Four visits, four signs of TEI's continuing vitality.

• Author: McCormally, Timothy J.
• Position: Tax Executives Institute

According to the Greater Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau, Cincinnatians consume more than two million pounds of chili each year, topped by 850,000 pounds of shredded cheddar cheese. As someone who enjoys eating as much as I do, it is no surprise that I have enjoyed Cincinnati's fabulous two-way, three-way, four-way, and even five-way chili (with spaghetti, chili, shredded cheese, diced onions, and beans) many times--courtesy of a wonderful chain in the D.C. area called Hard Times. Until this year, however--despite more than half a dozen visits to the Cincinnati Chapter during my tenure with TEI--I have not had the opportunity to enjoy Cincinnati chili in the city that gave the chili its name. As someone who grew up eating "traditional" beans and meat chili in Kansas and Iowa, the cinnamon and other spices in Cincinnati chili took some getting used to, but I'm glad I did.

My benefactor this year was Fred Greenwood of Ashland, Inc., the 2009-2010 president of the Institute's Cincinnati Chapter, who invited me not only to attend the chapter's November 9 meeting, but who also made it possible for me to "go native" in terms of eating chili. Since the chapter meeting featured an afternoon of technical presentations followed by the customary reception and plated dinner, I arranged to arrive in town early, stopping by Fred's office in time for us to join Tom Aydt of Kroger (first vice president), Craig Schmidtgesling of Givaudan Flavors (treasurer), and Steve O'Bryan of Macy's (chair of the Academic Committee) at a Skyline Chili restaurant. One of my brothers recently moved to Cincinnati, so I was aware that there are several chili chains in the area--Skyline, Gold Star, Dixie, and Empress--each with its own devotees. I could not really glean what set one of them apart from the others, but based on what was put in front of me, I am absolutely fine with Fred's choice.

As we sat down and ordered (I decided to forbear the beans and onions and simply order three-way chili), Tom noted that all five of us were wearing white shirts, a risky proposition (at least for me), but the waitress soon appeared with plastic bibs to keep us presentable for the chapter meeting, and we heartily dug into our lunch as we discussed the economic climate in Ohio, the fate of the Bengals and the University of Cincinnati's surprising football team, and of course the work of the chapter. The technical content of the meeting was arranged by Mike Palm of Nationwide...