MCRCO History

In May of 2009 the North Community Church adult mission group was on their first mission trip to Biloxi, MS. Their mission was to help rebuild homes that had been damaged during hurricane Katrina four years prior and were still in a state of disrepair.

While there, the group inquired about places to eat to close out the week. They were told that no trip to the area was complete without trying barbecue at “The Shed”. While they were enjoying the amazing ribs and brisket with a live blues band playing in the background the conversation turned to how much the group enjoyed helping the local people and the decision was made that they wanted to continue for the foreseeable future. The inevitable question about how to best finance the trip was raised. It was in that moment that group leader Stephen Halko-Sheehan had the first thoughts of what would become the Marshfield Community Rib Cook Off.

Six months later on September 26, 2009 the first annual rib cook-off was held in the Parish House parking lot of North Community Church. Eight teams competed and roughly one hundred and fifty people attended the inaugural event. The event raised a little over $1,000 for the North Community Church adult mission.

In 2014 the event outgrew its humble roots and moved to the Marshfield VFW, where it remained until 2020. By then the event had once again outgrown its venue and in the midst of a global pandemic moved the event to the Marshfield Fairgrounds.

In its first 15 years MCRCO has distributed over $250K to local charitable organizations.

Since its inception the Marshfield Community Rib Cook-Off has distributed over $250,000 and has expanded the list of beneficiaries to include the Marshfield Food Pantry, Marshfield FACTS, McKinney-Vento, Clift Rodgers Library, Semper Fi  & America’s Fund, and the NCC wider missions.