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President's Message - February 2012 Dana Hillis - FBA President

2011 came to an end with a great Triple Crown contest. Terry McKay finished off the year on the top of the Team of the Year chase and Marty Hyde won the Judge of the Year race. (I think Karen's rum cake had something to do with it). Christmas and New Years flew right on by and here we are halfway through January and the 2012 season is in full swing. You know the year is starting off well when 50 teams show up in Naples to do barbecue battle and 26 new judges become certified at a first class judging school. The weather was great and a good crowd showed up to help the Rotary Club make some money for their list of charities. Fort Pierce has become a contest you don't want to miss. Our good friend Jim "Big Daddy" McCoin looked great and it was good to see him feeling well. Tommy with Southern Eagle distributors always makes the BBQ teams feel at home with plenty of cold refreshments and first-class entertainment. All the barbecue folks enjoyed the Confederate Railroad and The Kentucky Headhunters and it was a nice cool night for a concert. Tommy with Blitzkrieg BBQ won Reserve Grand Champion and to be able to watch him get the shakes and be so excited makes competition barbecue the great sport it is. Several teams are working there way to the top and 2012 will be fun to see how many guys win their first Grand titles. The new members of the FBA Board of Directors has stepped right in and gotten busy taking care of business. Membership renewal is something we are working hard on and I want everyone to take their new calendars and write down the date your membership is due - either December or June. We have made some changes to the Triple Crown qualifications to make it easier to qualify if you want to. We have also landed several sponsors that want to help make the Triple Crown a big success again this year. The winner of the Triple Crown Invitational this year is going to take home a brand new Jack's Old South Smoker. Myron Mixon has donated one of his new line of cookers to give to the champ, and you need to check his cookers out on his website. While you're there, you can pick up one of Myron's new cookbooks - all BBQ'ers gotta have this one in their library. Jan Costa with Florida Fresh Beef Company has come on board as a sponsor and is excited to be a part of the FBA. Git-R-Smoked is sponsored by Florida Fresh Beef Company and we all see how well that team is working. Check them out at this link. Terry McKay and his Custom Graphics Company has been a big supporter of the FBA and he is also sponsoring the Triple Crown. Terry has wrapped trailers and made banners for a lot of us and has been a good friend to the FBA. Check out his website or give him a shout at a contest. Dan Buchanan, a long time judge and FBA member, is working on some good things for us and the winners of all the nine Triple Crown contests will win a combo case of Big Papa's BBQ sauces. Hot Wachulas is working on some prizes also. Be sure you sign up for the Triple Crown events! There will be bonus prizes for each Triple Crown event winner, also if you cook 10 FBA contests this year, you get invited to the Invitational! Call your contest organizer and tell them you're coming to their contest! Renew your memberships and anyone interested in becoming an FBA contest Rep, please contact Tony Wolfe. Look at the schedule and help support the new contests coming up. See you at a contest soon. Bless our troops and I miss you Pop. Dana "Big Papa" Hillis

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