine. The crowd grooved to the music of Room Service as they dined and waited for the announcement of the 2012 Miami Springs/Virginia Gardens Optimist Club 2nd Annual BBQ Blast Throw Down overall winner. And, with a drum roll from Room Service in the background, Optimist President Bill Tallman made the big announcement and the Butter Knives team took home the big trophy.

    When all was said, done and eaten, the real winners were the youth of the local community, as all of the proceeds will go to the Optimist Club, which helps so many youth programs.