Punkin Chunkin ranks in turmoil
About a month after Punkin Chunkin was canceled for the first time in its long history of launching gourds, the organization's president, John Huber, announced he's had enough.
Huber, in an email he sent to those involved with Punkin Chunkin, said he won't stand to serve another term. Huber did not immediately return calls for comment.
"I am resigning this year. Not for the bullies in this organization because they don't scare me or add any value to you, they are shameful. I am resigning because I just don't need it, I held this position for the best of the chunk always, always first...," Huber wrote in the email. "I don't care about the pat on the back that some need to lead. I have always put the chunk and it's interest first, no facts will ever show different."
Frank Shade, Punkin Chunkin's spokesman and a former president of the organization, said he has not seen the email, but was hoping to learn more about the resignation during a closed meeting of the volunteer board on Saturday evening.
Emotions among those close to the annual event were still raw following the abrupt cancellation, and an announced move from the event's traditional Sussex County farmfield roots to Dover International Speedway, he said.
"People's feelings are just a little on edge," Shade said. "I'm sure we will work our way through this and the sun will shine again, and everyone will be happy."
The event, held for years on rural Sussex County farm fields, was to have moved to the same grounds that host Firefly this year. After a volunteer filed a personal injury lawsuit in 2013 over an ATV accident at the 2011 Chunk, the farmer hosting the event in Sussex County said he wouldn't let it return to his property.
However, challenges with logistics prevented the event from happening this year at Dover International Speedway. One issue was the size of the land, or lack thereof. There just wasn't enough of it, Shade said.
Despite the issues, the organization is still committed to holding the event at Dover International Speedway.
The very first Punkin Chunkin competition was a small event held near Lewes in 1986. Over the years, it grew much more popular, moving to ever-bigger fields and routinely featured in a show on the Discovery Channel.
Contestants in the most powerful air cannon division have inched ever closer to propelling a pumpkin for a mile. The current record, set by the American Chunker team last year, stands at 4,694 feet, 586 feet shy of a mile.
The nonprofit event's proceeds support a variety of Delaware charities, including Autism Delaware, Meals on Wheels and the Home of the Brave veteran's homeless shelter.
Contact Jon Offredo at (302) 678-4271, on Twitter @jonoffredo or at joffredo@delawareonline.com.
