2007 Competition & Event Schedule

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Completed Events:

November 30-December 1, 2007 Beefcember Fest Starke, FL 1st Chicken, 2nd Ribs, 4th Brisket, RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION /27 Teams This being the last FBA contest for '07, it was my last chance to capture second place overall for the year. I knew my friend Smokin' Cracker (2nd overall at the time) wasn't going to be there, so all I needed to do was score at least 9 points. My 1st & 2nd in Chicken & Ribs earned me the 9 points, so the 4th in Brisket & RGC was just icing on the cake.
RGC trophy!

November 16-17, Plant City Pig Jam, FL 3rd Pork, 1st Brisket, 13th Overall / 53 teams They started the awards backwards, announcing brisket first. Man o man was I excited: a first place & a third place, & I knew my ribs & chicken were both great. Well, the judges didn't think so - chicken was 45th & ribs were 23rd. Unbelievable. Oh well, that's the way it goes sometimes. The rest of the team did a great job selling. They went through about 160 sandwiches, 4 bushels of corn, & a bunch of sample cups & drinks. Thank you very much Amy, Robin, Tammy, & Woody. I was still happy with how I did, considering some of the teams that were there. And the crew did a fantastic job as usual. Even had an FBA judge - Dick Marshall - come hang out for a while & lend a hand. :)

November 11: Fund Raiser for Hope Presbyterian Deacons Served 150 + lunch

November 2-3: National BBQ Festival/Best of the Best, Douglas GA Best of the Best Invitational: 2nd Ribs, 5th Pork, 11th Brisket, 3rd OVERALL /38 teams Smokin' On the Square Open: 6th Ribs, 10th Pork, 6th Brisket, 4th OVERALL / 68 teams One of my goals last year was to qualify for the Best of the Best Invitational, & I did by finishing up '06 in the FBA Top 5 Overall. There were 38 of the country's best teams entered in the BotB, & several from Canada as well. We could only choose 3 categories to cook from the main 4 plus whole hog. I chose Ribs, Pork & Brisket for each contest. The Phelps & their team of volunteers put on a heck of a contest. I had my own "Ambassador" (Shanda - thank you!) who was there to help, as well as the SC Swamp Boys Mike & Vicky. They always make life easier for me when they're around, & I appreciate their help. I was real happy with my showings up there, yet frustrated I couldn't squeeze out a few more points to finish 1 or 2. Regardless, I had a great time. Got to visit with lots of old friends I hadn't seen in a while, & even made some new ones, eh? Oh, but one of the best things that happened was my good friends Foy & Stacey of Barbeque Crew won their first ever RGC, in the "Smokin' On the Square" Open, against 68 other teams. AWESOME JOB GUYS!!

2nd place ribs, 5th pork		My site at sunrise			House of Q from Canada, eh.

October 26-27, 4th Annual Pig at the Park Kissimmee, FL 1st Chicken, 8th Ribs, 4th Pork, 4th Brisket, GRAND CHAMPION / 25 teams Woo-Hoooooooooooo X 3!!! I was completely taken by surprise when I was called yet again as Grand Champion - I might be onto something :^) This too was a drizzly & overcast contest, but that doesn't really affect my smokers too much. The electric & water was not laid out when we arrived Friday morning, but shortly after lunch everything was in place. Not too much to report: everything kind of went as planned. I was really happy to have my chicken back in 1st place, but the ribs worried me. I figured they came in too low for me to vie for GC, but I was wrong. Tammy, Woody, & his sons were there for awards, so it was nice to have "family" near by. Thanks you guys for coming out & showing your support!

1st Place Chicken				GRAND CHAMPION!

October 19-20: 2nd Annual Brooksville Blazin' Butts-n-Briskets Brooksville, FL (FBA) 10th Chicken, 6th Ribs, 2nd Pork, 1st Brisket, GRAND CHAMPION /24 teams Woo-Hoooooooooooo X 2!! I can't believe it's happened again. Even though this one was not a qualifier, it still was a great feeling. Kind of helps make last week more legit, and not a fluke. We had a bit of rain Friday night/Saturday morning which made a lot of areas muddy, but it wasn't too bad. This is a very nice venue, with lots of big shady trees around. FK & Cindy cooked up some very tasty steak Friday night that I got some of - thanks! Saturday morning cleared, which brought out the public. It turned out to be a good day for vendors. Tammy, Woody, & much of Woody's family came out to experience the cookoff. They were all very nice, & it was great having our own cheering section at awards. Thanks for your support everybody :) I also won another BBQ Guru DigiQ II , which I plan to use on my other smoker

1st place Brisket				Grand Champion!

October 5-6: Coweta Up In Smoke Barbecue Cook-off, Newnan, GA (FBA Georgia Qualifier) 4th Chicken, 2nd Pork, 1st Brisket, GRAND CHAMPION /41 teams Woo-Hoooooooooooo! This is what I've been working towards for 3 years :^) I have finally won a Qualifier, and will be invited to the American Royal Invitational in KC, MO in '08 & go into the draw for the Jack Daniels World Championship in Lynchburg TN. To say I was excited & in disbelief would be an understatement, & I still find myself thinking about it & smiling days later. I carpooled up with my good friend Jimmy (Smokin' Cracker) to save fuel $$. We took my truck & his trailer, & I worked out of my old tent instead of the Swamp Shack. I felt bad that she wasn't there to experience the win, but she's OK with it. I also cooked on a new smoker, the Stump's Smoker Elite 6. There is still a learning curve for me to go through, but all in all I think it went OK. I was happy with all I cooked, & knew my brisket was special. I was very glad to have my chicken get back to normal, but disappointed with my rib score; they placed 25th. Oh, I also am now a member of "The 50 Egg Club" because I won a Big Green Egg, & I won a customized BBQ Guru DigiQ II. When all was said and done, it was a great prize package. On top of it all, the city of Newnan put on a heck of a contest, fed us big tasty meals, & ran a quality show.
First place Brisket			Georgia State Champion!			My new BGE! 2nd Place Pork!

September 28-29, Q-Fest Grant, FL (FBA Qualifier) 8th Ribs, 1st Pork, 6th Brisket Well, I got a DQ in Chicken. That killed my chance of doing anything in the overall, although I did do fairly well with the other 3 categories. VERY disappointing. On a good note, the Swamp Babes & Woody sold EVERYTHING we brought to sell. Three bushels of corn & 12 butts! Fantastic job everyone :^) On another good note, I was visited by some friends I haven't seen in a while: Barry, his wife Mindy & their son, & Sal. Barry & Sal were both good partners in crime from my high school years, & they all came over to spend the day hanging out & talking about old times. Some times a little TOO much info was recalled, if you know what I mean. Shawn, an old cigar buddy, also made his way over to Grant to visit. I hadn't seen him since we were pulling him behind our boat on the lake at 3AM, riding in a tube at 30mph, about 4 years ago. Don't ask! We had a good time catching up. All in all, a great weekend if you can get past the chicken DQ. 1st Place Pork!

September 21-23: Catered Winter Haven Stingrays home meet Sold 1 case

September 1-2: Annual FBA Funcook Lake Rousseau, FL (FBA) 1st Ribs, 6th Pork, 4th Brisket/RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION!!/21 Teams I think I need to see a BBQ psychiatrist about my chicken. The first half of the season my average chicken finish was 6th place. Since then, my average chicken finish has dropped to 29th place!! I don't know what the heck is going on, but I need to figure it out NOW if I ever plan to win a Qualifier. Anyway, the rib win was really nice :) Lake Rousseau is always a nice venue for us, & this year was no exception. The FBA election results were announced, & I will continue to be Secretary for the '08 year! Also, the National BBQ Rankings were recently unveiled, & I was excited to see the Swamp Boys debut at number 21 in the combined rankings - in the country! They are updated weekly, & if you don't compete that week, you're likely to drop. I'm at 22 now, & will continue to go down until the Grant contest where I hope to resurrect my chicken scores.
Reserve GC				1st place Ribs

August 9: NECK INJURY UPDATE - Five weeks later, after x-rays, MRI's, physical therapy, & steroids, the neurosurgeons decided I needed surgery. Through a very good friend (thanks Mike!) I was able to get in to see one of the top neurosurgeons in the country, Dr. Max Medary. Mike had already given Dr. Medary my films, & he had determined I was a candidate for surgery. Mike arranged for me to see Dr. Medary on Wednesday, & on Thursday I had Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF) surgery. He made an incision on my neck, pushed my throat to the side, & removed the 2 destroyed discs between C5 - C6, & C6 - C7. Then he inserted bone from a cadaver between the vertebrae, screwed a titanium plate onto the 3 affected vertebrae so it will all fuse as one piece. I am supposed to take it easy for at least 2 weeks, & then I am re-evaluated. We'll see how it goes. We'll also see how the insurance shakes out & if I can afford to complete the barbecue season... Here's a picture of my post-op incision:


August 3-4: Dillard Bluegrass & Barbecue Festival, Dillard GA (KCBS Qualifier) 5th Ribs, 2nd Pork, 5th Brisket, 4th Overall/59 Teams Dillard was one of the earlier out of state contests I ever did. I first competed here in 2004, & hadn't been back since. It usually fell on the first Friday that I had to return to teach, so I had not been able to take time off. This year our school start date was later, so I was able to get in to this very popular contest. I believe it was also the only contest that I go to where I had not had a professional call in the barbecue categories. That has now changed :) My friend Joe of Smoky Mountain Smokers (the eventual GC of Dillard) remarked Thursday night that the group of teams here was probably the largest, most talented group that he had cooked against all season. I had to agree, with teams like Lotta Bull, Wild Bunch Butt Burners, B.S. Pitmeister, Jack's Old South, HomeBBQ.com, Buttrub.com, Pig Pounda Kappa, & The ABS Cooking Team to name but a few, this was a premier event. But when the smoke cleared, little ol' Swamp Boys from Winter Haven FL stood right up there with the "Big Boys!" Had my sorry chicken finished just 2 places better than 41st, I would have been RGC. It was a very close top 4 overall finish. Congrats to Joe on yet another GC, Team BobbyQ on RGC, & Wild Bunch Butt Burners for 3rd. It was a great contest, & well-run as always by Jane and her crew of volunteers. My Swamp Boys from SC - Vicky & Mike drove over to help me & hang out for the contest, which I appreciated. They were able to run my boxes & offer an extra hand when needed, & that definitely helps out. Not to mention a shower & bed to sleep in Saturday night. Thanks again guys!!

Swamp Boys at night				Three calls at Dillard!

July 28-29: The Harpoon Championship of New England, Windsor VT (KCBS Qualifier) I got a call from my buddy Jim (Big Daddy Q) saying that he had been invited to fly out to Windsor VT to cook with the Dr. Frankenswine team at the Harpoon Championship of New England, & would I like to go along to help out. All expenses paid. At the Harpoon Brewery. For free. Ummm, OK! I checked with my wonderful wife, who graciously gave me the go-ahead. It was on! We flew into New Hampshire Thursday night, drove to Windsor VT, & Friday morning we were at the Harpoon Brewery. It was a beautiful setting in the mountains - at least they were to me anyway - & just a hundred or so yards from the Connecticut River. I met A LOT of the New England Barbecue Society guys who were a bunch of fun & very hospitable. They'd fit right in with the FBA folks here. I got to eat some great food, including roasted clams, oysters Rockefeller, blue cheese stuffed steak, linguini with REAL clam sauce, etc. It was all good! Oh, & free fresh brewery beer from Harpoon all weekend. It was a great weekend :) We didn't do anything notable in the KCBS contest, even though we were very pleased with our entries. Chalk it up to regional taste.

Outside a working farm	Swimming in the Connecticut River			Down at the river			Dr. Frankenswine & his bride working on chicken

July 13-14: South Carolina Festival of Discovery, Greenwood SC (KCBS Qualifier) 6th Ribs, 8th Brisket, 14th Overall/50 Teams First let me say that Vicky & Mike from SC came into town again to help with the vending, & they did an awesome job as usual. These two always give it their all & take most all of that worry off my plate. They had a good line all day long, with lots of repeat customers. With all of the good feedback we got from our customers I thought for sure we would do well in the People's Choice. Turns out we weren't even in the top 3. It sure wasn't for lack of trying though, and it turned out to be an omen for the KCBS part of the contest. Zero walks. Nada. Zilch. Boy, that was disappointing. It broke a year long string of contests with at least one call. Oh well, time to start another one. On a good note, I was interviewed for the local newspaper, & the article ran on their front page. Plus, my good friends from Florida, *Florida Skin N Bones,* won Grand Champion! Way to go Rooster & Gang!!

My site at Greenwood

June 29-30, 2007 St Marys River BBQ Classic, St Marys, GA (FBA Qualifier) 1st Ribs, 5th Brisket, 3rd Overall/25 teams Still experiencing pain from last weekend, but I've just started the meds. I'm still hurting in chicken for some reason; came in 11th this weekend. Despite this, I'm 2nd overall with the FBA in chicken. I knew my ribs rocked, & I am now tied for 2nd in that category also. But overall I was disappointed in my finish & myself. I'm getting closer & closer to achieving my goal of winning a qualifier (2 RGC, 6th, 3rd), but it's sure not easy.

1st place Ribs!

June 22-23: Wild Turkey Bourbon TN State Championship BBQ, Lawrenceburg, TN (KCBS Qualifier) 5th Pork, 5th Brisket, 6th Overall/56 teams Many of the same players here in TN that I competed against in GA; a very tough crowd. I felt I had hit my chicken dead on, but the judges thought it was pretty bad - 46th out of 56 - to be exact. Just an average call for me in chicken would have been enough points to result in RGC, but what can you do. It is what it is, as they say. Regardless, I was very pleased to finish up as high as I did in such a big time contest. And to top it off, my family & I had been visiting with my wife's dad in east TN, so they were able to drive over for awards which is always special for me. I guess the big story of my weekend began Saturday night. My friends & I were riding in some golf carts, & I was a passenger in a cart with my buddy Jim. Well, long story short, I came out of the cart onto the asphalt, landing on my head. Big road rash, hurt like a son-of-a-gun. Of course the following morning I was so stiff & sore I couldn't even get out of bed. It literally took over an hour, & we nearly called an ambulance. Two doctor's appointments later in FL, I'm on muscle relaxers, pain killers, & steroids. We'll see how it goes...
Here you can sort of get a sense of the road rash on my head.


June 1-2: Georgia BBQ Classic, Cartersville, GA (KCBS Qualifier) 7th Chicken, 4th Ribs, 8th Pork, 11th Brisket, RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION!!/50 Teams Wow! I have never done this well in a KCBS contest, let alone a big one with some great teams. I was excited just to be cooking against Lotta Bull BBQ, Smokey Mountain Smokers, Jiggy Piggy, & The ABS Cooking Team, to name a few. I felt good about all of my stuff, and was very excited to get my calls. As RGC, I also won a Grill Dome Smoker, which was a nice bonus. Not to mention fun times with great friends. Saw some old ones, & made some new ones. It's all good :^)
RGC trophy & Grill Dome Prize!

May 18-19: Tri-State Barbecue Festival, Dothan, AL (FBA Alabama Qualifier) 2nd Chicken, 7th Pork, 5th Brisket, RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION!!/41 teams So close, yet so far! Have I mentioned I REALLY want to win a Qualifier?! I was very excited to get RGC, but man o man I want a GC! AGAIN my ribs held me back. I think this time they were around 20th or something. My buddy Walt has helped develop this contest from day 1 & they have really put together a winner. From the big sites, to the Friday night dinner, it's all done first class. I carpooled up with My friend Jimmy of Smokin' Cracker in his Excursion, pulling my trailer. Shane of Space Coast BBQ came along for the ride. We had lots of fun!
Shane (back to us), Jimmy & me coming back from dinner				Big check!!

May 4-5: The Quincyfest Annual Barbecue Cook Off, Quincy, FL (FBA) 5th Chicken, 3rd Ribs, 3rd Pork, 3rd Brisket, 3rd Overall/10 teams I was excited to go back to Quincy & defend my GC from last year. Unfortunately it didn't quite work out like that. My buddy Jim decided he'd waste his paid spot in St. Cloud to drive up to cook against me in Quincy. He beat me by 1.5 points for RGC, & we were both beat by a brand new team entering their first ever contest. That sucked. Still a fun time despite the outcome.

April 27-28: Barnesville BBQ & Blues Festival, Barnesville, GA (FBA) 1st Chicken, 10th Pork, 5th Brisket, 6th Overall/47 teams The chicken call was my first 1st in that category, so I was real happy with that! The judges really bombed my ribs - 37 out of 45 - otherwise I'd have been pretty happy with things. My buddy Jim of Big Daddy Q won his first GC, so I was happy to see that. Stump let me use the comp trailer he has & that was really nice. Saved me a bunch of fuel $$. Barnesville is always a fun contest, & this one was no different. A little late night karaoke upset a person or two, but beyond that it was all good.

1st Place Chicken!				Stump's trailer

April 20-21: Winter Haven Stingrays Home Meet Vending & Fundraising, Rowdy Gaines Pool Went well!

April 14th: Cater Roosevelt Academy's Golf Tournament, Grenelefe FL Went Well! Big thanks to Robin & Tammy for all of their help, & CONGRATS to Woody & his team for taking 1st place!

March 30-31: 14th Annual Hog Wild Pig Crazy Barbecue Lake City, FL (FBA) 8th Chicken, 1st Ribs, 4th Brisket, RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION!!/42 Teams! Woo-Hooo! That was fun :) I felt pretty good about all that I cooked. Nothing was outstanding, but it was all good. I guess the judges thought my ribs were pretty good, as they set the current high score in ribs for '07 (192.36666). I was very surprised to get a call for RGC too. It was like deja vu all over again, as last year I scored a 1st in ribs & RGC at this same contest. I'm still in 4th place for the FBA TotY race. Got to see my good friends & neighbors at the cookoff Mike, Adam, & Jerry of Bubba Chuck's BBQ win their first GC; congratulations guys!
1st Ribs				Reserve Grand Champion!!

March 23: 11th Annual Bagby Bash EPIC! "What happens at the Bagby Bash, stays at the Bagby Bash."

March 18: Cater fundraiser for Hope's Board of Deacons - 200+ full lunch Went well!

March 12: Cater Swim Banquet for Winter Haven High School - 100 people Went well!

March 9-10: Pig on the Pond Clermont, FL (FBA) 8th Chicken, 8th Ribs, 5th Pork, 3rd Brisket, 3rd Overall/30 Teams Ever seen a "dust devil"? I got to see a big one up close on Friday. Beautiful clear, calm weather, when all of the sudden this whirlwind starts building about 50' away from me. I watch it snatch a big banner down, then proceed to go right past my site & wreak havoc on my 2 neighbors. It broke the awning off Gator Grates' (Jeff) trailer, & wiped out 5 EZ Ups that Kick the Tire, Light the Fire had set up for vending. Tents were flying 50' high in the air, then crashing back down. People were scrambling for cover, & Mike B. got hit & required first aide. KTTLTF sustained over $1k worth of damage alone. I thought I cooked everything spot-on, & was disappointed with the two eighth place calls. But the Swamp Babes & Woody did a fantastic job vending, so all was OK. In all, they sold 2 cases of butts & 4 bushels of corn - awesome job my friends! Thank you so much for all you do :) I was very fortunate that Amy was able to swing by on her way home from Jenna's swim meet & stay with us for a while. I always love it when my family is with me, & Jenna makes the awards ceremony lots of fun. She beats me to the front every time. BTW, she also did very well at her swim meet! ><>