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| VIDEOS SHOW NBBQA CONFERENCE ACTION |
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Video description of what takes place during an NBBQA
Conference including
a fresh, whole barbecued hog for a pig-pickin’. |
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A Revolutionary New Way To Barbecue
WHAT'S HOT ON THE MENU AT NBBQA THIS MONTH:
A Letter From Howard Miller:
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NBBQA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE by Howard Miller
 The
National Barbecue Association is a tax-exempt,
not-for-profit trade association that is primarily supported
by memberships, so inside this column I want to
discuss some recent membership initiatives I have launched.
First, with the blessing of the Board of Directors, I
have appointed Butch Hofferbert of First Data Corporation in
Tennessee, to become our national
Membership Chairman and help us invite and recruit more
barbecue members into NBBQA. Of course Butch is a
marketing expert due to his professional background and work
experience, and should be able to bring a fresh perspective
toward growing NBBQA into a larger presence. If Butch
contacts you, give him you ear and your assistance since he
is trying to help our Association become more able-bodied
and financially capable through more members, who may
volunteer to help barbecue grow and prosper nationally.
A trade association such as NBBQA works to improve the
future business environment and quality of professional
lives we all hope for, but it can only be accomplished if we
work in unison and harmony. Butch is also a fun loving
guy who enjoys cruising on local lakes in his new boat, so
he understands the fun, comraderie and enjoyment surrounding
barbecue as well.
Secondly, I am still pursuing and signing-up new State
Representatives to liaison between the NBBQA on the national
level, and stay in touch with what is happening
barbecue-wise in each state of the union. I believe
these folks will provide a vital communications link to
NBBQA and potentially unify, represent and involve their
states in our activities. We have been giving a lot of
thought, and I have been personally making a lot of phone
calls, regarding establishing this communications conduit.
I want everyone to feel they have input and influence in the
future direction of the barbecue industry, and for too long
the distinct regional variations of barbecue have separated
us. The competitive nature of barbecue is what
nourishes competition barbecue cook-offs, but this spirit
should not divide us when it comes to our mutual need and
desire to promote and prolong the love of, and business of
barbecue nationwide. Our state representatives will
play an important part in uniting the barbecue industry
through communications, cooperation and hopefully membership
growth from a grass roots level. We are happy to have
a number of volunteers calling us, but we hope for more.
Give me a call at 765-491-0608 to see if anyone has
volunteered to represent your home state, and then volunteer
if there is a vacancy.
Several times I have been asked how
do I sell an NBBQA membership? I always respond that each
time I have personally done it, I was surprised how easy it
was, plus the barbecue person I invited to join usually
seems pleased that I bothered or even cared to invite
them….because I was sharing as a fellow active member.
We have plenty of tools to help you qualify for the contest.
We have four color descriptive brochures that include a
membership application. We have a long
list of direct Membership Benefits listed on our website at www.nbbqa.org, along with a down-loadable
application and an on-line sign-up form that accepts credit
cards. New members will receive a new member
packet of materials including a couple of handsome decals
for their POS windows or cash registers, a frame worthy
membership certificate, and immediate discounts on
conference registrations, workshop registrations, and logo
materials. Membership is a true bargain and it is true that
you get out of the Association in direct
proportion of how much you commit to participate in
activities.
Additionally, new members will begin
receiving the National
Barbecue News (where you are currently reading
this column), plus you will receive four quarterly issues of
NBBQA’s new Q magazine.
On the NBBQA website, there is a members-only section that is accessible
with a password provided on the back of the membership card
you are issued inside the packet. Inside this special
area, you will be able to access several money saving
services that will more than pay for your dues in discounts
and savings that will offset your dues investments easily.
Additionally, your membership runs from the time you join so
you will always get a full year of service after you join
up. When you have the courage to invite someone to
join and ask for their membership, you are helping them out,
you are qualifying yourself to win some prizes, and most
importantly from my perspective, you are helping NBBQA grow
so it can better serve our industry.
We are moving forward on a number of
fronts and you should be getting a Conference promotion
announcement shortly. Please look it over and share it
with others that might be interested in attending,
exhibiting or sponsoring an event. You are our
advocates, and we solicit your word of mouth support.
Together, we make membership grow and help ourselves at the
same time. I ask for your support in helping NBBQA
grow stronger to help preserve and protect the future of our
barbecue industry.
Howard
Miller
2007-08 NBBQA President
NBBQA INTRODUCES
“Q” , A NEW SLICK PUBLICATION FOR BBQ INDUSTRY
 Communications
is the key to support and success in almost any
endeavor, and defines the publisher's mission and
purpose. To better serve its membership, and
define the increasing status of barbecue in our
country's daily dining habits, NBBQA began
publishing a slick new professional barbecue
magazine that fills a niche not being served. The
“Q” idea was
introduced in concert with the trend toward an even
shorter version for the acronym
BBQ.
This barbecue magazine known simply as
“Q” follows the
single letter name prototype currently being
utilized by several popular national magazines.
It attempts to further enhance and prolong the
barbecue popularity explosion. Barbecue
has established its place in the taste buds of
Americans, and its regional variations provide
an unlimited area to explore and explain.
The National Barbecue Association strives to
tell the story of barbecue manufacturers,
distributors, restaurants, caterers, new
products, innovations, sauces, rubs, marinades,
mops and salsas in professional detail with
quality photos. Although barbecue is widely
recognized as a down-home comfort food, there is
no reason why its story cannot be celebrated in
an improved, interesting format.
The first edition was issued to members and
advertisers in the last quarter of 2006, and
additional editions, and have been published
quarterly with the seasons. Anyone interested
in advertising in the next publication or suggesting
story ideas, should contact editor Kim Scherbele at
kim@sailhousepublishing.com
or call NBBQA at 512/ 454-8626. Monthly
membership news will continue to be printed in the
centerfold of the
National BBQ News.
MEMBERS ONLY SECTION OF WEBSITE
As members renew their memberships to the National
Barbecue Association, they are issued a personal
membership card that contains a
PASSWORD process for
entering into the
Members Only section
of this website. Inside that area, members are
provided barbecue business information, tips, food
safety, a member's only chat room and even a BBQ
humor section. The Association has a serious
public responsibility to provide general barbecue
information, but it also has a membership service
responsibility to dues paying members who finance
this website and other benefits of membership.
Look to your membership card for access to this
section.
NEW DISCOUNTED MERCHANT CREDIT CARD SERVICE NOW
AVAILABLE FOR NBBQA MEMBERS
The new NBBQA Merchant Credit Card program was
announced in 2007 and a number of members are now
benefiting monthly with substantial discounts and
new service capabilities for their customers.
The merchant savings are remarkable…the first three
members that signed up saved 24%, 36% and one had an
outstanding savings of 44 percent over current
credit card acceptance costs. If you accept credit
cards, you can save some serious money and add new
money producing services such as issuing Gift Cards
from your BBQ restaurant. Give
Butch Hofferbert a call at
865-694-9225,
tell him you are a member of NBBQA , and begin
saving money. If you are a merchant, our goal is to
have your merchant credit card processing savings
more than offset your annual dues to NBBQA. It is
simply called having your cake and eating it too.
NBBQA LEADERSHIP:
As you all know, the leadership of the National
Barbecue Association association's Board of
Directors are all volunteers and donate their time,
knowledge and energy to our Association in hopes of
advancing the overall barbecue industry. To
some extent they are helping themselves and their
businesses, but more importantly they are stepping
up to leadership roles and making sure progress and
professionalism are advanced in the barbecue
industry through their trade association. The
NBBQA summer board meeting was held in the spring
where a number of important issues were discussed
while many of you are involved in preparing for the
season
These leaders are listed under the
Leadership Page
on this website and are deserving of your
recognition and thanks. The current Board of
Directors is complete and we are happy to report
that they are all participating in the meetings,
offering ideas, and working toward consensus to move
the barbecue industry forward in a positive manner
that benefits everyone in the industry. We are
proud of them and want to say
“thanks.” |
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