OK, here we go…
First of all THANK YOU to all the teams that participated!
We always appreciate any comments on the comp and encourage you to please email your feedback to
contest@hudsonvalleyribfest.org so we can track and take them into consideration and try to make changes for next year.
The Hudson Valley RibFest is an event that takes lots of planning, months in advance to make things happen. The Highland Rotary Club consists of just over 30 members and only about 10 of them are the actual hands on Rotarians to pull this of.
For the competition portion of RibFest it’s just Stephanie and I and we both love the BBQ competition. I’m always staying onsite during the weekend, available to address any issues / needs that may come up at
any time.
The majority of our Rotarians don’t understand BBQ competition and some don’t even care for it. It’s always an internal battle during planning.
I would like to respond to a few items…
Trash; We had 2 large dumpsters located by the porta-potty’s for the teams to drop their trash. The guys with the Ranger and trailer are instructed to collect from the barrels only. It might seem short sighted that they won’t pick up bags while driving by but if they do it for one team they would have to do it for all to be fair. It would also take considerable more time to serve the contest area. Hence the reason we have the dumpsters near by.
Porta-potty’s; The Fairground restroom facilities are on a septic system and the county requires us to have restroom attendants to keep them operational and they’re only open during the day. The porta-potty’s got cleaned and pumped every morning by 10 AM. If we need more (we had 1 handicap and 4 regular and a hand wash station) we can do that for next year.
Payout; The total purse is $8.500 for the weekend. If my research is correct that‘s the 2nd largest in the ESBC after Rock City and our entry fee for KCBS is the lowest at $190. As we all know if you’re into competition to make money,… After collecting all the entry fees and paying all
contest costs (payout, electric, water, trophies, porta-potty’s, dumpsters, KCBS, judging, etc.) there is usually less than $3K left that goes into the general fundraising fund. There have been years in the past where the contest came up short and it was questioned to even have the contest as part of RibFest. That’s when Stephanie and I took of the gloves and started fighting.
We (Stephanie and I) are always trying to make things better for future events. It takes lots of dedication, coordination and time on our side and we appreciate all of you.
Please don’t forget to email your feedback
contest@hudsonvalleyribfest.org
Thanks again,
Stephanie and Rolf