Thank You Vince for the confidence!
I think the whole group of candidates this year are fine people. I can say that your endorsement wasn’t solicited by me and probably none of the other candidates mentioned.
I will say that there isn’t a “FAB 4” group that I’m a member of.
Those that know me know that I shoot from the hip. I was very vocal that there needed to be more cooks on the 12 member board to balance out the lines of interest that compose the body of KCBS.
I said more than once that 10 teams should sign up to run and maybe some teams would get elected.
Having said that, I rarely duck from a challenge so here’s my midnight run at this.
Q-What does "representing the cooks" mean to you and how does that translate to action in the real world?
A- After cooking 96 contests in the last three seasons all across most of the nation from Florida to Nevada, and Minnesota to Texas, I have experienced the good and bad of being a cook. I think this experience along with being an organizer gives me the experience to deal with issues that come to the Board level and use these fields of experience to come to a common ground that gives the cooks a voice on issues that affect them. In my opinion, the cooks are the nucleus of a contest and everything else revolves around that. That in no way minimized the importance of Judges, Rep’s and Organizers but the reason the event happens is because cooks enter to compete.
Q-What is the #1 thing that needs to happen to better support cooks?
A- Policies & Procedures notwithstanding, Promotion of the Sport. KCBS needs to continue to promote BBQ in a way that makes sponsors want to help Organizers, Individuals want to become Competitors, and The Public want to come out and cheer and participate in the Organizers efforts. Let’s make it popular for everyone in every location that promotes BBQ.
Q-A first year contest defaulted on prize payment this year. What specific changes in KCBS policy, sanctioning contracts, and on site representation would you advocate to prevent this in the future?
A-As an Organizer, I have to sign a notarized sanctioning application that says I will guarantee the posted prize money and post a liability insurance policy naming KCBS as an insured party.
Having said that, if the Teams are not paid and KCBS sanctioned the organizer, KCBS should have a first option to file a claim against the organizers insurance and or seek a civil remedy.
In my opinion in the meantime they should accept the responsibility to its teams to pay the teams and pursue remedies to collect from the organizer that defaulted his guarantee to KCBS as a part of receiving sanctioning.
When I was a licensed Boxing/Wrestling Promoter, I had to submit a surety bond in the name the licensing body in order to be licensed. This bond usually costs $100 a year. This might be a good idea as a requirement for first year promoters for KCBS to protect itself but either way, I think KCBS is on the hook to make good on the payments of a contest it accepted a guarantee from and sanctioned.
The goodwill toward the teams will outweigh the liability of having to make good on one or two contests per year.
Q-Do you feel rule #1 should be done away with or paired down?
A-KCBS Reps should have the proper training that there is no “Interpretation” of the rule The rules of the contests should be plain and concise enough and presented to the Reps in a manner that there is no room for individual interpretation. The Reps must have the authority to make a determination based on the rules and for the most part I think they do in the contests I have cooked/organized. Don’t forget they like us are human and prone to make mistakes. As a candidate, at this point I don’t have the experience with the procedures to comment further on this.
Q-Should reps be required to perform spot inspections to insure rules compliance?
A-I agree with “Spot Inspections” however the situation mirrors the Seatbelt and Texting laws they are really only enforceable once exposed because of an ancillary situation.
Personally, of the 20 published Rules governing the teams, I think Rule 18 is the most critical one deeming a spot inspection by a Rep.
Rule 7 is a primary function of the meat inspector. I don’t want to even get started on the Pork Rule.
I just don’t see what would be required of a spot inspection of the other 18 rules, many of which are inspected at the time for judging.
Q-How would you address the disparity in judging standards?
A-Very Carefully! It will require consultation and data analysis to get it right. The worst thing that can happen is for the Board to make a knee jerk decision to put a Band-Aid on a severed leg.
I have been the victim of the Table of Death and the Recipient of the Angle Score!
I think we all agree there are about three different standards that judges were trained to use. I do not blame the individual judges as a whole body for this. Yes there are individuals in every facet of the sport that are the exception but certainly not the norm. If I were to have to create a starting point, I would,
1-Advocate placing a hold on having any more new judging classes until the issue is under control
2-Address the issue and create a position of awareness at the judges instruction meeting at the contest
3-Work to immediately develop a seating arrangement that could include when the judge was certified to help bridge the gap.
It’s going to take more than cooks, Judges, Reps and Board Members to fix this problem. I think KCBS will need to reach out to the culinary community as well as other discretionary judged activities such as wine tasting etc., to help develop a system that will coincide with today’s modern techniques.
In Conclusion,
I don’t have the complete answer to any of these questions but I threw my name in the hat recognizing there are always going to be issues that are important and a diverse group that will be affected either in a positive or negative way at the same time. I just want to help be a part of the solution not part of the problem. As a cook I believe I have an insight on issues that the board doesn’t presently have adequate representation to address. If you agree with me, Vote for me if you don’t agree or have confidence that I can make a positive contribution, Vote for a candidate who you believe will meet your expectations. But most of all as KCBS Members, PLEASE VOTE!:clap2:
