KCBS Board Meeting Quick Notes August 12, 2025
Kansas City Barbeque Society
Board of Directors’ Meeting Quick NOtes
Tuesday, August 12, 2025, 6:00 PM CST
Membership Requests to Address the Board:
- None
The meeting was called to order at 6:01 PM CST.
Roll Call:
Chiles Cridlin, David Qualls, Donna Fong, Jeanne Titus, Luke Darnell, Lex Vanegas, Paul Buob, Randy Todd, Thomas Gearhart; KCBS Office: Rod Gray
Absent: Luke Darnell
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.
Declaration of Quorum
Consent Agenda:
Notice concerning Committee Reports. Some committees do not meet monthly. If a report is presented, it will be included as an attachment to the agenda.
- Minutes of previous BoD meeting
- Contest Report
- Sanctioning Committee
- Judging Committee
- Contest Representative Committee
- Rules Committee
- Technology Committee
- Foundation Committee
- Nominating Committee
- Hall of Fame Committee
- Working Groups:
- Organizers Working Group
- Membership Subcommittee
- Backyard Working Group
- Sponsorship Working Group
- World Invitational Working Group
- Organizers Working Group
Lex Vanegas – I motion to accept the consent agenda.
Second – Jeanne Titus – Motion Passes Unanimously
Chief Executive Officer’s Report:
- CEO Report attached.
- The Board may take actions based on Topics and Discussions from this report as New Business.
- Do we know the percentage that are opening email reminders?
- And, how many open the emails and how many of those renew?
- Do we look at who is not renewing and if it is falling in that 3-year algorithm? No, but we can get Veith to look into it.
- Discussion and update for the KCBS competition structure working group (Thomas Gearhart).
- Update for the 2026 Strategic Planning session (Paul Buob).
- Discussion and update about the American Royal reducing the number of teams to be considered a qualifier from 25 to 20 (Rod Gray).
- Discussion and review plans KCBS World Invitational 2026 (Paul Buob).
Duplicating what we are doing last year as far as reservations in 2025 and will change as needed.
World Championship Sponsors getting settled and will announce the ribs and chicken in any contest will be invited to that Friday night event (last 2 years qualifying time).
Public facing side, we don’t have any sponsors in writing, but we possibly have a sponsor and an organizer.
- Discussion and status of Hall of Fame trophies and rings (Rod Gray).
David Qualls – I want to make a make a motion to send a letter to the SRF President and request that they fulfill their obligation made in January concerning the rings and trophies.
Second – Lex Vanegas – Motion Passes (Rany Todd – Against; Donna Fong: Abstain)
New Business:
- Discussion of possible CBBQA sponsorship for KCBS Kids Q (Donna Fong).
- Discuss Board of Directors nomination process and skills needed (Paul Buob).
- Discussion of documentation updates and finalization (Lex Vanegas).
- Discussion of following & interpretation of KCBS rules (Lex Vanegas).
Lex Vanegas – I motion to move to closed session.
Second – Jeanne Titus – Motion Passes Unanimously
The Board entered closed session at 6:46 PM CST.
The Board returned to open session at 7:23 PM CST.
Closed Session Agenda:
Discussion of legal, financial, personnel, and real estate.
- Discussion and review of Nonprofit Financial Review RFP (Thomas Gearhart).
- Discussion and update for CEO Contract (Thomas Gearhart).
The Board may take any necessary actions, including motions on any or all matters discussed in closed session
David Qualls – I motion that we enter into a statement of work agreement with Clean Sheet Consulting.
Second – Chiles Cridlin – Motion Passes (Donna Fong – Against; Thomas Gearhart – Abstain)
Board Comments
Adjourn or Suspend
- David Qualls – I move to adjourn.
- Second – Chiles Cridlin– Motion Passes Unanimously
Attachments and Reports
Contest Report
| Contest | Date | Location |
| Saxonburg BBQ Smokeout | 9/6-7/2025 | Saxonburg, PA |
| BBQ Expo Master's Challenge | 4/11-12/2026 | Italy |
| Permian Basin Barbeque Cook-off by Daniel Energy Partners (COMPETITOR SERIES) | 11/11-12/2025 | Houston, TX |
| Pork-A-Palooza | 4/17-18/2026 | Weatherford, OK |
| 3rd Annual Roaring Camp BBQ Cook Off (Day 2) | 8/9-10/2025 | Felton, CA |
| The Downtown BBQ Showdown (ONE MEAT RIBS) | 4/17/2026 | Lake City, FL |
| 1st Annual Boost & BBQ | 10/24-25/2025 | Odessa, MO |
| Marchfelder Feuerfest | 5/2-3/2026 | Austria |
| Marchfelder Feuerfest (ONE MEAT RIBS) | 5/2/2026 | Austria |
| Singing River Smoke-O-Rama (BACKYARD ONLY) | 3/27-28/2026 | Athens, AL |
| Chillin & Grillin in the Glades | 7/17-18/2026 | Wise, VA |
| Page County Heritage Festival - Backyard BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY) | 10/11-12/2025 | Luray, VA |
| Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 1) | 7/17-18/2026 | Miles, IA |
| Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 2) | 7/18-19/2026 | Miles, IA |
| Dinuba's BBQ & Brew Fest | 3/20-2/2026 | Dinuba, CA |
| Bulgarian Barbecue Championship | 9/12-13/2025 | Bulgaria |
| Buds Blues and BBQ (ONE MEAT RIBS) | 9/5/2025 | Columbia, MO |
| South Carolina Festival of Discovery | 7/9-10/2026 | Greenwood, SC |
| Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) | 6/12-13/2026 | West Salem, WI |
| Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) | 6/13-14/2026 | West Salem, WI |
| Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (ONE MEAT RIBS) | 6/12/2026 | West Salem, WI |
| Roast N Boast | 10/17-18/2026 | Columbus, MS |
| Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 1) | 7/24-25/2026 | New Freedom, PA |
| Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 2) | 7/25-26/2026 | New Freedom, PA |
| Q's & Brews Bighorn BBQ Competition | 3/27-28/2026 | Lake Havasu City, AZ |
Financial Report
Key Financial Highlights
KCBS maintains a positive net income of $37,255 YTD, driven by strong contest revenue growth and expense reduction. However, declining sponsorship, merchandise, and CBJ revenues require attention. Management should prioritize proactive engagement with state Soy commissions, enhance merchandise accessibility, and explore CBJ growth opportunities to strengthen financial performance in 2025 and mitigate risks for 2026.
Revenue Performance:
- Contest Income: Increased to $131,984 from $119,133 year-over-year (YoY), reflecting strong growth. This may be driven by contests adding ancillaries, one-meat events, or combined Masters/Backyard formats, which enhance economies of scale as Contest Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) remains flat at $91,800 YoY.
- Invoiced Sponsorship: Secured $75,000 from US Soy in June. However, total sponsorship revenue is down from $143,350 to $124,370 YoY. The shift in US Soy’s sponsorship format to state-level commissions poses a significant risk for 2026 and must be addressed by management through direct engagement with state-level Soy representatives to secure funding in 2026 and beyond.
- Merchandise Sales: Declined significantly, with Sales, Promo Items at $1,359 and KCBS Gear at $283. Limited merchandise selection, slow delivery, and unavailability in the EU are likely contributing factors.
- CBJ Revenue: Decreased from $52,984 to $32,844 YoY, indicating a need to explore strategies to boost CBJ participation and revenue.
- Payroll Expense: Reduced from $232,815 to $216,737 YoY due to staff turnover and vacancies, providing some cost savings.
- Team of the Year (TOY) Expense: Noted decline YoY, under investigation by Rod, as 2025 expenses were expected to be higher.
Year-to-date net income is $37,255, reflecting overall financial stability despite declines in certain revenue streams.
KCBS Performance Against 6-Month Forecast (Assuming a straight-line forecast of the 2025 approved budget) - see attached budget vs. actual
- Contest Income: Exceeded forecast, achieving $131,984 against an estimated $119,133, indicating stronger-than-expected contest performance, potentially due to increased ancillaries or event formats. We should look to exploit this in 2026 by making "add-ons" easier and more appealing to organizers.
- Sponsorship Revenue: Under performed, reaching $124,370 against a forecast of $143,350, with the US Soy format change posing a risk to future revenue.
- Merchandise Sales: Significantly below forecast, with combined Sales, Promo Items ($1,359) and KCBS Gear ($283) totaling $1,642, falling short of an expected $8,000.
- CBJ Revenue: Fell short, recording $32,844 against a forecast of $52,984, signaling a need for strategies to boost CBJ classes and participation.
- Payroll Expense: Below forecast at $216,737 compared to an expected $232,815, driven by staff turnover and vacancies, yielding cost savings.
- Net Income: Achieved $37,255 YTD, exceeding a straight-line forecast, supported by contest income growth and reduced payroll expenses. However, as contest operations wind down in the latter half of the year and operating expenses remain flat, this could lead to margin erosion, potentially impacting overall profitability.
We submitted requests on July 8 with a deadline of August 1. Below is the status of responses from the providers we contacted:
- Altruic Advisors: No response to RFP.
- The Charity CFO: No response to RFP.
- Clean Sheet Consulting (referred by Thomas Gearhart): Submitted bid.
- Abundant CPA Services (referred by Joel Fleetwood): Responded but declined to bid.
- UHY (current accounting provider): Submitted bid.
To proceed with the nonprofit financial review, a motion and a vote will be required to approve the expense for a selected provider.
Monthly Experience Survey (MES) Results – July 2025
- 1 - 5.36%
- 2 - 8.45%
- 3 - 15.05%
- 4 - 26.60 %
- 5 - 44.54%
- Overall rating - 3.96
- 86% of members rate their experience 3 or better
- 71% of members rate their experience 4 or better
- 29% of members rate their experience less than 3
- Lack of contests in some areas
- Judge selection and seating process (from judge perspective)
- Mandating JCUP certification
- KCBS merchandise selection (US) and availability (EU)
No report for this period.
Judging Committee
- Date: July 23, 2025
- Attendees: Donna Fong, Chair; Randy Todd, Co-chair, Paul Buob, ex officio, President, KCBS; and Rod Gray, ex officio, KCBS CEO, Jeanne Titus, Advisory Rep; and members Myron Berry, Cliff Brockman, Ron Keefover, and Mark Tuttle
- Not in Attendance: Joe DeBella and Bryan Stewart
- The Award subcommittee will follow the Outstanding CBJ criteria previously adopted by the CBJ Committee and approved by the Board of Directors. The nomination announcement and forms for that award were published in the August Bullsheet. They must be submitted in writing via email between September 1 and September 30 and must include detailed narratives of why the nominee is worthy of the award and how the nominee meets the award criteria. A statement attesting to the worthiness of the nominee by a contest rep familiar with the nominee should accompany the nomination form. In regard to the Hall of Fame award and because no consensus could be made at the last Board meeting, it was decided to use the same process that was used last year by the CBJ Committee to nominate recipient(s) for the Hall of Fame award.
- The Training subcommittee has met with the Chair of the Tech committee and has received data from the Tech Chair for analysis of the number of judges and contests (master's and backyard) year by year. A preliminary analysis was presented to the committee; however, a more formal report will be presented in next month's meeting. In addition, a hybrid CBJ class survey has been sent to CBJ class stakeholders to gauge support for potential hybrid CBJ classes (online/in-person), in addition to traditional in-person classes. The hybrid classes are meant to support regions where the cost of hosting a class may be prohibitive or there is low student turn-out. Additional time has been extended to survey responders to increase participation (currently 20% responding). An analysis should be presented at the next meeting.
- The next CBJ meeting will be on August 27, 2025.
- Discussed feelings towards the Virtual Judge Classes survey that was sent out. No one was really in favor of it as there are too many things that the Reps must do during a competition. Although there was one that said something needed to change as where he repped it was hard to get judges and more needed to be trained, but the organizers of such sessions could not afford to hold the training and pay for travel from the areas that had CBJ instructors. We discussed the negative reaction of other reps (not on the committee). All Reps should respond either for or against it in the survey. This is just a survey, and it is not being rolled out yet. Let your voice be heard if we are going to have to do training while running a competition.
- Discussed the process for tables, adhering to the table matrix (mandatory), and alternative roles when there are more judges than teams
- X Boxes
- Double Table Captains
- Runners for Teams
- Someone to change the number on the comment cards and stack them in order
- If you have a Backyard and Masters contest running simultaneously, then you could have 2 turn-in tables (one for backyard and one for masters) and staff both with the extra judges
- If no judges come forward for volunteering duties, add another few chips designated for different roles (greeter, leftover table, number changer, etc.)
- Discussed thoughts on eliminating the 5-table contest (only available for 29-30 team contests). Discission of the table of death and the table of angels how there will be complaints. We are not moving forward with that idea.
- Discussed DQ's at turn in tables.
- Someone was in line waiting for the team before them to take a picture and were told they were late and should that be a DQ. Consensus was it should not.
- Another put down a box as the clock was being flipped down. Lead Rep took the box, but 2 reps at the table did not agree. The Rep Advisory states that if not agreed upon by the reps, then judgement is in favor of the cook.
- Discussion of Hall of Fame criteria for Reps (w/out nominations, criteria should be merit based)
- We do not have enough information to have a completely merit-based system for reps, judges or organizers
- Recommended that you should not count number of contests but should count number of years (10 years at a minimum was mentioned)
- Should have a great record of following rules, no issues with anyone, board service is a plus, and volunteer activities
- Discussed how and who should vote - Rep Committee to start, btu could include Hall of Fame members (Teams, judges, organizers and Reps w/ possibly 2 votes) - Although we do not want this to become a popularity contest
- Intangible things/discretionary efforts for going the extra mile - Could include things like posting and soliciting for teams and judges for contests, going above and beyond for organizers, etc.
No report for this period.
Finance Committee
To be discussed in Closed Session.
Foundation Committee
No report for this period.
Nominating Committee
No report for this period.
Technology Working Group
- Worked data requests for CBJ committee.
- The update for the Overall Ranking on the team Detail sheet is in beta testing. After the beta takes place, training will be scheduled with the KCBS reps to be rolled out to the field.
No report for this period.
Organizer Working Group
- Date: August 5, 2025
- Attendees: Donna Fong, Chair; Julie Poe, Advisory Rep, Paul Buob, ex officio, President, KCBS; and members Joe Osbrink, Jim Palmer, Kathy Trainor and Christie Vanover
- Not in attendance: Nick Owensby
- The Organizer Working Group generally meets on the 4th Tuesday of each month at 6:30pm Central.
- Julie Poe has finished the Organizer Guide. She received good feedback and submitted it to the committee. The committee is now reviewing the Guide and expects the Organizer Guide to be released later this year.
- The working group has scheduled the next KCBS Organizer Townhall Zoom meeting to be held on 08/19/25. The Fall Townhall topic will be "Marketing your Contest and Getting Sponsorship". The speaker is Andy Schaffer who has been instrumental in organizing major events such as the Smoke in the Grove BBQ Festival, Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival, and the Giant National BBQ Battle in DC, a high-profile event that draws considerable attention within the circuit. Please contact dfong@kcbs.us to get the online link if you have not received one.
- The working group discussed the Organizer Hall of Fame criteria and process.
- The next Organizer Working Group will be held on September 2, 2025.
No report for this period.
Backyard Working Group
No report for this period.
Sponsorship Working Group
No report for this period.
World Invitational Working Group
No report for this period.
CEO Report
Key Highlights:
KCBS hosted another successful Certified Barbeque Judge (CBJ) and Certified Table Captain (CTC) class last weekend in partnership with the American Royal. The class trained 48 CBJ students from 12 states, along with 19 new Table Captain students. Special thanks to Q39 and Westlake ACE Hardware for sponsoring the class.
In July, we certified 21 new CBJs and 12 new CTCs at a class taught by Wayne Lohman in Croatia. This effort supports our continued international outreach.
The next KCBS-hosted CBJ class is scheduled for Saturday, October 25, 2025, at Holladay Distillery in Weston, Missouri. This class is sponsored by Holladay Distillery and Westlake ACE Hardware.
Planning is underway for the Annual Awards Banquet and the KCBS Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. We’re also preparing for our role at the American Royal and beginning early-stage work on the 2026 KCBS World Invitational.
I’m finalizing a proposal to outsource digital publication creation, social media management, and graphic design. I’ve received four bids for social media and am exploring a retainer-based model for graphic design work. The last piece involves updating the Bullsheet design and production process.
Membership
- As of August 8, 2025, KCBS membership stands at 15,115, up from 15,108 on July 3.
- June’s expired-member postcard campaign resulted in 33 renewals. Postcards for July expirations are being mailed this week.
224 contests completed (year to date)
380 contests scheduled for 2025
22 contests canceled
CBJ & Table Captain Classes
32 CBJ classes scheduled in 2025
20 Table Captain classes scheduled in 2025
Marketing & Communications
- Bullsheet: The August issue was emailed to 13,450 recipients. It was opened by 7,202 members, reflecting a 53.55% open rate.
- World Invitational Merchandise: 202 judge and team shirts were sold. Orders are being fulfilled by Graphx Connections.
- Social Media: Engagement and audience growth continue across all platforms:
- Facebook views: 336,975 (up 84%)
- Interactions: 5,988 (up 37%)
- Net new followers: 228 (up 111%)
- Current Follower Counts (July 2025):
- Facebook: 78,912
- Instagram: 26,630
- Twitter/X: 22,125
- Website Performance (July 2025):
- 11,500 clicks from Google Search
- 301,000 impressions
- Top-clicked pages (July 2025):
- Homepage: 6,960 clicks
- Events page: 1,490 clicks
- Judging info page: up 16 clicks over the previous month
- Team of the Year rankings: up 12 clicks
- Top search queries (July 2025):
- “KCBS”: 4,250 clicks
- “KCBS BBQ”: 1,690 clicks
- “KCBS events”: 768 clicks
- Device usage (July 2025):
- Mobile: 8,720 clicks
- Desktop: 2,530 clicks
- Tablet: 262 clicks
- Top countries (July 2025):
- United States: 10,400 clicks
- Canada: 660 clicks
- Italy: 60 clicks