It's been more than a decade since Jerry Morris and the Angels for Ashley Cooking Team joined WBKR's fight against childhood cancer by setting up a cookout in front of Shoe Stop in Owensboro.

It's hard to believe, yes, but time really DOES fly when you're having fun and cooking up amazing Boston butts, ribs, and chickens for a great cause like St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. And this St. Jude Cookout has really evolved.

Angels for Ashley Cooking Team Preps for the St. Jude Radiothon

Dave Spencer/Townsquare Media
Dave Spencer/Townsquare Media
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At the beginning of the Morris family's involvement, there were just a couple of big smokers, and the cooking was done primarily AT the cookout. But lately, it's been easier and more efficient for all of the cooking and preparation to be done at the big Smoke Shack in Whitesville. And then all that savory goodness is driven into town and sold in front of Shoe Stop in Wesleyan Park Plaza.

Dave Spencer/Townsquare Media
Dave Spencer/Townsquare Media
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Prior to 2023, all that prep work and cooking was accomplished at the Morris home and St. Mary of the Woods Catholic Church in Whitesville. But the Smoke Shack has been a serious game changer.

Dave Spencer/Townsquare Media
Dave Spencer/Townsquare Media
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It's now so much simpler for Jerry and his team to get the meat to the various locations where it will be sold for the radiothon. As a matter of fact, they're already SELLING MEAT IN WHITESVILLE as we speak.

Dave Spencer/Townsquare Media
Dave Spencer/Townsquare Media
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The Whitesville Mercantile

Back in 2016, the Morris family purchased an old Dollar General Store building and turned it into a unique shopping destination chock full of vendor booths and cool gift ideas. With that property in the family, the Morrises decided to build a Smoke Shack in 2022, and, last year, it was used for the St. Jude Radiothon for the very first time.

Dave Spencer/Townsquare Media
Dave Spencer/Townsquare Media
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It will be hopping again over the next couple of days, getting Lord knows how much delicious meat ready for an amazing cookout that has seriously transformed the Window World/St. Jude Radiothon.

St. Jude 2024 Tshirt

Gallery Credit: ASHLEY SOLLARS