?Transcript Staff

The Community Services Building will host a "CSBI Agency Chili Cook-off" at noon?Oct. 31. The public is welcome to attend and share in the lunch and activities, organizers said.

The non-profit social services agencies located in the CSBI Building, 1183 E. Main St., will vie for the "Traveling Chili Trophy" and bragging rights for one year. In addition to an "Agency Award," "Individual" and "People's Choice" awards also will be presented, organizers said.

A Silent Auction will take place during the cook-off, with individual chili entries and donations to the Silent Auction being accepted until Oct. 27.

CSBI is now in its 11th year of operations as a central facility for non-profit, social service agencies. The building originally operated as the Norman Veterans Center, until the opening of the Norman Veterans Center on East Robinson Street.

The former vets center building was refurbished and now serves Norman and surrounding areas as a single-point-of-entry for families and individuals in need and seeking guidance, assistance and support from the service agencies.

In 2005, more than 55,000 men, women and children were assisted by these CSBI non-profits: Aging Services, All Kinds of Minds, Among Friends, Bethesda, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Center for Children and Families Inc., Cleveland County Workforce Development Board, Cleveland County Genealogical Library, Crossroads Youth -- Family Head Start, Dimensions Academy, Full Circle, Meals on Wheels, Mission Norman, National Alliance on the Mentally Ill, Oklahoma Employment Security Commission, Retired Senior Volunteer Program, Rx Prescription Assistance, Compassionate Friends and United Cerebral Palsy.

"Crossroads Youth -- Family Bringing Up Babies" and "ABLE Council on Developmental Disabilities/Administrative Offices" will soon become the newest non-profit agencies in the building, according to CSBI Executive Director Becky Aguilar.

"CSBI's board of directors leases the building at 12th Avenue and East Main Street from the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. In lieu of rent to the state, CSBI pays for repairs and renovations to the building. The board is then able to lease space to qualifying non-profits at a rate much below the market price. In 2005, agencies were able to save more than $300,000 on rent," Aguilar said.

With a recent Community Development Block Grant allocated through the City of Norman, CSBI will soon begin a much-needed upgrade of its heat and air system, Aguilar said. The three-year project will create a safer, more-efficient environment. By participating in the Chili Cook-off and Silent Auction, agencies have the opportunity to become a part of the building's improvements, she said.

For more information on Chili Cook-off activities or the Community Services Building, call Aguilar at 701-2009 or e-mail her at baguilar@csbi.org.