Comments Off on The Great Brunswick BBQ Throwdown Brunswick, MD
By Mark Kenney, Pitmaster of Sauce This! BBQ
The 2nd Annual “The Great Brunswick BBQ Throwdown” kicked off the MABA contest season for 2018 on March 2nd and 3rd! A nor’easter decided to greet it on Friday to make load in a bit of a challenge from time to time. Winds gusted well above 60 mph at some points but BBQ Competitors are a hard crowd to scare off. Thankfully the winds died down good bit over Friday night and the weather remained warmer than last year.
The Steadman-KeenanAmericanLegionPost96 hosted the cooks meeting, a breakfast, some dinner activities as well as opened its doors so the judges would have a warm and comfortable place to do what they do!
The contest is located in downtown Brunswick next to the local train station. The Brunswick Heritage Museum was recently renovated and makes for an interesting side jaunt to see railway history as well as a large interactive model train layout.
The awards were hosted in one of the towns local parks and featured custom made trophies from one of the local supporters of the contest. Out of the 29 teams: Uncle Pig’s Barberque Pit scored a first place chicken, Old Virginia Smoke a 1st place Ribs, Poke N Smoke 1st place Pork and Smoke-aholics finished off the individual meats with a 1st place brisket. The final tally ended with Uncle Pig’s Barbecue Pit taking the RGC and Old Virginia Smoke taking the Grand Championship the second year in the row at this contest with a dominant score! This also earned them the first MABA region Jack draw of the year!
A special thanks to all those involved in pulling off a contest with less than perfect weather. It’s part of what the BBQ cooks expect but we appreciate the hard work and dedication of all those involved in powering through during it. All in all, it was a great kick off to the 2018 MABA season and we can’t wait for next years Brunswick Throwdown!
Comments Off on MABA Annual Meeting a Huge Success!
February 10th brought the annual meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Barbecue Association. Our venue was Addy’s in Manassas, Virginia and the support from the membership was strong, selling out the event. MABA President Luke Darnell had a full slate on the agenda and got started promptly at noon. After opening remarks, it was right into Tier I and the new Tier II awards. Congratulations to all who heard their name called and received awards and money! Here’s how the top ten. in each category ended up:
TIER I
CHICKEN:
10th place – Checkered Flag 500
9th place – 3N1 Q
8th place – Shortsville Smokers
7th place – Redneck Scientific
6th place – Wolfs Revenge
5th place – Sauce This! BBQ
4th place – 420Q
3rd place – 3Eyz BBQ
2nd place – Rockin Robyn’s
1st place, 2017 Bill Allen Memorial Chicken Team of the Year- Old Virginia Smoke
RIBS:
10th place – Sauce This! BBQ
9th place – Drillin and Grillin
8th place – Checkered Flag 500
7th place – 3N1 Q
6th place – Rockin Robyn’s
5th place – Lo -n -Slow
4th place – Muttley Crew
3rd place – Wolf’s Revenge
2nd place – Aporkalypse Now
1st place – 3 Eyz BBQ
PORK:
10th place – Checkered Flag 500
9th place – Old Virginia Smoke
8th place – 420Q
7th place – The Smokehouse Mafia
6th place – Lo – n – Slo BBQ
5th place – Redneck Scientific
4th place – Rockin Robyn’s
3rd place… – Wolf’s Revenge
2nd place – Shortsville Smokers
1st place – Aporkalypse Now
BRISKET:
10th place – Aporkalypse Now
9th place – Rockin Robyn’s
8th place – 3N1 Q
7th place – Sauce This! BBQ
6th place – Lo -N- Slo
5th place – Old Virginia Smoke
4th place – Rhode Hog
3rd place – 420Q
2nd place – Wolf’s Revenge
1st place – Checkered Flag 500 BBQ
OVERALL:
10th place – Drilling and Grilling
9th place – Muttley Crew
8th place – Redneck Scientific
7th place – Shortsville Smokers
6th place – Lo -n -Slo
5th place – Aporkalypse Now
4th place – Checkered Flag 500
3rd place – Rockin Robyns
2nd place – Old Virginia Smoke
1st place – Wolf’s Revenge
TIER II
CHICKEN:
10th place – Butt Up or Shut Up
9th place – Smokin’ Aint Easy
8th place – Smokin’ Foolz
7th place – Smokopolis
6th place – Smoke N BArrels BBQ
5th place – The BBQ Guru
4th place – Red Valley BBQ
3rd Place – Crimson Q
2nd place – Black Hart BBQ
1st place – 2 Rhodies
RIBS:
10th place – 2 Rhodies
9th place – Little Luke’s BBQ
8th place – The BBQ Guru
7th place – Holdin’ My BBQ
6th place – Lil Will’s Southern Que
5th place – The Bearded One BBQ
4th place – Black Hart BBQ
3rd place – Butt Up or Shut Up
2nd place – Dante’s Inferno
1st place – Smokey Dog
PORK
10th place – Ribs Within
9th place – Fireside Alchemy
8th place – Funny Bones BBQ
7th place – All Fired Up BBQ
6th place – Old Town Smokers
5th place – Hoos Smokin’
4th place – Black Hart BBQ
3rd place – Smokin Hoggz BBQ
2nd place – Christmas City BBQ
1st place – Dr. Pearl’s Medicinal Smoke BBQ Team
BRISKET:
10th place – Little Luke’s BBQ
9th place – Crimson Q
8th place – BBQ Guru
7th place – Game On BBQ
6th place – 2 Rhodies BBQ
5th place – Christmas City BBQ
4th place – Shady Crew
3rd place – Dr. Pearl’s Medicinal Smoke BBQ Team
2nd place – Smokin HOggz BBQ
1st place – Dante’s Inferno
OVERALL
10th place – Big D’s BBQ
9th place – Slower Lower BBQ
8th place – Nice Racks
7th place – Butt Up or Shut Up
6th place – Funny Bones BBQ
5th place – Christmas City BBQ
4th place – The BBQ Guru
3rd place – Black Hart BBQ
2nd place – Dante’s Inferno
1st place – Dr. Pearls Medicinal Smoke BBQ Team
MABA Rookie Team of the Year for 2017 – Love N Smoke
After the awards, a special President’s award was presented to Sauce This BBQ. Then it was onto the raffle for the three smokers and Grizzy Coolers. Special thanks to BBQ Guru for the Monolith Ceramic Grill, Deep South Smokers for the Mailbox Smoker, and Traeger for the Pro Series 34. Also, thanks to Eric Forrester of Mason Dixon BBQ Services for donating two Grizzly coolers. Here are the winners of these items:
Monolith Ceramic Grill – Tex Loudenslager
Deep South Mailbox Smoker – Todd Johnston
Traeger Pro Series 34 – Jason Bradfield
Grizzly Cooler – Rolfe Garrett
Grizzly Cooler – Chris Safley
Finally, perhaps the best part of the meeting, the raffle for nearly 40 contests and dozens of barbecue related prizes! All in all, the MABA Annual Banquet was a tremendous success. Thanks to all of our sponsors and generous companies that donated product for the raffles pictured below. Congratulations to everyone who won awards and raffle prizes, we can’t wait to see everyone in 2018 on the competition trail.
Comments Off on MABA Well Represented at the KCBS Banquet
by Luke Darnell, MABA President and Pitmaster for Old Virginia Smoke
2017 was another fantastic year for MABA teams at the upper levels of the KCBS rankings. This region continues to thrive year in and year out, and has become a force to be reckoned with in the BBQ world. Congrats to all that heard their name called at the KCBS Banquet in January, and good luck to everyone in the upcoming year!
Wondering what others do during the BBQ “off season”, aside from taking classes and practicing their craft with family and friends? Team 270 SMOKERS and team MEAT COMA offer an inside glimpse on what happens at their respective team HQs during the off-season.
Team 270 SMOKERS
By Stephanie West
My first reaction to this topic was to chuckle, “Off-season? What’s that?!” In our early years competing, our 1st event was Memorial Day weekend and the last was mid-October. Now our season starts the 1st weekend of February and it’ll end the 3rd week in December. We’ll travel 25,000 miles in a F350 Dually pulling a 5th wheel (39′ Raptor with dedicated competition kitchen) — typically without a real vacation during the season.
So during the short “off-season”, we have 2 primary goals:
1. Decompress and rejuvenate — mentally and physically. After the last comp of the year, we steal away for a week (2 if we can), preferably in a warmer climate, to hike in the mountains or camp on the beach. After a few days of “a whole lotta nothin'”, and 10 days or so of hiking/walking, we’re in the right frame of mind to re-engage with the world and think about the next season!
Part B to this goal is longer-term, intended to counter the occupational hazards of being BBQ road-warriors (yes, battling “the BBQ physique”). The sugar-laden rubs and sauces and other tasty amenities of a BBQ life – coupled with endless stretches of windshield time – will take it’s toll on most any waistline, let alone knees, hips, backs, etc. Refined sugar and processed foods cause inflammation, increasing the risk for diabetes, heart disease, and brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s. That’s serious stuff. So this is our window to “recalibrate” our habits — dial back our sugar intake (ideally, to less than 20 grams a day) and focus on creating interesting nutrient-dense, fiber-rich foods, moderate portion-sizes, and more exercise for non-comp days. Far from absolute, we just try to be mindful and strike a better balance — “everything in moderation, even moderation!” We have much more stamina, and alot less pain, for the competition season and beyond.
2. Minimize chaos. When Terry takes “a day off”, it is inevitably spent in the toolshop building “stuff to hold our stuff”, gadgets to streamline our cook process, or ways to ease loading up for a trip…in short, to reduce chaos so we can just focus on the ‘q. He is a wealth of ideas on creating better ways to execute BBQ and BBQ-related travel. He keeps a mental list as the season is winding down, and we review what items we truly used in the trailer during the year (aiming to remove anything that wasn’t and consolidate the rest). Last year he created our new burnt ends jig, which really improved rendering our brisket. He also converted the bed rails in the cook bay to hold caddies for our knives, rubs, and supplies – at a push of a button, they’re lifted out of the way or brought down to a readily-accessible height. With that, we shed at least 3 bins that always took up valuable space on the counter. He has at least 10 projects on the slate for this winter. If you see us at a comp, never hesitate to swing by to ask Terry “what’s the latest in your trailer?!” – he’s eager to share ideas that may help another team. And if you left home without a tool, it’s a safe bet that Terry has one that you can use. As we say around our place, “MacGuyver was a rookie!” Indeed.
Team Meat Coma-Off Season Prep
By Amy Overbey
When the idea of co-writing an article about pre-season prep came up, my initial response was to sit back and let others volunteer because as an all tent team we don’t have that much to prep. Then I thought, you know what, we are not the only team on the circuit cooking out of tents. So, I unmuted my phone and said, sure I’ll do it! So here goes…
Whether you are a tent, trailer or a super fancy RV team you have prep to do before every season and before and after every comp. For us, while we are unloading our rented trailer and putting everything back in its rightful home in our garage or kitchen pantry we are taking inventory on things we need to replace, replenish or no longer take with us. Because we do that each and every week we compete, our pre-season “physical” prep is basically done with our end of year unload.
However, that doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface on the pre-season prep for us and many other teams. The “mental” prep that comes along with starting a new season may be the most difficult and time consuming process. We started talking about next season the second last season ended. Those talks have come and gone throughout the off season and now with the season looming upon us, we are talking about it constantly. We talk about it amongst our team and with other teams who we have built strong relationships with along this journey. We discuss every aspect of BBQ, from fun to serious and from probable to impossible. For the purposes of this article I will share a few of the biggest topics for us, choosing a comp, cooking tweaks and practice.
First, choosing a comp, simple question right? Wrong, so wrong!!! This used to be easier when we first started because there weren’t that many comps within a reasonable travel distance for us and we typically chose based on travel time. Because we are a tent team, we have to pick up our rented trailer on Friday mornings, pack that trailer, make the drive, unload the trailer, start drinking (errrr I mean setting up and prepping) and then get cooking. We now have a vast selection of amazing comps within our geographic area so this process has gotten increasingly more difficult for us. We now choose based on geography, dates that work for child and dog sitters, our historical performance at an event, who else is doing the comp (we are quite the social team) and finally, cost to enter and payouts. This process is a difficult one each year and one that we spend a lot of time talking and, honestly, best guessing about. We would love to compete more, but just can’t swing it with our schedules. The recent addition of Tier 2 for MABA ToY’s has added an extra layer to this whole thing as we want to compete enough to qualify, but not go over the limit to be back up against the big boys and girls of BBQ.
The next thing we focus on is what things about our cook should be tweaked from last season. First we look at what categories were our best (thanks BBQData.com for making this process so much easier), why were they our best, what should we change, why should we change? Again, being a Tier 2 team impacts this aspect greatly. As such, we only have a small batch of sample data to rely on and we all know that is really not very reliable at all. We try to do the best we can and we talk to other teams and judges to see what they are doing and what worked for them. For some teams this may also include taking a class. We have done that in the past and certainly hope to work more into the mix in the future. This season we have decided to make the most changes to Chicken and Brisket. They have been our 2 best historical performers, but we feel they need to be a bit more consistent and we made changes to Pork and Ribs last year so it’s time. Secret alert…I have always de-boned, removed the skin and continued to scrape all the fat from each and every one of my 18-21 chicken thighs. This process takes me more time than I have and/or care to spend on this activity, on a Wednesday night of comp week, so I will no longer be doing all of that. What am I doing…you will have to wait and see!! (Come on, you didn’t think I was going to tell you…did you??) As for Brisket we are playing with the various ways the meat can be divided prior to, during and after the cook to see if that has any effect on the consistency of the cook time and the end product. It has to right? Right! The real question is, what is that effect and which end product will the judges like most. Only time and turn-ins will tell.
Finally, and this kind of goes hand in hand with the tweaks above, is practice. Practicing these changes is obviously important, but perhaps even more important is who you test the practice on. We already know we cook the best BBQ in our neighborhood and we challenge anyone to come and take that title from us, but that doesn’t seem to equate to cooking the best BBQ at each comp we compete in. So, we have friends from other teams come and try our food and give honest feedback and we are planning to have judges come to taste our practices to provide additional real time feedback. We realize each contest and set of judges will produce a different response, but we feel we can gather some real insights from those who are tasting and cooking this stuff week after week. We also know we are our own biggest fans and certainly worst critics, so we are working hard to take each call or non-call with a grain of salt and keep looking forward to the next comp. We can celebrate our victories and rest on our laurels or sulk in our losses and change it all every week, but what fun or point would any of that be?? The answer is, it wouldn’t and if I have learned anything over our 7 year career in BBQ it is this…if you aren’t having fun while doing this, you are doing something wrong. No off season prep needed for that, just sign up, give it your best and enjoy this upcoming BBQ season with family and friends!!!
Comments Off on Addendum to the Sponsorship Article
The Newsletter team got a response back from Bill Ames of Make it Meaty. Bill has been a long-time supporter of MABA and sponsor of teams for some time. We appreciate him taking time out of the busy holiday season to respond. The newsletter staff wanted to make sure we got his take on sponsorships in the world of competition BBQ.
While first and foremost Bill has a product to sell. Anyone that knows Bill Ames knows his passion is just as much about educating cooks on how to properly use his products. BBQ sponsorships and relationships with teams are a means to this end…..and winning with his products never hurts either.
Some takeaways from his response to our request were:
“Use common sense.” Spread the word about the product that is supporting you. MiM is a one man company. So when they take on a team to sponsor it comes straight out of Bill’s pocket. Support the brand and don’t be afraid to ask questions about the product to more effectively use it in your program. As mentioned in the original newsletter column, a common theme among sponsors is the need for good communication with the teams that they support. The sponsor and the team benefit from good results and good communication.
Don’t send “form letters” to potential sponsors asking for support. This is especially true if you do not have a history of using the product. Build a relationship with the product and the product vendor, then go from there. I know that almost every BBQ class out there (including my own and every class I have taken) has a time when we talk about BBQ sponsorships. I encourage relationship building vs. the scatter gun method in my class. Not every product is good for your program simply because they want to sponsor you and the flip side is also true. Just because you may be a successful BBQ team, it does not mean that the product vendors will be knocking down your door to give you free product.
Have some skills. “I am not looking for people who can’t cook. I sell ingredients, not unicorn fairy dust.” Probably the most critical statement in the entire reply from Bill. But it is a very true statement. There is no ingredient that is going to take someone who has no cooking or BBQ skills and turn them into the KCBS Team of the Year. I know that sponsors look at sponsored team’s results for intel for how to improve or add to their product line. Sponsors will also occasionally jump in and offer advice to teams that may be struggling with their product. The sponsored team has to bring some skills to the table.
Sometimes relationships with sponsors come to a close. Bill says, “I think the most important thing I expect from my sponsored teams is enough respect that, before they jump ship to one of my competitors, they have the common courtesy to discuss it with me, first.” It really goes back to response #1. Communication between the sponsor and team should be the first and foremost priority in a sponsor/team relationship.
Bill Ames, thanks again for taking the time to share your thoughts with the MABA membership! Best to you and Make it Meaty in 2018!
Comments Off on MABA President Luke Darnell Teaches at Traeger Headquarters
Earlier this month, Luke Darnell, president of MABA and pitmaster of Old Virginia Smoke, had the opportunity to teach a BBQ shop class at Traeger Headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah.
There were fifty eager people to sit down for four hours and get some tips and tricks to make great BBQ. Here are some pictures from the event–
Comments Off on MABA T-Shirts Pre-Order Sale until February 12th, 2018!
MABA has come up with a couple of stellar t shirt designs for 2018! All proceeds from the t shirt sales will be donated to Operation BBQ Relief in February!
Comments Off on So, You Want to Find Some Sponsorship for Your Competition BBQ Team?
By Mark Gibbs, Pitmaster of Checkered Flag 500 BBQ and Brian Walrath, Pitmaster of Brown Liquor BBQ
The 2017 barbecue season is done, the points have all been earned, and the coals put out. Winter in the Mid-Atlantic is a good time to do some competition practice and start preparing for the 2018 season. But this is also a good time of year to think about reaching out to potential sponsors. They too are likely not super busy and evaluating their sales for 2017 and putting together their marketing plans for 2018. One of the items on their list is likely, which teams to sponsor next barbecue season. Mark and I thought this would be a good time to share some of our experiences and tips for deciding who and how to approach sponsors for help for your barbecue team. We even reached out to a few of our sponsors and others for comment and incorporated their thoughts into our tips below:
Mark Gibbs:
We reached out to some of the companies that we see sponsoring teams on the competition BBQ circuit to get some thoughts on what it takes to obtain sponsorship for your BBQ team. We got a few responses and wanted to share some thoughts with our members that may help in your search.
The main things that sponsors told me are they want teams that are be positive first. Really, not winners first? Yep they want teams that will shine a positive light on their products first and foremost. You could be the winningest team in BBQ, but if you are not respected by your fellow competitors and BBQ fans you do not bring much value to the table. The other factor was they like to sponsor teams that keep their product visible. Hang a banner, wear a shirt at awards. Return on investment (ROI) is what keeps sponsors in your stable from year to year.
Be Specific!
The first sponsor that I ever had for my team was 3 Eyz BBQ. I did a class with them that set the tone for my entire competition BBQ team going forward. I had a 3 Eyz “experience” class where I got to watch the team in action at Pork in the Park in 2012. It was a blast! My team ended up earning the MABA Rookie of the Year in 2012. When Dan congratulated me at the MABA awards banquet, I said “hey you should sponsor me”. He said, “ok will you use 3 Eyz in social media and on a banner?” Of course I jumped in and said yes! Dan handed me two pounds of 3 Eyz rub and said you are sponsored. He laughed and said,”I have just taught you your first lesson in BBQ sponsorship…….be specific in what you ask for!” Dan supplied us with all of that great 3 Eyz rub we needed going forward, but the lesson was certainly learned.
Does the product really work with your BBQ team program?
Display your sponsor’s logo prominently. Here’s a good example of Pitmaster Neil Pappalardo of Grand Slam BBQ displaying his beer sponsor on a nice banner in their cook site.
Just because the ABC Sauce Company of Walla Walla, Washington is going to give you a couple of cases of sauce for sponsorship doesn’t mean it is a great thing for your team. Be willing to promote the product that you are getting sponsorship for. If you believe in the product that you are getting sponsorship for it benefits both you and the sponsor.
Don’t have competing sponsors!
In my experience, most if not all of the sponsorships I have had have been done with a handshake and a thank you for both sides. So you struck a deal to have the Joe Chunk Charcoal Company to throw you a pallet of charcoal in 2018! That’s great! In May, you switch smokers and get sponsored by Big Red Charcoal because they have great lump charcoal. Joe Chunk Charcoal is probably not going to be happy to see that Big Red Charcoal on the back of your trailer.
Sponsorships are two-way commitments. Sponsors expect a return on their investment and having teams that have committed to them competing products is probably the biggest no-no! If you have changed up your program and are no longer using the products that you have been given, offer to return the unused product and let the sponsor know the situation. Most are very understanding about the changing landscape of competition BBQ and you never know when your paths may cross again. Keep doors open on both sides.
Social Media Presence
Showcase your sponsors on your social media. Pretty easy to tell two of this team’s sponsors just by glancing at their Facebook cover page!
Almost every team and team member has a social media presence. Facebook, Twitter, Websites and Instagram just to mention a few. Commit to promoting your sponsors with POSITIVE social media posts. Always recognize them when you are talking about your BBQ team. Just his past season there were a couple of stories where sponsors pulled their sponsorship from some teams and some big events because of some unpopular social media threads. One tournament director said, “Sponsors have a lot of options where to spend their dollars. Sponsors monitor social media and make marketing decisions based on some of the negative things they read on social media.”
Give you sponsors positive media with great pictures and stories about how their product and support help your team compete each week.
Sometimes the answer is No!
Not every sponsor has deep enough pockets to sponsor every team that comes to them looking for sponsorship help. You may be having a wildly successful year and you send a letter or email to the Joe Chunk Charcoal Company. They may or may not respond or they may respond with a form letter thanking you, but after careful consideration……yadda yadda….you get the rest. But don’t take that as a slap in the face to your team’s success. Send them a letter thanking them for their consideration and let them know you are still excited about their product and you will reach out again in the future. It took me three years to get my charcoal sponsorship.
I love email, but sometimes a letter with a stamp on it is much more personal
Send a letter. Yes the one in an envelope with a stamp and a real piece of paper in it. I talked to a technical recruiter a while back and he said that letters get noticed. They stay on a desk and are visible. Sometimes emails get lost in the Inbox. It happens to all of us.
Last but certainly not least……don’t take sponsorship for granted.
Wear their gear! If sponsors outfit you with hats, tee shirts, and other swag…use it. Don’t just use it, take pictures with it on and post it to your social media!
Never assume…..we all know what happens when you assume…..that the sponsors you had in 2017 are still going to be with you in 2018. And hopefully, they don’t assume the same. Good communication is key here. This week I am writing letters to my sponsors thanking them for helping us out in 2017 and asking for their continuing support in 2018. Try to include a picture with their banner, shirt or hat and all the nice bling that you won using their products this past year.
Budgets change, situations change for both the team and sponsor and perhaps they are ending their sponsorship program or you are no longer using Super Brand Sauce in your program. Communicate, so you both know what is happening in the New Year!
Hopefully, you were able to get some tips on how to look for and obtain sponsorship for your BBQ team in 2018!
Brian Walrath:
My Take on Sponsorship and Communicating with Sponsors
Let’s face it, competition barbecue is expensive. It’s even more expensive if you’re a one man or one family team and fitting the bill out of one household account. Costs for a typical contest are at least $500-700 on the cheap and typically over $1K after you factor in everything purchased for the weekend. The best way to offset these costs besides taking on a partner to split costs is in the form of sponsorship help. Very few sponsors are offering actual money to help with expenses or registration fees, but what they will often help with is their product. And every little bit helps!
When thinking about approaching sponsors, I always took a step back and tried to approach my targets with a realistic point of view. As an up and coming team that continues to get better each year (ok, ignore 2017), Brown Liquor BBQ, in recent years I’ve felt our team was finally in a position to start talking to companies about sponsorships/partnerships. I think you don’t have to be the best team on the block and have a long list of wins, top 10s, calls, etc…but you do have to have some…SOME results you can present. The other thing is, what products do you really want, or more importantly, need! Let’s face it, unless you’re Myron Mixon or Tuffy Stone, you’re not calling up a smoker builder, well known meat supplier, or overpriced (sorry, my cynical side) cooler company and getting free stuff. Think about the stuff you use every competition…products that you know well, trust to perform, and can get behind.
Taking your post competition award photos are a great opportunity to feature your sponsors logos or products in the picture…this is a great way to thank them for your success!
Keep in mind also that writing or contacting sponsors is also a numbers game. You have to send many letters and emails before you get a reply…if you even get a reply. If you’re ever at an event where representatives from the company, or even better, the owner is present, take that opportunity to approach them and ask if they will give you five minutes to talk about their product. Also, this may not be the best time to come out and ask outright for a sponsorship. Maybe take a softer approach and say something like, “Are you currently sponsoring any new teams, and if so, what do you look for in a partnership.”
When you’re writing a potential sponsor, I like to include very specific information. Take the mental approach of, “what’s in it for THEM,” not you. Sure, you want to introduce yourself and talk briefly about your team history and accomplishments. But, what you want to concentrate on is how you can help them. Maybe it’s helping them break into a new or untapped market. When we approached Tub O’Towels, they sponsored a lot of race car companies and folks in the automotive industry. But I knew that the outdoor living market was one they had very little exposure with on their website and I made it clear I could give them that exposure, especially on the east coast in the Mid-Atlantic market that is heavily populated. Also, you want to build your social media footprint online. Sponsors look at your number of followers and fans and how often you post, and what you post about. Make it very clear that you will post about their products across all of your social media as much as possible and if they have any special sales or events, you’ll be happy to promote them. Finally, be very clear in your ask about what you’d be willing to do for them if they agreed a partnerships was a good fit. Be up front and tell them that you’d like product in exchange for things like social media posts, hanging a banner at your site, etc…
Swag is an awesome way to showcase your sponsor, especially when it’s in the form of a useful item like an apron!
Sponsors don’t always want the best teams…sometimes they want popular teams that have a big social presence that can influence other teams. Talk about your competition experience. We come right out and say, we’re a very social team and have folks over to our tent to talk about our products and equipment. We welcome the public in our site and often engage with them. At the end of the day a sponsor is in it for the exposure and sales. If you can help them do that, you’re worth something to them and they’ll invest in your team with product.
Finally, I’ll leave you with a quote from one of my current sponsors that I think reaffirms what Mark and have shared in this article:
“We look at how many competitions a year that teams attend, how they place in the competitions, and most importantly how active and well engaged they are on social media. It also helps if we see that they have posted kindly about other sponsors. We expect teams to display our large stickers (about 12″x14″) or our 2’x3′ banner and to occasionally tag us on social media posts.”
Good luck with acquiring new partners to work with in 2018, we hope these tips help!
Comments Off on FAQue – Get to Know Team JD’s Smokin Misfits
By Amy Overbey, MABA Board Member, the Princess of Poultry, and Co-Pitmaster of Team Meat Coma
WHO IS ON THE TEAM AND WHERE ARE YOU FROM?
My team consists of myself, my father Jerry Dyer, my mother Mary Dyer and my boyfriend Duane Underwood.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN COMPETING?
As a team, we have been competing over 15 years. However, I only took over as pitmaster at the beginning of the 2017 season.
My father and some of his friends cooked in a couple of the first few Memphis in May contests back when MIM first started. My father was a US Marine, and the contest was hurting for teams back then and asked the Marines to put together a team and participate. We didn’t do anything for years after that, then there was a contest in Fredericksburg over 15 years ago. Dad remembered how much fun he had when he had done the MIM contests so he wanted to try to do it again. We’ve been doing it ever since.
HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH YOUR TEAM NAME/LOGO?
Dad is a retired Marine, and one of his favorite Marines in history was MAJ “Pappy” Boyington who commanded the Black Sheep Squadron, who were also known as the ‘Flying Misfits’. So we are the Smokin’ Misfits. ????
WHAT SMOKER(S) DO YOU COOK ON?
We use a WSM for chicken and a Southern Q for everything else
IF YOU COULD ADD A 5TH CATEGORY, AND IT CAN BE ANYTHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE AND WHY?
I would make desserts an official category. I’ve always been good at those. Doing them on the smokers could be a challenge, though…
WHERE IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE TO COOK (CAN BE A FAVORITE COMP, BUT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE, CAN BE ANYWHERE)?
My favorite comp is the Covington Cork & Pork in Covington, VA. It’s a bit of a drive, but they treat the teams better than any other contest I’ve cooked recently.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BEVERAGE AT A COMPETITION?
Absolute favorite ‘go-to’ mixed drink has to be an Orange Crush. Sometimes that’s too much trouble, though, so I always make sure I’ve got some Peach or Grape ‘Lime-a-rita’ drinks in the cooler. And of course, I would never survive Saturdays without my Monster Rehabs.
ANY COMPETITION SUPERSTITIONS OR SOMETHING YOU CANNOT DO WITHOUT AT A COMPETITION?
We really only have one superstition, and that has to do with the way we cook our chicken. It’s a secret, though. ????
Last year I had to be injured for us to do well at a comp (broken bones, car accident, walked face first into the RV slide), and Dad threatened to injure me at every comp just to be sure (I’m fairly certain he was kidding). Thankfully we moved on from that this year (although our scores were bad enough at the beginning of the season that I was starting to fear for my safety ????)
WHAT IS YOUR GO TO FOOD AFTER A COMPETITION?
Anything but BBQ!! Seriously, if the vendors have any good fair-type food I’ll get some of that, but really anything that isn’t BBQ and that I didn’t have to cook.
IF YOU WEREN’T COMPETING ALL WEEKEND, WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING INSTEAD?
Probably reading and spending time with my animals. I’ve got 4 cats and 2 big dogs that miss me when I’m gone.
Comments Off on Important Information About the 2017 BoD Election, Please Read
The MABA Board of Directors has decided to restart the 2017 Board of Directors election due to a glitch in the ElectionBuddy software that would not allow voters to select fewer than 4 candidates. While there were only 4 candidates for 4 open positions, the Board of Directors wanted to make sure that the integrity of the election process was honored and allows members to vote for any number of candidates that they wish. The election has been extended a day to Sunday, December 17th at 11:45pm.
Sorry for any inconvenience and we hope that the issues have been completely resolved. The first ballot that you received is no longer valid and that version of the election has been closed. You should have received the new ballot in your inbox of the email you have registered with your MABA membership.
By Mark Kenney, Pitmaster of Sauce This! BBQ
