Todd Richards started the Growin’ a Beard contest last year as a way to raise money for a family who lost their house in a fire. This year, the proceeds of the contest will go to SAD 9 employees Melissa Yeaton and Rick Hardy, both of whom just returned home from hospital stays for head injuries. The nearly 15 entrants (no one remembered how many people had entered) paid $25 to enter the race, and had almost three months to grow the best Irish Donegal beard they could. Dick Morton won in both the popular contest and the formal judging. Marty Farnham came in second, and Mark Simpson came in third.