On Wednesday, March 23rd, Kerry and I left Brunswick and headed to Greenville, SC to attend the National Barbecue Association (NBBQA) 20th Annual Conference and Trade Show. If you are passionate about bbq, then I suggest that you attend this event. Kerry and I were first time attendees and were really excited about attending. We sat down with the list of seminars and went through and carefully selected the ones that we felt suited our needs, and would provide us the opportunity to learn. And learn we did.
We were able to meet a lot of great folks, some of whom are legends in the bbq industry. Many of these great folks were already "friends" of ours on facebook. So, we were able to put a face with the name. There were so many, I will not even attempt to start naming names, primarily because I am subject to forget someone and then they might get mad at me. Outgoing President Joe Oaster of Porky's Place of York, PA, opened the convention on Thursday morning's general session and brought up Roy Slicker of Slick's Que Company out of Sisters, OR. After Roy gave a brief synopsis of his story (one of the previous ones I had seen on YouTube) he introduced Patrick Murty of Company 7 from Dayton, OH. Patrick's story was similiar to Roy's. They both recalled having attended previous conventions and starting their own restaurants, Roy's two (2) months after the conference, and Patrick's was approximately nine (9) months later.
After exiting the general session, we attended the seminar "Starting Your BBQ Business". Holy smokes, I could take sessions 101, 201, 301 and 401 in that. I later attended "BBQ Business Management" taught by the Legend Mike Mills and his daughter, Amy Mills of 17th Street Bar and Grill and Memphis Championship Barbecue. They actually have another business "OnCue Hospitality". I guess if I want to learn the business aspect of the bbq industry, I will just have to retain their services.
Kerry attended "Food Presentations: From Competition to Catering" and "Using the Internet to Promote Your Business". I will have her come along and do posts telling you about these sessions and the other things that she learned.
So, what does this have to do with you? If you have never attended the conference and you are serious about barbecue, then you are missing out. Want to join the NBBQA? Go to http://www.nbbqa.org/. You can sign up as an enthusiast for free. BUT, to really get the most out of your membership, go ahead and pay the $50 to be an enthusiast and you will see the benefits. Thinking about attending the 2012 Conference in San Diego, CA. and you have never attended? I will include a "First Time Attendee Guide" in one of my future posts.
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