Reboiled: Sheriff cooks up new recipe for Cobb tradition
Jul. 12—MARIETTA — They came two by two, and then by the dozens: legislators, judges, even a few bail bondsman, conspicuously identified by their trade T-shirts.
The man of the hour had promised a spread, and Cobb County Sheriff Craig Owens delivered. Platter after platter was piled high with brisket, chicken, and the ever-important corn for the 31st iteration of the sheriff's annual boilin'.
Owens' first boil since he took office came with a twist, rebranding the traditional corn boilin' as his "Low Country Shrimp Boilin'."
"As you can see, for those who've been to the event before, we have changed it a lot," Owens said with a smile. "But I think for the better. I think the past event was outstanding, but we're just trying to enhance it, which I think we are absolutely doing this evening."
The decades-old tradition started as a meetup out at a west Cobb farm under then-Sheriff Bill Hutson, with state Sen. Lindsey Tippins, R-west Cobb, manning the rolling pot of summer corn. In the years since, it grew to a marquee mixer of Georgia politics, with previous Sheriff Neil Warren drawing more than 1,000 attendees.
Tippins, not one to be put off by a change in lawmen, dutifully led the boiling out back of the convention hall. Inside, a DJ and coterie of horns blasted music as the guests mingled.
Back-slapping and glad-handing carried the day at Jim Miller Park, but the more dedicated officials donned aprons to assist with the serving. Among them were State Sen. Michael "Doc" Rhett (D-Marietta), District Attorney Flynn Broady, Commissioner Monique Sheffield, and Chief Magistrate Judge Brendan Murphy.
Sheffield said she'd originally put in for a one-hour shift. But, she said, wiping her brow, she enjoyed being on the serving end more.
Next to years past, the event was comparatively light on Republicans, but Owens told the MDJ last week he was committed to making the event a bipartisan affair.
"This is what makes our community great in Cobb County. We have Democrats, we have Republicans, we have every political affiliation here. We've got all of 'em, without fighting — just having a good time, having food, eating, and having great conversation," Owens said.
The sheriff put a bow on that sentiment midway through the program as he called Tippins to the stage.
"He is the man that's responsible for the corn. He's been out there all afternoon," Owens said, before naming Tippins a special deputy of the sheriff's office in honor of his contributions.
Tippins told the crowd it was "an honor to carry on a great tradition," adding that the evening was a demonstration that "there are two issues that should not have any partisan political divide."
He continued, "Those two areas are, No. 1, the safety of families in their homes, in their streets, in their churches, and in the individual businesses where they work. Public safety is one of the biggest challenges we face in our crazy world today, and I am glad to say that Sheriff Owens — he conferred this honor to me, I will confer an honor to him and say he's done an excellent job to carry forward an excellent tradition of safe streets and homes in Cobb County."
(The other issue, said the former Cobb school board member, was education.)
"It was a very nice event," said Cobb NAACP President Jeriene Bonner-Grimes. "It was a nice opportunity to come out in fellowship and have some fun in our community."
"I don't even do a lot of eating, but the brisket — spectacular," she added.
Proceeds from the affair, Owens told the MDJ, will go to his reelection campaign, but he hopes to donate a portion to local charities once the final tally was in.
His aide LaTaurus Johnson, meanwhile, estimated the ticket sales at 300 to 400, though she didn't have a final count.
Though Owens' inaugural boilin' didn't turn out the same crowd as Warren's, the chatter among the crowd by the end of the night was in accord: the food, they agreed, was certainly better.
