Election for 2015 KCBS Board of Directors

[Scottie]

Nope. Plenty of folks don't make excuses. I guarantee you that there is more experience at the Jack than any local contest in the Sam's series. My experience are all new CBJ's for the locals in the Sam's series.

 

[bbq.tom]

My experience are all new CBJ's for the locals in the Sam's series.

Definitely not in the Southeast! Local SAMs contests have mostly CMJs and experienced CBJs. VERY few newbies if any. I usually judge 2-3 local SAMs contests each year and see the placement method that Mike Lake uses - CMJs seated first, newbies next, and then filled in with experienced CBJs, ensuring a variety of experience at each table. That's not to say that all judges are utilizing the same scoring starting place, but NOT a bunch of newbies.

 

[Scottie]

I judged Tucson 2 years ago. One CMJ per table. 3 brand new judges and 2 that had 1-3 contests. After seeing some of my scores from these things, I believe that happens at more than just Tucson.

 

[Insane Swine BBQ]

Ultimately, it's the organizer who determines who judges and who doesn't.

I think this is a large part of the issue, especially with first year contests with inexperienced organizers. If KCBS is responsible for ensuring a contest is run fairly, they must play a much larger role in the judging process from start (training) to finish (analyzing scores after a contest) and everything in between. That includes which judges are at a contest and where they are seated.

On the Jack judging, I've heard from multiple people that locals and celebrities judge, in addition to CBJs. But I don't have any firsthand knowledge of this.

 

[Vince RnQ]

These are all reasons why we need balance on the Board of Directors. I'm sick and tired of the status quo and am very much ready for some serious change.

 

[sdbbq1234]

Nope. Plenty of folks don't make excuses. I guarantee you that there is more experience at the Jack than any local contest in the Sam's series. My experience are all new CBJ's for the locals in the Sam's series.

Sure, I'll agree there, 110%! I have a funny feeling there is a waiting list to be asked to be a judge for that event. Heck, who wouldn't want to be a judge at one of the best competitions! Competitors do not get into the Jack by simply paying an entry fee.

But at the local level, well, just roll the dice....

wallace(Don)

 

[jcog44]

Judging at the Jack is by invitation only. I talked to a judge who has done the Jack, and she said that there were a LOT of celebrity judges. Judging a the Sam's Club contest is on a first come sign up basis, and experience at each local will vary by who signed up first. The Sam's national is only master judges.

 

[sdbbq1234]

Judging at the Jack is by invitation only. I talked to a judge who has done the Jack, and she said that there were a LOT of celebrity judges. Judging a the Sam's Club contest is on a first come sign up basis, and experience at each local will vary by who signed up first. The Sam's national is only master judges.

Opppsssss. Sorry about that; I am wrong.

:sad:

wallace(Don)

 

[SDAR]

I do some KCBS, but mostly IBCA. In IBCA, the general public judges. Usually if you judge in a large contest, you judge one meat (chicken, ribs or brisket). In IBCA, if you are in the top half of the first table of death or angels for that matter, you still have a chance...on to the next table of chance. My point is...why doesn't KCBS take away the initial table of chance by adding AT LEAST one more table of chance??

 

[SDAR]

I'd like to add to my previous post that if KCBS has so many new CBJ's signing up adding to the organization's coffers, why not add them to each contest to lower the chance of a TOD or an Angel table by adding more tables? No offense to MBJ's or often selected CBJ's, but how many of them are in a rut of being BBQ snobs?...Picking what wins in the area they are from or just what they like personally and are influencing all of KCBS because they judge 40 contests a year? Seems streamlined to trends to me. Tell me to pound sand if you want, but think about it.

 

[Rookie'48]

These are all reasons why we need balance on the Board of Directors. I'm sick and tired of the status quo and am very much ready for some serious change.

Vince, when I was elected to the Board three years ago there was only one non-Rep at the table, Candy Weaver. Then the four of us came on, some left, some stayed, but that made it 5 non-Reps in February of 2012. Right now there's Bill Capstack, Mike Peters, Steve Farin, Candy Weaver and myself who aren't Reps. Steve isn't running again and Candy is going to start her Rep-in-Training if she hasn't started already.

When I ran, I ran on the fact that I was a judge - not a Rep, just a judge who cooks once or twice a year with different teams. I firmly believe that we need more judges, cooks and organizers on the BoD than we need Reps. Nothing against any particular Rep, we just need to balance the Board to reflect the membership.

The Board makes the rules, the Reps interpret and enforce the rules, the cooks, organizers and judges have to follow the rules. To me, a Board full of Reps doesn't get any input from the very people who are affected by the rules. Do we need Reps on the Board? Yes, but we need to balance it out by having the rest of us represented, also.

My main problem with most (I did say most) Reps is that they no longer cook, judge or organize - they're Reps.

 

[djqualls]

And the board needs Two Daves to keep it Balanced!

 

[Gowan]

My opinion is somewhat different than many it seems. I do NOT believe packing the KCBS Board with folks from a single group is a good idea. KCBS is a three-legged stool of organizers, cooks and judges, and as such each group should be represented on the Board.

I do believe that the practice of allowing active Reps to serve on the Board should be ended. As paid contract employees of KCBS, they should be exempt from Serving because there is too much potential for conflict of interest. If a person that is a Rep chooses to run and is elected to the Board, their Rep certification should be suspended during their term of service.

Finally, I think the idea that has been proposed of halting judging classes is both short-sighted and unrealistic. The simple truth is that the CBJ program is the fuel that turns the KCBS economic engine. A constant flow of new judges to pay membership fees, buy swag and travel to contests (where they spend more money), is needed in order for KCBS to fund its current mission and the future growth most cooks say they want. Stopping CBJ classes for any significant period of time would be financial suicide.

 

[Ackman]

On Jack judges, I was told that they were all CBJ, but that they had a class the night before the judging

 

[Scottie]

There is absolutely no difference with a Jack judge going through a class the night before the event, than a brand new CBJ judging a local Sam's or just a local contest. Who has more experience?

 

[Vince RnQ]

My opinion is somewhat different than many it seems. I do NOT believe packing the KCBS Board with folks from a single group is a good idea. KCBS is a three-legged stool of organizers, cooks and judges, and as such each group should be represented on the Board.

The Board is currently stacked with Reps or former Reps & Judges or former Judges. Electing a high number of cooks this year balances the Board.

I do believe that the practice of allowing active Reps to serve on the Board should be ended. As paid contract employees of KCBS, they should be exempt from Serving because there is too much potential for conflict of interest. If a person that is a Rep chooses to run and is elected to the Board, their Rep certification should be suspended during their term of service.

Agreed!!! 100%!!!

Finally, I think the idea that has been proposed of halting judging classes is both short-sighted and unrealistic. The simple truth is that the CBJ program is the fuel that turns the KCBS economic engine. A constant flow of new judges to pay membership fees, buy swag and travel to contests (where they spend more money), is needed in order for KCBS to fund its current mission and the future growth most cooks say they want. Stopping CBJ classes for any significant period of time would be financial suicide.

The teaching needs to become absolutely uniform throughout the country and there needs to be a test at the end of the class. If you don't pass, you're not certified until you do. The class sizes also need to be limited to no more than 25-30 people and that number is at the very edge. Providing enough food of varying quality & appearance so as to actually give the students an opportunity to see the difference is nearly impossible at those numbers let alone at the 50+ numbers you see at a number of class locations. The CBJ program as it stands today teaches damn little, tests nothing and is an insult to anyone who really wants to be a good judge of competition barbeque.

Oh, but it makes money so I guess that makes it OK.

This is what the overload of Reps & Judges on the Board have brought about. Thank you to all who have served but it's time for a change.

 

[Scottie]

Here is a perfect example of over saturation of the CBJ program. My hometown has a CBJ class every February. They make a little money for the Lions Club, so the keep doing them. Another.local contest, less than 25 miles away does 2 new CBJ classes every year. Throw in the new CBJ classes that have gone in in Wisconsin the last couple of years and all the new classes in Iowa and we have a bloat of new CBJ's. While I get that this is the life blood of KCBS. Cooks are the heartbeat of the KCBS. You lose the cooks, the CBJ program is sorta moot point. And you will start losing more and more cooks with the inconsistent judging...

 

[ModelMaker]

Thanks......could you find that rule for me?

Sure, as stated in the KCBS website under "downloads" in both the "CBJ facts", and also in the "CBJ instruction manual" it states,

What if I let my membership expire, am I still a certified judge?

• No. Certified judges must be a member in good standing to be considered “certified.” Why, you might ask? Simple, each year the KCBS board reevaluates the rules for a competition. Occasionally, rules are changed and if you are NOT a KCBS member, you will not be informed of these changes.

Although a pretty chinsy explanation, it's still the rule.
Ed

 

[DUBBAGA]

Sure, as stated in the KCBS website under "downloads" in both the "CBJ facts", and also in the "CBJ instruction manual" it states,

What if I let my membership expire, am I still a certified judge?

• No. Certified judges must be a member in good standing to be considered “certified.” Why, you might ask? Simple, each year the KCBS board reevaluates the rules for a competition. Occasionally, rules are changed and if you are NOT a KCBS member, you will not be informed of these changes.

Although a pretty chinsy explanation, it's still the rule.
Ed

I believe what you quoted doesn't entirely support your earlier comment that was being questioned. What you posted is correct, that you need to be a KCBS member to be a certified judge, but this is different than what you said below about needing to be a current paid member of KCBS to judge "any sanctioned event".

You must be a current paid member of KCBS to judge any sanctioned event.
The only exception is if there are none available, voulenteers are considered.
Personally I feel if your going to cook KCBS you should be a member of KCBS.
Ed

 

[BasicPatrick]

Although I have already decided I am voting for D. Qualls & M. Richter, I am carefully reading all of the places where candidates are making statements.

My vote will be influenced by what I feel is the most important issue facing KCBS and for this cook that is the cost of participating in a KCBS contest. A lot of issues can fall under this general concern.