KCBS Board of Directors Regular Meeting Quick Notes For August 24, 2021
Kansas City Barbeque Society
Board of Directors’ Quick Notes
Tuesday August 24, 2021, 6:00pm
Membership Requests to Address the Board: None
Call to Order
Meeting was called to order at 6:00pm
Roll Call:
Candy Weaver, Randy Bigler, David Qualls, Richard Fergola, David McAllister, Myron Berry, Chiles Cridlin, Rick Wagner, Ralph Williams, Nancy Goldsmith, Stan Dobosenski, Corey Linton
KCBS Office: Emily Detwiler
Board Pledge:
Recognizing barbeque as America’s cuisine, the mission of the Kansas City Barbeque Society is to celebrate, teach, preserve, and promote barbeque as a culinary technique, sport and art form.
I accept my duties as a KCBS director to further the KCBS mission so that truth, justice, excellence in barbeque and the American way of life may be strengthened and preserved forever.
Consent Agenda
Notice concerning Committee Reports. Some committees do not meet monthly, If a report is presented, it will be included as attachments to the Agenda.
- Minutes of July 27, 2021, Meeting
- July 2021 Financial Report
- Finance Committee
- Contest Report
- Sanctioning Committee
- Judging Committee
- Contest Representative Committee
- Rules Committee
- Foundation Committee
- Nominating Committee
Myron Berry - I Move to Approve the Consent Agenda
Second- Goldsmith – Motion Passed Unanimously
Discussion of any items removed from Consent Agenda
Chief Executive Officer’s Report
Old Business
NONE
New Business
- Discussion and Consideration of Rescinding Rep Advisory 4.10 due to it being addressed in the new rules beginning for the 2022 season Per Rules Committee
- Stan Dobosenski - I move to Approve the Rescinding of Rep Advisory 4.10a Effective for 2022 Season
- Second- Weaver – Motion Passed with Cridlin Abstaining
- Discussion and Consideration of Progress of the JCUP Judge program as presented in the Committee Notes
Discussion Only
- Discussion and consideration of modifying the judges MP3 with the following motion.
Chiles Cridlin - I move to approve the new shortened version of the Judges MP3, created in August of 2021 to be recorded and played for the Judges meeting at sanctioned contests. The current extended version will remain available for those that may request to hear it for the benefit of the additional information contained within.
Second- Goldsmith – Motion Passed Unanimously
- Discussion and Consideration of workgroup report concerning Table population Policies as previously adopted and/or included in Rep Advisories and Rep Manual.
Tabled from the July Meeting.
Discussion Held and Motion to be presented in the September 2021 Meeting
- Discussion and Consideration of Contest Sanctioning Conflicts.
Discussion Only
Closed Session Agenda:
Legal, Financial, and Real Estate
Marketing and Promotions
Discussion of Rep’s and Rep’s in Training
Discussion of Contests
Myron Berry- I Move to Enter in to Closed Session
Second- Goldsmith – Motion Passed Unanimously
Entered Closed Session at 7:08PM
Board Returned to Open Session at 8:08PM
After Closed Session:
The Board may take any necessary actions including Motions on any or all matters discussed in closed session
Stan Dobosenski- I move to Adopt Resolution R-08-24-21-A Authorizing Property Leasing
Second- Goldsmith Motion Passed Unanimously
Ralph Williams- I move to approve Kimberly and William Wright John Scharffbillig as KCBS Representatives
Second- Dobosenski Motion Passed Unanimously
Adjourn or Suspend
Randy Bigler- I Move to Adjourn
Qualls– Motion Passed Unanimously
Meeting Adjourned at 8:09PM
Attachments and Reports
Chief Executive Officer’s Report
Contest Report
| BOD Approval – |
None |
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| In-house Approval – |
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|
| Montana BBQ Cook-off |
06/10-11/2022 |
Absarokee, MT |
| Second annual Central Maine BBQ Cookoff |
06/25-26/2022 |
Skowhegan, ME |
| Beats, Brews, & BBQ |
04/1-2/2022 |
Wagoner, OK |
| Smokin' on the Pecos |
11/5-6/2021 |
Artesia, NM |
| Biloxi Blues & BBQ Festival |
11/12-13/2021 |
Biloxi, MS |
| GrillBillies BBQ Backyard Contest |
10/22-23/2021 |
Wendell, NC |
| Almost Heaven's Spooktacular Backyard BBQ |
10/29-30/2021 |
Buckhannon, WV |
| Harper County Bullseye BBQ |
10/15-16/2021 |
Harper, KS |
| Cookin' on the Kaw BBQ Contest - One Meat Rib Contest |
10/8/2021 |
De Soto, KS |
| 6th annual E'burg BBQ Contest |
7/29-30/2022 |
Emmetsburg, IA |
| |
|
|
| Pending- |
None |
|
Judging Committee
KCBS CBJ Committee Meeting Notes
August 23
rd 2021
Invitees: - This meeting was not held this month. Below are agenda items being reported on as activities for the committee since the last meeting.
Not in attendance –
New Agenda Items –
- JCUP and another program have been submitted for RFP’s.
- One RFP for two separate deliverables.
- Sent to three different companies that are recognized as having the capabilities to produce the content we are requesting.
- All three companies sent their responses on or before 8/20 which was the deadline imposed by KCBS.
- These are under review by the KCBS office.
- Request to shorten the Judges MP3.
- The entire committee has had an opportunity to review the requested changes in the MP3,
- Thank you Mike Robinson (one of our KCBS judges) for taking the initiative and creating the first pass for this.
- Thank you Nancy Goldsmith for doing the final edit for the new short version.
- Keep the long version and offer to play that for judges that may need or wish to hear it.
- Will submit to the BOD for review and voting on for the 8/24 meeting.
- We may need to find a new “voice” for these MP3’s
Ongoing Agenda Items
- How to grow the list of teams willing to host a CBJ that needs to cook with a team for their CBJ Masters.
- Bull Sheet and other communications requesting teams is not working
- Estimated that we have gone from 100 teams down to 41. No teams in Nebraska.
- Request to have an announcement added during the cooks meeting.
- The office has completed a three year review as to teams that have hosted judges.
- Possibility of creating new way of tracking teams that host and having an award or recognition for the team that hosts the most in any given TOY year.
- Use social media to highlight the teams and judges (picture submission, quick judge write up, etc.).
- Ongoing Goals for the 2021 CBJ Committee.
- Develop online or web based certification update training course (In progress)
- Review of conceptual updates to the KCBS Scoring System (100%)
- Define Objectives (This is a separate document 100%)
- Determine content (100%)
- Develop a story board (Start after August 1st)
- Build test bank questions (Start after August 1st)
- Start with the ones we have and review them first.
- Create questions based on new content and objectives
- Write script based on objectives (50% if you consider the objectives the outline of the script)
- Choose LMS Platform (KCBS.US website has the capability) (100%)
- Gather media needed (Not started) – Create RFP and send out by 7/30/2021 (sent out 8/2/2021)
- Received responses by 8/20/2021
- Assemble video or training program (Not started)
- Beta testing, review and deploy (Not started)
- Update related documents
- Review of current KCBS Judge training class material (Nancy Goldsmith, started)
- CBJ Training manual (Not started)
- Reps manual (Not started)
- Rep Advisory manual and Redacted Rep Advisory Manual (handed off to Nancy Goldsmith) (100%)
- Judging Tri-fold (part of the Rules pamphlet)
- Judges MP3 (100%)
- Determine if there are others
Closing – Any additional questions or concerns that are provided.
Contest Representative Committee
August 10, 2021
Meeting called to order at 7:00 pm by Ralph Williams. Members present were Phil Morrow, Scott Grinstead, Steve Grinstead, Jeanne Titus, Dave Drutzler, David McAlister, Julie Poe, Mike Winter, Myron Berry and Emily Detwiler.
A brief report was present on the 6 KCBS members that are Reps in training. Brian Moore in Colorado, Bill & Kim Wright in Maine, John Scharffbillig in Minnesota and Peter & Ruth Schoeppner also in Minnesota. All reviews coming in are positive. We look forward to have these folks on our Rep corp.
Discussion of motion presented by KCBS BOD Secretary David Qualls: I move to adopt a standing policy that IF the minimum table specifications are not followed per the BOD approved table population for a Master Series Contest that KCBS shall refund the entry fee of member participation whom were entered in the contest in which the violation of the policy was allowed. The Rep Committee feels that often the Rep must make onsite, last-minute decisions based on the factors surrounding that particular contest. The Committee further feels this motion undermines the work the Reps are doing to provide the event a successful culmination. The Committee makes the following suggestions for Reps and Organizers to help avoid such issues:
1. Reps working directly with the Organizer to help them understand the number of judges actually needed
2. Encourage Organizers to use the team and judge portals for registering. This will help them control excessive judge selection.
3. When using the chip draw process, extra chips could possibly be added for volunteers and table captains, thus giving everyone equal opportunity for all positions (Rep choice on extra chips)
4. On the Rep critique sheet, add a line asking how many tables were seated, number of judges seated, was the seat population sheet used, if not, explain why.
5. If an issue arises, the contest Rep should contact the Rep Chair or Co-Chair to make them aware of necessary changes in procedures.
All of these concerns center around “perception”. Are we perceived as doing our job to best benefit the Event, the Cooks and the Judges?
At some point in time, all Reps will end up violating the “charts” and the seating procedures, whether intentional or unintentional, but the overall goal is to provide a quality event for everyone.
Rules Committee
The rules committee met at 6pm CST via zoom on 8-16-21.
Members in attendance were Mike Wosniak, Joel Fleetwood, Ed Hartman, and Jim Frazee.
The committee had discussion about a member inquiry regarding cook space sharing. It was agreed that rule #3 was clear regarding this topic and the inquiring member will be advised to refer back to it as it relates to their request.
We also discussed the rep advisory 4.10 and required change as a result of the Rule 10 Revision (7/27/21).
Current wording of 4.10 (page 31 Rep Advisory Manual) is as follows:
4.10 Pork Collar
Question: Is the cut known as “pork collar” a legal cut for purposes of entry in a KCBS
contest?
Opinion: No
. Rule 10 states:
PORK: Pork is defined as Boston Butt, Picnic, and/or Whole Shoulder, weighing a minimum of four (4) pounds. After trimming pork shall be cooked whole (bone in or bone out); however, once cooked, it may be separated and returned to the cooker at the cook’s discretion.
The KCBS Board of Directors has adopted the National Pork Board’s definitions which define the standard for cuts of Boston Butt (item 406 bone in or without bone), Picnic (item 405 bone in or without bone) and/or Whole Shoulder (item 403). Pork Collar is not included in these approved “American” definitions of food service cuts of pork. Therefore, pork collar is not an acceptable cut to be approved at meat inspection or turned in for the purposes of competition under the rules of KCBS. In the event a pork collar cut is turned in it shall receive a score of 1 by all judges in all criteria as a foreign object being a non-approved cut of meat.
BOD February 11, 2011; Updated April 2019 with 2014 Pork rule
I will bring forth a motion to adopt the following addition of "4.10 A" to the Rep Advisory Manual for the 2022 season;
4.10 A Pork Collar – Advisory 4.10 Rescinded
Question: Is the cut known as “pork collar” a legal cut for purposes of entry in a KCBS
contest?
Opinion: Yes:
Rule 10 was revised on 7/27/21 to take effect as of 11/1/21 (the start of the
2022 KCBS season). The new rule reads:
PORK: Pork is defined as Boston Butt, Boston Roast, Picnic, Collar (aka Cellar) and/or Whole Shoulder.
-BOD July 27, 2021
The August committee meeting was adjourned at 7:03 pm CST
Chief Executive Officer’s Report
CEO Report Aug. 24, 2021
Key Highlights:
Tech:
- Working on acquiring bid for upgraded, engaging “front-page” for website.
- Finalizing training on VOIP phones for office. Worked through kinks are ready to move away from current vendor; saving appx $400/month.
- Working with Vieth on next steps for mobile app -- as part of our current scope of work
World Invitational Workgroup:
- Worked with KCBSWI Workgroup and Finance Committee to review and approve Prize Purses and Contest Fees.
- Links are programmed for registration for teams and applications for judging; which opened August 9th. Communication plans to remind people to register through October 15. Be sure to encourage teams to sign up online; they do NOT require a separate link for Invitational only this year.
- World Invitational workgroup is working on Golf Cart rentals, trophy RFP, team packets, supply ordering, apparel, next steps for site signage and map layouts once teams register, etc.
-
Contest Type Contest Entry Fee
Total OPEN ONLY $450
MASTER OPEN & INVITATIONAL $700
BACKYARD INVITATIONAL ONLY $350
BACKYARD + OPEN $650
Single Banquet Tickets $40
Prize Purse:
OPEN $25,000
MASTER INVITATIONAL $30,000
BACKYARD INVITATIONAL $6,500
Membership Updates – This month we have had several opportunities to bring in new members with the AMSA Conference, Bozeman CBJ, Royal Oak Class and even a few international contests.
- Currently total active paid members for August is 15441, as of the 23rd. That is up slightly (+.05%) from last month.
- New members - Thus far for August, we have 271 new members, which is much higher than previous months. That is up +40% from last month.
- We are also starting a two-week digital campaign August-September to convert social followers to KCBS members and to increase brand awareness amongst fans of “tailgating”.
- Partnered with American Meat Science Association for their RMC to host a CBJ Class and One-Meat contest. It drove over 100+ new members from universities from around the United States.
- Renewals members - For the month of August we started out with approximately 900 members that needed to renew. As of today, we are showing over 75% have renewed for the month, which is extremely positive. YTD we retention rate increased to 73.9%, which is a very encouraging sign. This is an improvement from last month.
- Lifetime members - Members continue to still see value in lifetime memberships. We are currently adding 2-3 week lifetime memberships per week.
● We continue to hold a monthly renewal drawing for members, to encourage members to renew. For August, we will be giving away a KCBS Prize Package.
● We are also partnering with Texas Pepper Jelly for a September promotion for renewal.
- Retention remains a big focus for us, as we continue to increase our retention rate. Q3 represents about 20% of our annual membership renewal and we are maintaining a 90%+ retention rate this quarter,
- International Membership
- This month for International membership as they are currently at 1573 (this includes L/T) slight decline from last month. Australia is the main country that we feel the decline in membership.
- On a positive note, due to the Estonia contest this month we saw new members and several reinstatement of membership
- We currently have 37 countries represented in the KCBS database. Israel is a new country
- Business Affiliate Updates
- Currently at 35 listings.
- Please continue to reach out to members you know with businesses; driving them to https://www.kcbs.us/kcbs_business_affiliate_progra.php to learn more and sign up.
- Currently working on 2022 Business Affiliate Program Renewal and Outreach Plan.
35th Anniversary
- We are about 17 weeks into our weekly social posts that are featuring members and their KCBS stories. They are not only being shared on social channels, but also in the BullSheet and on our website in the photo gallery. We have had some great stories from members from around the world that share their stories of how KCBS and barbeque have made an impact on their lives. PLEASE
CONTINUE TO SHARE YOUR STORIES & PHOTOS by sending to
kcbs35@kcbs.us. We will continue sharing stories thru the end of the year.
CBJ Processes:
- For August, we have three (3) classes -- Nevada, Georgia and Montana
- We currently have five (5) more classes scheduled for September-December.
- Starting to receive applications from organizers to host 2022 CBJ/CTC Classes.
- Currently working on a plan to pitch to businesses as a team building exercise built from the CBJ class.
- Master Judge Candidates and 100+ candidates continue to come into the office. Currently have 1709 Master Judges and 238 members that have 100+ contests judged.
- Working on efficiencies and processes for the CBJ program to help organizers, instructors and office.
Partnerships Discussions
- Continuously working on partnership fulfillment for 2021, additional opportunities for KCBS World Invitational in 2021 and 2022 opportunities.
PR/Earned Media: August (as of 8/19/2021)
- 9 news articles mentioned KCBS Potential Reach of 4.8 million with highest reach coming from events such as Kennesaw Pigs & Peaches BBQ Festival, SLV Beat the Heat BBQ, and The Red Raider Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championship.
- Total Advertising Value Equivalency (AVE) - $44K
- Social Media: 62 mentions for KCBS.
Social Media: August Updates
- Continue to use social media to drive member conversion, promote KCBS brand, showcase our sponsors, events and provide value to our members through fun and educational content.
- In August, social media focus included the 2021 KCBSWI, trivia contests, promoting our partnerships, the conclusion of Chase 2 and launch of Chase 3, and 700/180 results.
- Total Audience for August as of 8/19/2021
- 71,450 Facebook (KCBS-only) Followers
- 19,130 Twitter Followers
- 19,185 Instagram followers
- 2,024 YouTube subscribers
- Increase viewership on all social media platforms with the biggest increase coming from Facebook with new video content (2020 KCBS World Invitational and 2021 KCBS World Invitational announcements) and trivia contests being pushed out.
- Several social media stats improved this month over last month. The biggest call outs:
- New followers FB - 145, Twitter - 56, Instagram - 200, YouTube subscribers - 30
- Facebook post engagements - 9.2k post engagements, up 129%, page reach 56.4k
- 3.7K minutes viewed on Facebook videos - up 24.5%
- 39.1 K impressions on Twitter
- Video continues to perform very well; will be posting more as we approach 2021 KCBSWI.
- Some examples of content delivered on this month:
●
CONTEST and EVENT UPDATES:
○ Projected # of Events for 2021:
■ 335 Contests currently scheduled for 2021
■ 32 contests have already postponed; with no new date
■ 35 have cancelled
■ 67 contests already rolled over to 2022
■ 23 CBJ, 4 TC of Classes scheduled for 2021
■ From November 1-August 23 -204 contests have happened (21 have been One Meats)
○ The American Royal is back. Working with the BBQ Planning team on bi-weekly meetings.
● 2021 ToY Program ● Chase 2 has ended. Chase 2 medals and stickers have been mailed out.
● Chase 3 is in full swing.
COMMUNICATIONS:
● Bullsheet August– 35.91% Open rate among 15,647 members who received Bullsheet
● Meat Sheet mid-month newsletter 31.93% open rate
○ 24 clicks on KCBS social media links
○ 75 clicks to lawsuit
○ 348 clicks to view the June BullSheet(pdf version)
○ 26 clicks to Invitational
○ 42 clicks to KCBS Gear Store
SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM UPDATE
- All applicants have been notified via letter. Letters went out on June 9th.
- Press release about winners has gone out. Stone and Layman winners featured in BullSheet
- Scholarship checks have gone out for 7 of the 10 recipients.
WELLS and CBJ AWARDS -
● Wells Awards nominations have been published in the July BullSheet and links in the July MeatSheet. Be sure to nominate potential recipients by clicking
https://www.kcbs.us/gary_and_carolyn_wells_awards.php
● Please be sure to nominate outstanding CBJ’s:
https://www.kcbs.us/outstanding_judge_award_2021.php
○ All nominations received by October 1st of a given year will be sent to the CBJ Chairperson. When applications are sent to the CBJ Committee, ALL IDENTIFYING INFORMATION will be removed as the nominations will be judged strictly on the information presented (names, cities, event names, dates, etc. will be removed prior to distribution for review). Please email the nomination form to
ccridlin@kcbs.us by October 1.
○ NOMINATION REQUIREMENTS:
○ Nominee must be a KCBS member in good standing.
○ Nominee must have been a KCBS member for a minimum of 5 consecutive years.
○ If International, Nominee must have been a KCBS member for 3 consecutive years.
○ Individuals cannot be self-nominated.
○ Couples ARE NOT to be nominated on the same form. Each nominee will judged on own merits.
○ One nomination per KCBS Member (i.e., a member may not submit multiple names).
○ CBJ Master level certification and/or Table Captain Certification is NOT required.
○ Must demonstrate the characteristics of friendliness, willingness to work any assigned task.
○ Must demonstrate their Ambassadorship about KCBS within and outside the event area.
○ Current members of the KCBS BOD and the CBJ Committee are not eligible for nomination.