As of September 24, here are the tentative dates for Lawdawg BBQ.
October 1-2 Fall Line BBQ Festival
Gordon, Ga.
October 23-24 Georgia Florida Tailgate BBQ Cookoff
Jesup, Ga.
November 12-13 Richland Pig Fest
Richland, Ga.
March 18-19 Hasan Shrine Spring BBQ Festival
Albany, Ga.
April 15-16 Harness Festival Cookoff
Hawkinsville, Ga.
May 20-21 Hazlehurst BBQ Cookoff
Hazlehurst, Ga.
Stay tuned to our website, http://www.lawdawgbbq.com/ and join our mailing list on the home page for updates.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
How To Start A BBQ Competition Team On A Shoestring Budget
Well, when my wife and I moved to Brunswick, Ga. in August of 2008, we left behind the teammates that we had previously cooked with, Blueline BBQ. While we have remained friends with them, Kerry and I decided that we needed to establish an identity in Brunswick that was uniquely ours. The entire process took approximately 1 year. Here, I will attempt to relay as much about the process as I can, so that if you are interested in forming your own competition team, and finances play a big part of it, we will share the ideas that we used.
How we started
First, we decided to locate a name that was not already taken. After searching through many different sanctioning bodies lists of competition teams, and after choosing a name that would fit us, we settled on Lawdawg BBQ. The reason? I am a career law enforcement officer and a University of Georgia "Dawg" fan. So, I decided to combine both of my passions to create my third one, my bbq team. Then, I contacted Rick Enright at http://www.barbecuelogos.com/ and gave him the ideas that I would like to see in our logo. Rick was responsible for designing the logo for Blueline BBQ and did a wonderful job for us. After getting the logo in many different formats, I contacted the folks at http://www.buildasign.com/. They had previously done some logos for us while with Blueline BBQ. I decided to go back with them as I was pleased with the work that they do. I ordered several banners.
O.K. So, we had a name, a logo, and some banners. But, we didn't have a smoker or anything else. While on the computer one day, I ran across a deal on some used restaurant and catering equipment that was listed for sale on craigslist. I had Kerry call the owner, who agreed to meet her and show her what he had. We ended up purchasing two (2) Carlisle food hot boxes, some stainless steel pans and other miscellaneous items with a suggested retail value of about $1400 for $300. But, we needed a smoker.
Kerry and I decided to shop around to see what kind of smoker to go with. There are many fine ones built by many different people. While with Blueline BBQ, we cooked on a Bubba Grills. Of course, living in Brunswick, Ga. who could not overlook the folks in Nahunta, Ga. at Lang's? Then, we decided that what we wanted was simplicity. So, we decided to save up our money and purchase a Stump's Smoker (http://www.stumpssmokers.com/). Why a Stump's? Cause Stump don't build no junk. As a surprise for Valentine's Day, Kerry took her income tax refund check and because Stump's was running a special on their Classic, which is the largest of the upright smokers, she decided to surprise me with it. Of course, we had to add a Diqi Q (http://www.bbqguru.com/) as part of the package.
So, we have a name, a logo, some banners, some equipment, a smoker ordered, but nothing to pull it behind. Well, after asking around, I found a guy who had an old boat trailer frame with tires that was sitting on his property. Talk about a piece of junk. I went out and looked at it and saw that it had potential. I paid him a cool one hundred dollars for a 1997 home made trailer. I got him to pull it to my house on his next trip to Brunswick. Then, the process of tearing it down began. Kerry and I along with our brother in law Chris, began tearing all of the old wood off. Then, we sanded and painted the trailer. I then called on my friend, retired fellow law enforcer from the U.S. Border Patrol, Bill Beaumet. Mr. Bill has been to a vocational trade school and taken carpentry. He has spent many tireless hours sweating over the trailer making sure that it was done correctly. He will not cut corners, and wants to make sure that the job is done right, as he realizes that our team's reputation along with his own, has been put into this trailer. I called my friend Buster Davis over at Stump's and had them cut me some diamond plating to go on the trailer.
I contacted Bobbie Snope over at Brunswick's Sign A Rama and asked them to do me some decals for my vehicle. They did a wonderful job. I bought some four and eight inch decals to use. All I had to do was provide them with one of my logos in one of the many formats that I have.
We have been fortunate to take our time. While we are not saying that this is the correct way or the only way, it is the way that we chose to do it and it has worked well for us. Feel free to send any questions or comments to lawdawgbbq@gmail.com
How we started
First, we decided to locate a name that was not already taken. After searching through many different sanctioning bodies lists of competition teams, and after choosing a name that would fit us, we settled on Lawdawg BBQ. The reason? I am a career law enforcement officer and a University of Georgia "Dawg" fan. So, I decided to combine both of my passions to create my third one, my bbq team. Then, I contacted Rick Enright at http://www.barbecuelogos.com/ and gave him the ideas that I would like to see in our logo. Rick was responsible for designing the logo for Blueline BBQ and did a wonderful job for us. After getting the logo in many different formats, I contacted the folks at http://www.buildasign.com/. They had previously done some logos for us while with Blueline BBQ. I decided to go back with them as I was pleased with the work that they do. I ordered several banners.
O.K. So, we had a name, a logo, and some banners. But, we didn't have a smoker or anything else. While on the computer one day, I ran across a deal on some used restaurant and catering equipment that was listed for sale on craigslist. I had Kerry call the owner, who agreed to meet her and show her what he had. We ended up purchasing two (2) Carlisle food hot boxes, some stainless steel pans and other miscellaneous items with a suggested retail value of about $1400 for $300. But, we needed a smoker.
Kerry and I decided to shop around to see what kind of smoker to go with. There are many fine ones built by many different people. While with Blueline BBQ, we cooked on a Bubba Grills. Of course, living in Brunswick, Ga. who could not overlook the folks in Nahunta, Ga. at Lang's? Then, we decided that what we wanted was simplicity. So, we decided to save up our money and purchase a Stump's Smoker (http://www.stumpssmokers.com/). Why a Stump's? Cause Stump don't build no junk. As a surprise for Valentine's Day, Kerry took her income tax refund check and because Stump's was running a special on their Classic, which is the largest of the upright smokers, she decided to surprise me with it. Of course, we had to add a Diqi Q (http://www.bbqguru.com/) as part of the package.
So, we have a name, a logo, some banners, some equipment, a smoker ordered, but nothing to pull it behind. Well, after asking around, I found a guy who had an old boat trailer frame with tires that was sitting on his property. Talk about a piece of junk. I went out and looked at it and saw that it had potential. I paid him a cool one hundred dollars for a 1997 home made trailer. I got him to pull it to my house on his next trip to Brunswick. Then, the process of tearing it down began. Kerry and I along with our brother in law Chris, began tearing all of the old wood off. Then, we sanded and painted the trailer. I then called on my friend, retired fellow law enforcer from the U.S. Border Patrol, Bill Beaumet. Mr. Bill has been to a vocational trade school and taken carpentry. He has spent many tireless hours sweating over the trailer making sure that it was done correctly. He will not cut corners, and wants to make sure that the job is done right, as he realizes that our team's reputation along with his own, has been put into this trailer. I called my friend Buster Davis over at Stump's and had them cut me some diamond plating to go on the trailer.
I contacted Bobbie Snope over at Brunswick's Sign A Rama and asked them to do me some decals for my vehicle. They did a wonderful job. I bought some four and eight inch decals to use. All I had to do was provide them with one of my logos in one of the many formats that I have.
We have been fortunate to take our time. While we are not saying that this is the correct way or the only way, it is the way that we chose to do it and it has worked well for us. Feel free to send any questions or comments to lawdawgbbq@gmail.com
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Purpose of our blog
As we begin this blog, there are several things that we hope to accomplish. We will provide information about upcoming contests, reviews of previous contests, contests that we may have attended but did not cook.We hope to announce exciting things for Lawdawg BBQ. We hope that you enjoy the content of our blog. If there is something you would like to see, please don't hesitate to e-mail us at lawdawgbbq@gmail.com. Next blog..."How To Start A BBQ Competition Team On A Shoestring Budget".
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