Team of the Year Board Debacle

kihrer said:

For the record, I never said who you cook with is inconsequential.

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You didn't say that but one of the current board members pretty much did during that meeting. They were making the argument for cook of the year and said well the head cook does all the work anyway. Rod Grays team might work like that (although I bet his wife wouldn't agree) but my team doesn't . I only bring up Rod because his name was used a few times during the meeting.

In looking at the top 25, I don't see many who compete by themselves. There's no reason to make something "Cook of the Year" just because KCBS doesn't want to work it out and fix the issue correctly. It's a cop out to just say "we're going to call it CoY". I may or may not ever be in a points chase again as I was in 2010 but I can tell you this - if I am and it's for COOK of the year and I'm recognized and not my wife for all of her hard work and dedication to this, I'll never do it again. Cook of the Year discounts the efforts and contributions of a LOT of people, who in many cases, make it possibly for the so called chief cooks to do what they do. I feel really, really strongly about this! Find a way to make "Team of the Year" work within the guidelines we need it to be under and implement it already!

Yeah, it did seem like Rod's name was mentioned a time or two . I just wonder how much Don Harwell would have to pay Rod to cook under his (Don's) team name for a year - I'll bet Don doesn't want to hear the answer to that one.

I want to say that if my grandkids acted like some of the BoD members did in that download, those kids would at the least be standing in corners.

I do not understand the issue when one of the comps wasnt sanctioned by KCBS? Maybe i am missing something :laugh:

Should be pointed out i was referring to the conversation that took place with about 10 mins left of the meeting.

Smokedelic said:

How many teams have multiple cooks? Only a few, probably. How many teams could have multiple cooks? All of them. Why not get ahead of the game and come out with a system that addresses a few major potential issues instead of always being reactionary?

And while this issue may or may not affect me, it does and has affected people I am friends with, as I'm sure is the case with others here. So if I express concern over the fact that the system needs to be proactively addressed, even though it may not affect me directly, just know that it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside to think that a thoughtful discussion on the matter may eventually help out some of my friends. Fair enough?

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Exactly what are you proposing?

I have no problem with Team X, being able to cook for points if the normal chief cook is unavailable on a given weekend and another cook that was declared as a member of the team at the beginning of the year cooks the contest. I think that team deserves the points. I'm not willing to penalize a team for family illness, work obligations, etc....

If your concern is that Team X could split in order to cook two different contests in areas of the country that one normally couldn't drive to in order to cook both I can listen to that argument. That can be solved by making it a rule that the same head cook must be present at both contests on a given weekend to earn points. Beyond that the team is able to designate in advance which contest they are cooking for points, and in the other they cook simply for $ and bragging rights.

I think we need to be careful in this discussion, and I'm not calling ANYONE out. My primary concern since this has become an issue is making sure that we don't end up with a system that effectively tells people who they can or can't cook with either by design or as some unintended result.

The data management issues are there, but they can be handled. What's more important are reasonable rules that won't have to constantly tweaked and massaged from year to year to correct mistakes made now.

All of this drama for less than 1% of the teams? Why don't we leave it alone and put this effort in to figuring out how to get the other 95% of the members involved.

YankeeBBQ said:

I think this special meeting shows the need for active committees. All of this stuff should be hashed out in a committee meeting and then their suggestions should be presented to the board. To try and resolve these issues in an open meeting of the board is next to impossible. They talk and talk and talk and nothing gets resolved

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Exactly.

YankeeBBQ said:

I think this special meeting shows the need for active committees. All of this stuff should be hashed out in a committee meeting and then their suggestions should be presented to the board. To try and resolve these issues in an open meeting of the board is next to impossible. They talk and talk and talk and nothing gets resolved

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Would you then have all committee meetings recorded for MP3 like board meetings for interested members? I foresee transparency issues if they aren't handled this way.

Candy Sue said:

Would you then have all committee meetings recorded for MP3 like board meetings for interested members? I foresee transparency issues if they aren't handled this way.

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Personal opinion based on past experiences with organizations that have boards and committees: I would think that committees could operate in a less organized fashion. No need for organized conference calls. Talk via eMail and other loose means to come up with a recommendation. As long as all the committee does is produce a proposal and it is up to the BOD member representing the committee to bring a proposal and/or motion to the BOD, and the text of the committee's artifact is public, and the vote is public, I don't see an issue with that. But that's me.

dmp

Candy Sue said:

Would you then have all committee meetings recorded for MP3 like board meetings for interested members? I foresee transparency issues if they aren't handled this way.

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I can't speak for Steve, but I'd begin with a committee composed of members willing to serve and have their names made public. The committee would have the responsibility of delivering a written report and recommendation to the BoD for action, that would be included within the minutes.

As it is now, we aren't getting recordings or minutes from committee meetings. I see it as a first step in the right direction.

YankeeBBQ said:

I think this special meeting shows the need for active committees. All of this stuff should be hashed out in a committee meeting and then their suggestions should be presented to the board. To try and resolve these issues in an open meeting of the board is next to impossible. They talk and talk and talk and nothing gets resolved

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That is the best a way to make this board workable

Candy Sue said:

Would you then have all committee meetings recorded for MP3 like board meetings for interested members? I foresee transparency issues if they aren't handled this way.

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What would the issues be? The Board makes the final call, the committees do research, brainstorming and submit their ideas. Interested members could be on the committees rather than just listening.

Candy Sue said:

Would you then have all committee meetings recorded for MP3 like board meetings for interested members? I foresee transparency issues if they aren't handled this way.

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Nope. The point of the committee is to be able to spend the required amount of time on a single subject and let all the dumb stuff be aired out and filtered before it comes to the board in an organized thought out manner via a written report. If the Board has questions about the report they go back to the committee, it gets hashed out and regurgitated some more until it's resolved to the boards satisfaction. All reports will be public and all suggestions would be public as well as the committees members. Complete transparency minus the awkward, embarrassing drama. This is of course just my opinion.

One other thing, I think all committee reports should have a short summary at the end that can be read during the meeting so when the BOD refers to a document in an MP3 recording the summery can be read and at least the membership knows what is being discussed and or voted on.

What about stating what time on the MP3 each point is discussed? Would certainly save time for those interested in certain issues.

British BBQ Society said:

What about stating what time on the MP3 each point is discussed? Would certainly save time for those interested in certain issues.

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I was thinking about this last night. A list of start times and topics would be helpful. I was also thinking maybe bookmarks or chapters in the recording would be useful, but I'm not sure if MP3 has that capabillity. Years ago when I was burning concert recordings to CD, there was a tool that allowed me to setup bookmarks in an MP3 and then cut it to each of those as a track. Maybe dividing up the big MP3 into smaller ones would work? If some one has the time and wants to do it, it would be cool to burn that to an ISO image playable as a CD. It could be mounted (MagicDisc on Windows) and played either in its entirety or for a specific track. I know I'm a geek and that seems like a lot of work, and may not be doable, but if some one was going to listen to it to make note of topic start/stop times, the act of cutting and/or burning takes only a little bit of extra time with the right software.

dmp

Before I start asking questions, does anyone know where a copy of the rules for the TOY can be found on the KCBS site?

I just don't want to taste shoe leather again by inserting my foot in my mouth.