2010 candidates for KCBS BOD

[Jeff_in_KC]

dont take this wrong Jeff but how are you going to chang things that the old gard does not want changed? i think that is what made rod quit but i dont know that for shure.

First off, if you want the old guard changed, vote for new blood. True, I can't change things by myself but is that a reason to vote for the same ol' same ol' that you don't like? It's a start, if nothing else. Elect me and I will do everything I can to support the issues you want supported until voting members can get more "reinforcements" the following year and the next. I'm not going to call any board member out for not doing a good job. I'll speak in general but I'm not pointing fingers. That's not in the spirit of what we need to do as an organization! My campaign for the last two and a half months has been to help bring harmony, respect and cooperation to the board. It's the only way we can accomplish what needs to be done for the future of the KCBS. I would tell ANY board member to be a part of the solution or step aside. For the last five years, I have been a part of a Parks Board here, the last year serving as president. I cannot recall a dissenting vote in ANY issue that's come up... everything is unanimous. Yes, there are disagreements sometimes on how to proceed but in the end, for the good of our community, we always come together. I want that to be an example for the KCBS. We need to get on the same page, stop the bickering and run this organization like YOU deserve it to be run!

 

[txschutte]

Well if a BoD member is not doing anything to report
Why should they be on the board?

Exactly my thoughts Thom. Jeff, do you have a decisive plan of action for yourself make sure BOD meetings are open for all members?

Not trying to stir the pot here, but in situations like the parsley ban, how will you encourage the KCBS to help out organizers? I understand the BOD can't foresee an ECOLI outbreak, but many organizers and competitors say it was ridiculously short on the notice.

 

[Merl]

Exactly my thoughts Thom. Jeff, do you have a decisive plan of action for yourself make sure BOD meetings are open for all members?

Not trying to stir the pot here, but in situations like the parsley ban, how will you encourage the KCBS to help out organizers? I understand the BOD can't foresee an ECOLI outbreak, but many organizers and competitors say it was ridiculously short on the notice.

I have been on the Board for four years. When elected the meetings were closed to the membership. Year I made a motion to kick open the door, it passed. That was the same year the was a motion to prevent BOD members from discussing bod business prior to meetings, publicly which failed. Year two for telephone access, voted down.
Year three for telephone access, voted down. Even tried to not have live meeting but pod cast, again defeated.
Year four for telephone access passed. (you should see who voted no, it may surprise you.)

There is a a lot of good discussion, but it is clear that many have not read the minutes and not aware of the actual votes. Go back and look and see how the people you talk about actually voted. I think it will help to make certain issues about budgets, visibility, and who actually is part of the future or the past will be clear.

Merl

 

[Plowboy]

Exactly my thoughts Thom. Jeff, do you have a decisive plan of action for yourself make sure BOD meetings are open for all members?

Not trying to stir the pot here, but in situations like the parsley ban, how will you encourage the KCBS to help out organizers? I understand the BOD can't foresee an ECOLI outbreak, but many organizers and competitors say it was ridiculously short on the notice.

I think you are referring to Parsleygate.

When folks start looking to vote out the old guard for the sake of change, let's not throw out the baby (or babies) with the bathwater. Linda and Mike will have my votes for re-election.

 

[LindaM]

Exactly my thoughts Thom. Jeff, do you have a decisive plan of action for yourself make sure BOD meetings are open for all members?

Not trying to stir the pot here, but in situations like the parsley ban, how will you encourage the KCBS to help out organizers? I understand the BOD can't foresee an ECOLI outbreak, but many organizers and competitors say it was ridiculously short on the notice.

BOD meetings are open to the public, at least the membership. I made this motion several months ago and passed. We have several members who have used this each month. You need to request to call in and fill out a form, you will be given a dial in number to call into the meeting.

As for the parsley that was the executive officers decision based on a special meeting. The entire board did not have any say in the matter.

 

[Jeff_in_KC]

Exactly my thoughts Thom. Jeff, do you have a decisive plan of action for yourself make sure BOD meetings are open for all members?

Not trying to stir the pot here, but in situations like the parsley ban, how will you encourage the KCBS to help out organizers? I understand the BOD can't foresee an ECOLI outbreak, but many organizers and competitors say it was ridiculously short on the notice.

The meetings are open to membership now. Could KCBS do more to make them more accessible to all members? Absolutely they could! But the current board has taken steps in the right direction. In today's world where technology can do darned near anything we hadn't even dreamed about ten years ago, there's little reason why if every member wanted to be able to listen in on meetings, they couldn't do so. Of course one limiting factor is cost. We can't break the bank to bring the meetings to everyone! But the board has made a start and should continue investigating every option available.

As for the parsley ban, I'm not sure how word could have been spread much earlier. I know it hit the Internet and spread like wildfire. KCBS must have a list of all organizers' emails and phone numbers. If it's just for one weekend, it shouldn't have been a big deal to make phone calls as soon as it was known. Then, it has to be on the organizers (which I am one myself) to contact their teams with the news. I think I always do a great job in keeping lines of communication open and as such, I would not have had a problem making 50 phone calls or dividing them up amongst our committee. That all being said, I believe the board members who had no say in determining the ban should not have been left out. No quorum, no official decision! Again, with the technology today, make it happen!

 

[monty3777]

I will certainly be voting for Barb Milroy!

 

[Plowboy]

The meetings are open to membership now. Could KCBS do more to make them more accessible to all members? Absolutely they could! But the current board has taken steps in the right direction. In today's world where technology can do darned near anything we hadn't even dreamed about ten years ago, there's little reason why if every member wanted to be able to listen in on meetings, they couldn't do so. Of course one limiting factor is cost. We can't break the bank to bring the meetings to everyone! But the board has made a start and should continue investigating every option available.

As for the parsley ban, I'm not sure how word could have been spread much earlier. I know it hit the Internet and spread like wildfire. KCBS must have a list of all organizers' emails and phone numbers. If it's just for one weekend, it shouldn't have been a big deal to make phone calls as soon as it was known. Then, it has to be on the organizers (which I am one myself) to contact their teams with the news. I think I always do a great job in keeping lines of communication open and as such, I would not have had a problem making 50 phone calls or dividing them up amongst our committee. That all being said, I believe the board members who had no say in determining the ban should not have been left out. No quorum, no official decision! Again, with the technology today, make it happen!

We got calls from the KCBS office as well as posts on the BBQ boards from Merl and calls from the contest organizer. Communication was handled really well.

 

[Jeff_in_KC]

We got calls from the KCBS office as well as posts on the BBQ boards from Merl and calls from the contest organizer. Communication was handled really well.

That's kinda what I figured based on the stir it quickly created. But it's like anything else... I'm sure some organizers did better than others, and some teams might not have been as available to be reached as others, hence the frustration on the part of some folks while others were satisfied. Hopefully in the future ALL are happy with the communication.

 

[motoeric]

There is a a lot of good discussion, but it is clear that many have not read the minutes and not aware of the actual votes. Go back and look and see how the people you talk about actually voted. I think it will help to make certain issues about budgets, visibility, and who actually is part of the future or the past will be clear.

Merl

I would love to do exactly that. Is there any place that the minutes are stored online? Very few of us hold on to old Bullsheets.


Eric

 

[motoeric]

I will certainly be voting for Barb Milroy!

No offense, but that's not very helpful. Why are you voting for Barb and why would you encourage others to do the same?

Eric

 

[Ford]

No offense, but that's not very helpful. Why are you voting for Barb and why would you encourage others to do the same?

Eric

Maybe you need to learn more about Barb and Bill. Barb has one of my votes and I encourage all seruious cooks and others to vote for her. A successful business partner with Bill in the BBQ industry and a top notch cooking team. Anybody that has been competing seriously for a few years should know them.

I also support Mike Lake and Joe Amore and I think they bring necessary qualifications to the BOD. I'm open on my fourth vote. I personally think that Paul Kirk will still pull enough votes to get in and truth is while I'd like to see more reports Paul is a competition cook, an successful restaurant owner and one of the original KCBS gang. If he's elected I'll be fine with it. I like Jeff from Big Creek for a lot of his opinions but must remember he has one vote out of 12. So vote #4 is open now.

Hopefully it will be a good campaign and we'll look at all aspects and not react to rumor and slander.

 

[MilitantSquatter]

Maybe you need to learn more about Barb and Bill. Barb has one of my votes and I encourage all seruious cooks and others to vote for her. A successful business partner with Bill in the BBQ industry and a top notch cooking team. Anybody that has been competing seriously for a few years should know them.

.

Ford - I think that's partially Eric's point.. Aside from an ad in the Bullsheet, it's hard to know everyone.. While I know the Milroy name from their Rib Ranger contest victories and sauces/rubs, I've not met her. Remember, not all KCBS members are long time vets, travel across the country etc. Personal recommendations from those we know are a good start, but supporting info explaining why they would make a great BOD member (aside from being good team) would also be helpful when you don't know someone personally.

 

[Skip]

As for the parsley ban, I'm not sure how word could have been spread much earlier. I know it hit the Internet and spread like wildfire. KCBS must have a list of all organizers' emails and phone numbers. If it's just for one weekend, it shouldn't have been a big deal to make phone calls as soon as it was known. Then, it has to be on the organizers (which I am one myself) to contact their teams with the news. I think I always do a great job in keeping lines of communication open and as such, I would not have had a problem making 50 phone calls or dividing them up amongst our committee. That all being said, I believe the board members who had no say in determining the ban should not have been left out. No quorum, no official decision! Again, with the technology today, make it happen!

Jeff I'm not sure if you remember but many people took issue with the parsley ban because the KCBS was compromising integrity by have a mid season rule change. Should the sanctioning body compromise itself due to a public health issue best handled by the BOH?

 

[Jeff_in_KC]

Jeff I'm not sure if you remember but many people took issue with the parsley ban because the KCBS was compromising integrity by have a mid season rule change. Should the sanctioning body compromise itself due to a public health issue best handled by the BOH?

Hi Skip... as I understood it, the question was in regards to communicating the decision only. Of course any decision needs to be communicated well. While it was not the proper decision IMHO, the communication seemed to be pretty decent. One of the big issues on my platform is not allowing mid-season rule changes. In fact, I would prefer having longer than a few months to make a change effective for two reasons: 1. the "season" begins at different times of the year in different parts of the country and 2. allowing a year or better before implementing rule changes allows everyone to become familiar with the change and to prepare for it, especially if it effects our process at contests. For example, if rules are discussed at the January Rules meeting at the banquet, they would likely be discussed by the Board over the next two months or so. Even if approved I would never want something approved to begin that spring when a majority of the country is just getting ready for the season! It should be January 1 of the following year so we all know it's coming and can prepare for it.

 

[Ford]

Ford - I think that's partially Eric's point.. Aside from an ad in the Bullsheet, it's hard to know everyone.. While I know the Milroy name from their Rib Ranger contest victories and sauces/rubs, I've not met her. Remember, not all KCBS members are long time vets, travel across the country etc. Personal recommendations from those we know are a good start, but supporting info explaining why they would make a great BOD member (aside from being good team) would also be helpful when you don't know someone personally.

Bottom line is I support her. I see no need to explain why or why I don't support somebody else. I made a personal recommendation on this board. There are many excellent candidates ad that's why I said #4 is up for grabs. It's one of many Boards. In the end I doubt that 1000 KCBS members are on this Board and many won't vote or Phil would be on the Board today. With over 12,000 members this electionswill be won by individuals that try to go to contests and try to get their message out to members. But in the end probably 75% of KCBS members will only know the candidates by their Bullsheet write up and their reputation.

I'll be glad to speak offline with anybody about why I support certain people but don't see myself having that discussion in this forum.

 

[monty3777]

No offense, but that's not very helpful. Why are you voting for Barb and why would you encourage others to do the same?

Eric

No offense taken. Here are my thoughts:

I discovered yesterday, to my joy, that Barb Milroy is a candidate for the 2010 KCBS Board of Directors. She has my complete support – as meaningless as that may be. I have had no conversation with Barb about her candidacy and I am writing this letter without her knowledge.

It would be enough form me that Barb and Bill have been active in competition barbeque for nearly two decades. It would be enough for me that Barb, as part of the Texas Rib Rangers, received a perfect score for sauce at the Jack Daniels Invitational. It would be enough for me that Barb has been an ambassador for the sport and culture of BBQ on such media outlets as the Food Network, The Discovery Channel, and CNN – to name a few.

However, what compels me to support Barb, and ask for your support of her candidacy, is her commitment to the future of competition BBQ. I know from personal experience Barb’s willingness to mentor new cooks and potential teams as they prepare to enter the world of KCBS sanctioned BBQ competitions. Barb and Bill personally hosted me during the 2008 Iowa State BBQ Championship and allowed me to witness their entire production. Barb sat me down and showed me how to trim chicken, prepare brisket, choose the proper ribs and prep pork butt. She also allowed me to watch as she prepared turn-in boxes (which she allowed me to film and post on youtube).
As I prepare for my third season as a competition BBQ cook I have come to realize how unique her generosity was and it shows me that Barb has a commitment to BBQ and the KCBS that goes well beyond any selfish need to be the best. She is a true ambassador, mentor, and diplomat and the members of KCBS would be better off with her in a leadership position.

Barb’s participation in competition BBQ gives her an understanding of the history of the sport and of KCBS, her continued participation gives her full knowledge of the issues currently facing the KCBS, and her mentoring spirit show her commitment to the future of our sport. I encourage you all to support her with your vote, just as she has supported our sport all the years.

 

[motoeric]

Thanks! I appreciate the background. She sounds like an excellent candidate.

Eric

 

[Plowboy]

No offense taken. Here are my thoughts:

I discovered yesterday, to my joy, that Barb Milroy is a candidate for the 2010 KCBS Board of Directors. She has my complete support – as meaningless as that may be. I have had no conversation with Barb about her candidacy and I am writing this letter without her knowledge.

It would be enough form me that Barb and Bill have been active in competition barbeque for nearly two decades. It would be enough for me that Barb, as part of the Texas Rib Rangers, received a perfect score for sauce at the Jack Daniels Invitational. It would be enough for me that Barb has been an ambassador for the sport and culture of BBQ on such media outlets as the Food Network, The Discovery Channel, and CNN – to name a few.

However, what compels me to support Barb, and ask for your support of her candidacy, is her commitment to the future of competition BBQ. I know from personal experience Barb’s willingness to mentor new cooks and potential teams as they prepare to enter the world of KCBS sanctioned BBQ competitions. Barb and Bill personally hosted me during the 2008 Iowa State BBQ Championship and allowed me to witness their entire production. Barb sat me down and showed me how to trim chicken, prepare brisket, choose the proper ribs and prep pork butt. She also allowed me to watch as she prepared turn-in boxes (which she allowed me to film and post on youtube).
As I prepare for my third season as a competition BBQ cook I have come to realize how unique her generosity was and it shows me that Barb has a commitment to BBQ and the KCBS that goes well beyond any selfish need to be the best. She is a true ambassador, mentor, and diplomat and the members of KCBS would be better off with her in a leadership position.

Barb’s participation in competition BBQ gives her an understanding of the history of the sport and of KCBS, her continued participation gives her full knowledge of the issues currently facing the KCBS, and her mentoring spirit show her commitment to the future of our sport. I encourage you all to support her with your vote, just as she has supported our sport all the years.

Your third paragraph is NOT "enough for me". Success and tenure alone are not enough for me. I see two BOD members today with resumes as long as many of us put together that are as worthless as they come.

Your fourth paragraph IS "enough for me". I want someone who is involved... really involved at the competition level. This can be a cook, an organizer, a rep, or... maybe... a judge, but I think the first three are very important. A good BOD member must, must, must know what it is like to be a part of a contest in today's post modern comp BBQ age. I want someone who has the interests of others in mind more than themselves, or at least as much.

I don't know Barb, contrary to Ford's statement that anyone who's been seriously involved in BBQ should know her. I know OF her. I know of their team. I know of their history. I don't know her or anything about her. Your endorsement from paragraph 4 has my attention. Thank you for that.

My advise to voters is be careful to vote for someone because they are well known. Make sure you know that there is substance behind the name. We've voted some poor BOD members into office in the past because they were well known. Look at the record for a track record.

 

[stlgreg]

I have my ballot narrowed down to 6....are we sure we can't elect 6?