Page 7 - JAN2020 BBQNEWS Digital Issue

come nor- mal as our facility was printing two different daily publi- cations and was running 24/7.
My accident
happened
when I fell
asleep be-
hind the
wheel on the way home at about 6:30 AM on a Saturday morn- ing. The fact that I am living today is a true testimony of God watching over me. My new Yukon SUV was nearly cut in half after hitting a guard rail almost
dead center of the front end
while running about 65 mph. I
had a few bumps and airbag
burns, but not one broken
bone, whiplash, or other injury
was to be found on me. I just remember the officer who
came to investigate the wreck
telling me I should be thanking
God to no end as he was ex-
pecting to find me lifeless as
he was approaching the accident scene.
The following Monday, I came into the facility and informed my boss that I would be leaving after my two-week notice. I also told him that he could fire me if needed, but I would be calling in hourly guys to handle any overtime before that notice time was up. Needless to say, I worked my 80 final hours for that company without any more overtime.
I had no idea what my next job would be but started looking for a new job before my notice was up. After sev- eral outstand- ing offers to work for some local busi- nesses, I sat down and
talked about buying the Barbecue News publication from my bar- becue and business mentors. The best business advice I've ever been given was shared with me that day when my Dad told me,
"Son, I don't think you will get rich by doing this barbecue thing, but I can tell you from experience that if you go away hungry, then it will be your own fault!"
After a few hours of discussion about it, they gave me a price and I told them I would take it...as long as the bank would loan me that amount of
money. Three short days later, I was scared stiff as I began to work for myself as the new publisher of the Barbecue News. July 2003 was the first month I was honored to share the news of my new job with the barbecue world.
What's Coming For The Next 30 Years
The Barbecue News started as a way to keep the barbecue en- thusiast informed about the things happening in the barbecue
JANUARY 2020
BarbecueNews.com - 7