Garth Turner set a record last week.
The Melfort man ate an extra large pepperoni pizza in less than eight minutes during TJ’s Pizza’s annual contest for Telemiracle.
Then, Turner went to the back table for a slice of dessert pizza.
Turner, who was representing the Salvation Army Thrift Store, describes himself as an “average” eater.
“I felt confident that I could eat it in the ten minutes but I wasn’t sure how much faster than that I could do it,” he said.
Organizer Lloyd Muntain said past contests have had finishers around the 9:45 mark – but none with more than two minutes to spare.
The contest’s other big winner was William Brown, who raised the most with about $2,200.
All in all, the night saw just over $6,600 raised for Telemiracle, a cause close to TJ’s Pizza owners Lloyd and Tara Muntain.
Their daughter Rachel was airlifted to Saskatoon shortly after her birth. At 13 days old, she had open heart surgery. Meanwhile, the Muntains were living at Ronald MacDonald House and their older daughter was staying with her grandparents.
The couple reached out to Telemiracle for help, and the organization took care of their accommodations and gave them an allowance.
“That was a big stress relief,” said Lloyd. “This is our way now… that we can pay them back and we’re very honoured to be a big part of that.”
Now, their daughter is healthy and Lloyd describes the 20-year-old as “the joy of my life.”
The couple hopes to raise $10,000 when all their fundraising efforts are complete.
Other pizza eating contest participants on Jan. 31 were Brandon Toews for Melody Motors, Brenden Kiefer for Northeast Warriors Hockey, Logan Pearl for Cheyenne GM, Allan Court for Kinistino Kinsmen, William Brown for Starlite Glass, Tyson Waldner for Melfort Kinsmen, Darren Flaata for Northern Lights Adaptations, Constable Steve Orr for Melfort RCMP, Keith Mamer for Prairie North Co-op Gas Bar, Jason Stasiuk for Dale’s Snacks and Vending and Derek Busby for Prairie North Co-op.
