Page 34 - NOV2020 BNM Digital Issue

From the first one in Las Vegas to the one coming up March 3-6, 2021 in Louisville, KY, the NBBQA has offered seminars for the membership growth. From keynote speakers such as Steven Raichlen to seminar leaders such as Mark Lambert, one thing taken away is the information freely given. Topics covered have been wide ranging as well; How to speak on television when given the opportunity, How to prepare a whole hog and How to get your products on the shelf have all been covered. Then there are the opportunities you have to rub shoulders with legends whether attending a Meet the Masters session or just sitting at a table with a cup of coffee.
Awards of Excellence
There is nothing like winning an award for something you’ve not only worked hard on but is also your passion. The Awards of Excellence has grown over the years from rubs and sauces to grills to now, digital. Over the last couple of years, we have expanded the AOE to included photography, articles, books, websites, blogs and other digital influences which get the BBQ message out there. Of course, there are also marketing materials, BBQ products and grills which can change the landscape. This year we have opened the 2021 AOE submissions earlier and they will stay open until November 27th.
Webinar Wednesdays
Our newest voice for growth comes as a result of COVID-19. As the virus spread becoming a pandemic, everything changed. People were sent home to work, if they could, restaurants shutdown and ZOOM became a part of our daily vocabulary. When the National Conference was can- celed, the board wanted to do something to add more value for our members, to add yet another voice to aid in the growth of our membership. This is when Webinar Wednes- days was born. To date, we’ve had 4 webinars and have the rest of the year planned out. We have learned how to en- hance our catering with a whole hog presentation. How to cook a perfect steak and how to even market our brands better. In anticipation of Thanksgiving, we even taught a class on cooking turkey 3 different ways. Coming up this month will be “How to get our products out there for the masses.” Sign up to become a member so you can grow your business and BBQ skills.
Newsletters
Newsletters have been around for hundreds of years it seems. Churches would mail them to the parishioners to help keep them informed with activities as well as a mes- sage from the preacher. Businesses got on board making them an internal voice for their employees, taking their cue
from the business associations of which they are a part. Business associations, such as the NBBQA, have many rea- sons for sending the membership a newsletter, number one of which is, keeping the members informed with the hap- penings.
The weekly NBBQA newsletter also has this purpose (Up- coming events section) but also brings out a business-re- lated article, promotes our National Conference and seeks to highlight our membership. Our NBBQA family are accom- plishing great things in the BBQ world. From putting out great products to winning awards, our family is moving mountains, spreading the BBQ message. Hearing about all these great things happening, I must say, is one of the high- lights of putting out the newsletter each week. Which brings us to the next part of our voice for growth, the membership directory.
Membership Directory
Every association is full of people at different experience levels from the novice all the way to the celebrity expert and the NBBQA is no different. As you glance through the membership, you will see names such as Mark Lambert, Steven Raichlen, and many others. You will see world cham- pions and successful business owners as well as those seek- ing to do both. The amazing difference with our membership directory and some of the others is, you have complete access to reach out to these members.
Each member’s profile is complete with their website, social media accounts and ways to email. The one caveat is the members must input their information (if you’re a member double check your profile to make sure it’s up to date) com- plete with a picture of each member. With the NBBQA Membership directory you can connect with others who share your niche or the niche you desire to enter. This is where you realize you are a part of a larger and amazing BBQ family who will share all their secrets, but maybe not the measurements, as one member jokingly said.
Business Directory
They say, “Variety is the spice of life” and our Business Di- rectory is full of variety. Charcoal companies, restaurants, cutlery manufacturers, and distributors pepper our list of amazing business members. Just like the membership direc- tory, the business directory has information for each busi- ness. A brief history about each business allows you to search those businesses similar to yours. Success breeds success and the more you are around successful businesses the more you can learn to grow yours.
NOVEMBER 2020 BarbecueNews.com - 29