Speaking solely for myself, and not for KCBS or the board...
Somebody please feel free to inform me how you have determined that this survey was done on behalf of Sam's or Wal Mart. As a member of the board that's information that I don't have. What I saw, and participated in was a survey that could help KCBS attract additional partners.
It's not the place of KCBS, to force a PARTNER to 'give, and give, and give'. Financially, they are giving quite a bit to BBQ. Beyond that they are giving a LOT of teams the opportunity to compete in a unique series. Their total investment is beyond sizeable when you look at the costs involved. I was in Midwest City for the first trial event before the series was rolled out the following year. I can tell you that there were executives there from Bentonville and they were seeking feedback from teams about what they could do to better serve them. Is there profit motive there? Absolutely! Is there a benefit to teams if they received some reasonable feedback? Absolutely!
Some of us may not agree on this issue, but Sam's/Wal Mart has been good to BBQ in my personal opinion. If you disagree then I'd love to see another example of anyone willing and able to fund a series that could come close to providing as much opportunity, to as many members, accross the entire country.
My .02, and my opinion only.