By Ben Cox
Photos/Ben Cox
What began six years ago as a spirited local twist on the viral YouTube show, Hot Ones, has now become one of Jacksonville’s most anticipated and uniquely chaotic fundraisers.
The sixth annual Hot Wings Charity Challenge, held November 15 at K’s Creek Golf Club, once again proved that the area communities are willing to eat the hottest peppers known to humankind—all in the name of helping others.
Founded by Jacksonville native Ryne Turke, the event follows the format of the Sean Evans-led online interview series, pushing participants through 10 increasingly spicy chicken wings while raising funds for charitable organizations they represent.
This year, 14 local nonprofits were represented, creating one of the largest and most diverse fields the competition has ever seen.
Turke, who co-hosts the event and manages the logistics each year, says this year’s turnout far exceeded expectations, “Awesome turnout, awesome response from all these communities. We had Jacksonville, West Central, North Greene … 14 organizations being helped in our community over the holiday season. It really warms my heart. This community reaches back every single time there’s a charity event in our town.”
This year’s new sauce lineup, refined by co-host Rachel Rohn and K’s Creek Chef Bradly Mechol after last year’s fiery finale, featured 10 wings ranging from “mildly concerning” to “nearly 1 million Scoville.”
But the hottest surprise came later in the night. “We [made] 2.1 million for the Scoville rating. That’s absurdly hot. I don’t even know how chef Bradly gets the wings that hot, but he does,” Turke says with a laugh.
Rohn said earlier in the week that she made “a few minor changes” to the sauce order to balance the later rounds, but it was still, without question, the hottest lineup in event history.
This year’s wings were consumed by a roster representing organizations across Morgan, Scott and northern Greene counties. In total, 14 nonprofits benefited, a record for the event. The atmosphere inside K’s Creek was one of raucous encouragement, laughter and the occasional teary-eyed realization of wing-related regret, or tears from those handing out the fire themselves. But with each round, new community members stepped forward with small donations, and organizers say the steady stream “never stopped.”
“There were just tons of people coming in every single round to make donations,” Turke says. “I’d say [attendance] was 50% more than last year, easily. I’m so impressed with that.”
After the wing gauntlet, spectators and late-entry participants were given their own chance at pepper glory through the infamous One Chip Challenge, made from some of the hottest peppers grown in the world. While the chip has no official Scoville rating, the peppers involved routinely rank among the hottest on earth.
The result? “I think that knocked a couple people back a few steps,” Turke admits, grinning. “We also got some people to come out from the community and try it.”
By the end of the night, the charities had collectively raised $10,300. A flood of Venmo donations rolled in afterward, ultimately pushing the total to just over $11,000.
As the sixth year closed, attention began shifting toward the future. Turke says he already has an idea for how to expand the challenge into something even more far-reaching—and even more impactful.
“I would love to make it school-based eventually, to give every school their own opportunity to raise funds because we know so many schools are in desperate need of funds,” he says.
He imagines teachers, coaches, administrators and even students stepping onto the spice stage—and perhaps creating some friendly local rivalry in the process.
“If the school districts in the community are on board, I think this is something we could really run with. Think in the four-county region—Cass, Morgan, Scott, Greene—everybody.”
Turke notes that in past years, participants have already come from Routt Catholic High School, Our Saviour School and several smaller schools. Expanding that into a full regional competition, he says, is the next logical step: “I would love to have a competition amongst local schools.”
In the end, the 2025 Hot Wings Charity Challenge was defined not just by spice and spectacle, but by generosity. The event reinforced something Turke says he sees year after year: “Overall, I’m just blown away with what this town can do.” And with a seventh year already bubbling with new possibilities, it seems Jacksonville’s appetite for giving, and for extremely hot wings, shows no sign of cooling off.
