Page 6 - JAN2020 BBQNEWS Digital Issue

My mom started a small "Shop- per" publication in our hometown of Douglas, GA, in 1980. That is where the business side of this story got started. At the tender age of 10 I was inserting papers, delivering bills, and tearsheets (ad proofs) to customers around town for my mom Carlene Phelps. She led by example and showed what hard work and a great attitude could accomplish. In 1982 my family bought a web printing press and we began to print our weekly shopping guide in addition to several other re- gional publications. I stayed em- ployed at the printing facility until my family sold both paper and press in 1998. I continued to work for the mega-group that pur- chased my family's business.
The idea of a Barbecue News
publication came along as a need
to serve a growing community
that was starving for information
about its growth. Keep in mind
that print and TV were the only significant sources of news and information back in the late '80s and early '90s. This idea came to life in January 1990 as the office opened and Doc Gillis began spending many late hours writing and gathering information for the first issue that was published and mailed to only 300 BBQ family members on February 2, 1990. Doc was still a practicing dentist at that time and the majority of this new BBQ venture was being done in the evenings. Joe, my dad, supported the publication by housing the office space, printing, mailing while doing some occasional writing and taking photos. The two would
also spend a tremendous amount of time on the road as they vis- ited any barbecue festival they could to promote the new publi- cation. My mom, Carlen Phelps, assisted the new paper by provid- ing the layout and design con- cept for the paper. She still helps assist with that same role today as we begin our 31st year of pub- lishing the Barbecue News.
All through this time, the Barbe- cue News continued to grow and prosper as Doc Gillis and my dad Joe Phelps attended barbecue events all across America as they shared their barbecue paper with other barbecue fans. The success and growth of the paper left little time to compete as a team dur- ing this time, but they were judg- ing a lot of the events they would attend as this allowed them to help at the different events with- out having to sacrifice the time that cooking would have re- quired. All the while, I am proud
to have touched every single issue of this publication since it began by printing, mailing, publishing, or designing it.
Stepping Out With Faith
After working for the mega-company and becoming a pressroom foreman, I had a life-changing experience after an exhausting 39- hour shift. The company I was working for really disliked over time to be given to their hourly-paid employees. They required their managers to step up to replace sick hours or vacation hours that would be missing on their shifts. The crazy hours had be-
BarbecueNews.com - 6
JANUARY 2020