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® #IAMBBQ #BUSINESSOFBBQ WHAT THE NBBQA MEANS TO ME Greetings! As a co-founder of a rapidly growing company the NBBQA has allowed Code 3 Spices to grow exponentially in several areas of business. But 昀rst, lets back up to how I found out about the NBBQA. While in Chicago visiting my friend Dave Raymond aka Sweet Baby Ray, he asked if I was familiar with NBBQA which I had replied that I was aware of them but didn’t know too much about the organization and what it had to o昀er. Dave explained to me that it o昀ered a ton of value to anyone who is thinking about starting a journey in the world of BBQ or someone who is already established in the industry. So needless to say, we looked into what the NBBQA had to o昀er and headed to Dallas/Ft. Worth for our 昀rst NBBQA conference. We were hooked from the 昀rst day. The educational blocks were not only exceptional but allowed us to take knowledge from other successful men and women in our industry which allowed our company to immediately grow in ways of marketing, advertising, logistics and more. I would have to say the best part of our 昀rst conference was networking with the biggest names in the BBQ industry. catching up with old friends and making new ones (my favorite part). Some of my best friends and the greatest people you would meet are part of this loyal organization. The greatest thing in my opinion about the NBBQA is the people. It is a large circle of people that want to see others in the industry not only learn but succeed. We are all on one team. You don’t see that in a lot of organizations, but you see it in this one. Never in my life have I been a part of an organization that would go out of their way at all costs to help you out. We have attended the NBBQA conference every year since our 昀rst visit. Every year we have taken away exceptional nuggets of information from many well-known leaders in the industry which has allowed our journey to unfold in ways we didn’t think was possible. Fast forward to present, I am currently in my 昀rst year as a board member. Even though I’m getting my feet wet, I am beyond excited to learn from these rock stars on the current board and look forward to continuing to grow the legacy that the ones before us have created. The current board is made up of genuine people whose lives are BBQ. If you are on the fence about joining, I can say 昀rsthand that there are tremendous areas of value including special interest group (SIG) calls, free resources and several action-packed events on the calendar to attend. Mike Radosevich Mike Radosevich Co-Founder - Code 3 Spices Inc. “The greatest thing in my opinion about the NBBQA is the people.” OCTOBER 2019 BarbecueNews.com - 23