Kcbs

[el luchador]

btw, congrats gettingbasted for your 3rd place overall, and 1st place pork

:thumb:
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[gettinbasted]

btw, congrats gettingbasted for your 3rd place overall, and 1st place pork

:thumb:
:thumb:
:thumb:

Thanks! It was a fun year.

 

[gettinbasted]

The Board’s response.

https://www.kcbs.us/news.php?id=1095

 

[Slamdunkpro]

Wow, that's just pouring gas on that fire.

 

[NoNotTheDuo]

We did not inform our teams of any changes in TOY prize money. KCBS has not promoted end of the year prize money in the past although it has been paid out.

I can't even imagine how upset Travis or Brad must have been to find out, on stage, that they were only getting half of what they expected. I'm sure a lot of that money had already been spent - or at least planned - based on the previous years' payouts.

we did not communicate some of our decisions well.

Or at all.

KCBS has tried to recognize our TOY teams with trophies and awards and we will admit, not as much social or public promotions as we could and should have provided. This will be a focus moving forward.

My guess is that the top tier TOY candidates already have enough of a social/public presence and don't particularly care about the BOD's involvement.


Brad - What do you think we, as KCBS and Brethern members, can do to make sure the BOD doesn't eff up like this again? Demanding all BOD minutes be published on the KCBS website? Clear rules and payouts for the 2018 TOY race published ASAP? Vote off poor-performing BOD members?

 

[gettinbasted]

I can't even imagine how upset Travis or Brad must have been to find out, on stage, that they were only getting half of what they expected. I'm sure a lot of that money had already been spent - or at least planned - based on the previous years' payouts.




Or at all.



My guess is that the top tier TOY candidates already have enough of a social/public presence and don't particularly care about the BOD's involvement.


Brad - What do you think we, as KCBS and Brethern members, can do to make sure the BOD doesn't eff up like this again? Demanding all BOD minutes be published on the KCBS website? Clear rules and payouts for the 2018 TOY race published ASAP? Vote off poor-performing BOD members?

I think it’s time we demand transparency, accountability, and work together with the board to fix these issues. They are in obvious financial trouble.

KCBS needs a professional executive to lead them forward. The board does not have the training or expertise.

 

[cpw]

I saw Brad’s post on Facebook to Travis about this, and I honestly thought it was a joke. Travis (and Tim and Brad and everyone else) worked their butts off to make TOY, and arguably the only thanks they get from the KCBS is that check and trophy. If I was Travis I would have been pissed.


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[Pappy Q]

I think it’s time we demand transparency, accountability, and work together with the board to fix these issues. They are in obvious financial trouble.

KCBS needs a professional executive to lead them forward. The board does not have the training or expertise.

I’ve pretty much kept quite since my failed attempt for BOD last year but this is just a continuation of the problems I tried to expose. KCBS has been on an implosion course for awhile and purchasing that big building accelerated the fuse. Whoever championed that struck the match. Nothing in KCBS changes until there is a new Executive Director who can lead the Organization in a new direction.

 

[dr pearl]

You'd think they would at least remove the Sam's club banners on their homepage. Can't even get that right. :roll:

 

[LTG]

The hits just keep on coming. What a joke!

 

[Rusty Kettle]

They are in obvious financial trouble.

This is why we should all be very concerned.

If they are in trouble, which is pretty obvious that they are, kcbs may go belly up at some point.

Couple things need to be addressed. Why not mandate KCBS membership for anyone competing? Never understood why it isn't mandatory. It makes no sense.

Also, while those who already have lifetime membership should be grandfathered in, they should end it. Seriously it mortgages the future. One and done no more dues is not smart.

What is being done to expand membership?

What about amateur sanctioned contests? It was talked about at one point but I see very few of them. I seem to remember a TOY for amateurs being floated but very little done. This would get people that don't want to drop $300 on entrance fees to try out competing. Trust me amateur events suck you in. Yes I get they cost similar money in the end and that bbq is an expensive sport but a reduced entrance fee and fewer categories will encourage people to try out competing.

I can think of one fellow who is to nervous to try pro in my area. I was the same way myself. I only have one kcbs pro event under my belt.

Lets look at me for an example. A few years ago I competed amateur starting with a Weber kettle and a Traeger Jr. Elite pellet grill. Competing amateur. Then jumped to a 14.5" WSM which I did well with. Then this past year I got an UDS and used a 22.5" wsm. After Harrisburg we ditched the WSM and ditched my old pellet grill. We upgraded to a 270 Sumo. We took that smoker to West Newton for Grill your Ace Off and took home a third place brisket call. Second brisket I ever cooked on the Sumo.
Most of my success has been amateur but it has sucked me in. A few years ago I only would spend a few bucks to compete. I dropped $1600 on my Sumo and my wife seems to be open to the idea of an enclosed trailer in the next 2-3 years maybe sooner.

My point is get them hooked by amateur events and keep them hooked with mandatory membership to compete pro. Ditch the lifetime membership option to keep dues flowing in. To be fair to lifetime members that already exist grandfather them in.

The board should be more open about decisions but we all need to realize clearly there is a cash flow problem. If it isn't fixed KCBS will collapse at some point. Whether its sooner or later it will implode if it is not addressed.

 

[tunnelengineer]

I think what's really sad is the low attendance of KC people to support KCBS at the banquet. Numbers have been considerably better when held in the SE.

I am a local KC member, lifetime. I compete. I get the Bullsheet every month, follow KCBS on social media, etc. The banquet was never on my mind. I seriously had no idea it was this past weekend until I saw people posting on Facebook.

A little bit of communication from KCBS or advertising would go a long way. Seriously, a simple facebook reminder or email sent out last week, and I would have likely attended.

 

[Burnt at Both Endz]

I think what's really sad is the low attendance of KC people to support KCBS at the banquet. Numbers have been considerably better when held in the SE.

I would have love to have gone to it, but to be truthful, I have gone to a couple trade banquets at the casino that involved free meals and gifts. The free gifts made up for the awful meals, but I'll be damn if I'm gonna pay $60 for that kind of food, no mater how well I like the guests.

 

[EngineeredBBQ]

So they promised one amount and then cut it later? Or you just assumed that you would get the same as last year? I had not even heard about payouts in KCBS, I was close to top 25 in a couple categories but had no clue.

 

[rorkin]

This is why we should all be very concerned.

If they are in trouble, which is pretty obvious that they are, kcbs may go belly up at some point.

Couple things need to be addressed. Why not mandate KCBS membership for anyone competing? Never understood why it isn't mandatory. It makes no sense.

Also, while those who already have lifetime membership should be grandfathered in, they should end it. Seriously it mortgages the future. One and done no more dues is not smart.

What is being done to expand membership?

What about amateur sanctioned contests? It was talked about at one point but I see very few of them. I seem to remember a TOY for amateurs being floated but very little done. This would get people that don't want to drop $300 on entrance fees to try out competing. Trust me amateur events suck you in. Yes I get they cost similar money in the end and that bbq is an expensive sport but a reduced entrance fee and fewer categories will encourage people to try out competing.

I can think of one fellow who is to nervous to try pro in my area. I was the same way myself. I only have one kcbs pro event under my belt.

Lets look at me for an example. A few years ago I competed amateur starting with a Weber kettle and a Traeger Jr. Elite pellet grill. Competing amateur. Then jumped to a 14.5" WSM which I did well with. Then this past year I got an UDS and used a 22.5" wsm. After Harrisburg we ditched the WSM and ditched my old pellet grill. We upgraded to a 270 Sumo. We took that smoker to West Newton for Grill your Ace Off and took home a third place brisket call. Second brisket I ever cooked on the Sumo.
Most of my success has been amateur but it has sucked me in. A few years ago I only would spend a few bucks to compete. I dropped $1600 on my Sumo and my wife seems to be open to the idea of an enclosed trailer in the next 2-3 years maybe sooner.

My point is get them hooked by amateur events and keep them hooked with mandatory membership to compete pro. Ditch the lifetime membership option to keep dues flowing in. To be fair to lifetime members that already exist grandfather them in.

The board should be more open about decisions but we all need to realize clearly there is a cash flow problem. If it isn't fixed KCBS will collapse at some point. Whether its sooner or later it will implode if it is not addressed.

Have you seen any recent financial statements ? Are they available to membership? Are they really in financial trouble? Or is this speculation.
Just looking for the facts..

 

[gettinbasted]

So they promised one amount and then cut it later? Or you just assumed that you would get the same as last year? I had not even heard about payouts in KCBS, I was close to top 25 in a couple categories but had no clue.

We all assumed. The TOY prize purse has been the same since I started cooking in 2012. They set it in open session and have paid it ever since. If you read the board response, this is their exact line of reasoning. It has not been set for the last few years, just paid. It hasn’t been set for 2018 either.

The expectation is there that if they did decide to do something different, it would be recorded somewhere by the board. The precedent of the current payout schedule was certainly set. They did it in closed session because they realized it would adversely affect turnout at the banquet. The backlash was coming either way, why not make a bit more off of us in the interim?

 

[Beentown]

No matter what they are not doing ANYTHING to expand membership compared to most orgs.

Anyone know who is in charge of recruitment? I have never seen anyone list the benefits of membership to the masses of this site. What extras are they giving to drive membership?

Income temporarily fixes a lot of problems.

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[NoNotTheDuo]

No matter what they are not doing ANYTHING to expand membership compared to most orgs.

Anyone know who is in charge of recruitment? I have never seen anyone list the benefits of membership to the masses of this site. What extras are they giving to drive membership?

Income temporarily fixes a lot of problems.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

From the Dec 2017 Board minutes:

Mike Peters: Membership Chair
Membership Report December 2017
Active Members 20021
New Members 174
New from CBJ Class 51
Renewed Members 763
Non- Renewed 699
New from Website 106
Total Lifetime Members 1499
International Members 1593
Countries Represented 34
Members “auto” renewed 492

Mike's email (mpeters@kcbs.us) is on this page: https://www.kcbs.us/about_board.php

Have you seen any recent financial statements ? Are they available to membership? Are they really in financial trouble? Or is this speculation.
Just looking for the facts..

The most recent financial statement I could find was from 2016. I found it on www.guidestar.org but have uploaded it here if anyone wants to look.

 

[Jousting Pigs]

Looking through the past few years expense growth has outpaced revenue growth.
Had over $1 million in cash and equivalents in 2014 and 2015 but down to $500k in 2016. $2 million in mortgage debt though! KCBS looks to be house poor.

Wonder what the bank balances were at the end of 2017.

 

[rorkin]

Looks like a 10k loss in 2016.