BINGHAMTON, NY (WIVT/WBGH) – For the 4th year in a row, State Senator Fred Akshar, Broome County Executive Jason Garnar and Binghamton Mayor Jared Kraham faced off to determine who will take home the Golden Yam Can.
Last week, CHOW sponsored the government plaza Thanksgiving Food Challenge, which is a friendly competition between the three government buildings to raise as many non-perishable foods and cash donations as possible.
The Director of CHOW, Les Aylesworth announced the winner at a news conference this morning, and for the third year in a row, the senator’s state team won the golden can.
Akshar says that this event is only possible through the relationships and collaboration between our local officials.
Senator Fred Akshar says, “It’s not only around this particular issue. In this community, in the Southern Tier, I truly believe in my heart that we are immensely blessed to have elected officials from different political persuasions who continuously strive to work together, to leave our community a little bit better than we found it.”
Aylesworth says that each year, the competition has continued to raise more donations, and that remained the case this year.
Last year, the event raised 14,500 for the hungry, and this year, that number increased to 15,211.
Looking ahead to next year, Akshar will be on Garnar’s team in his new role as the Broome County Sheriff. He says he is passing the state team’s torch onto Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo, who has already mentioned making some changes for competition.