Page 18 - DEC2019 BBQNEWS DIGITAL

bbq family
In The World Of
BBQ, It’s The
People You Meet
By: Mark & Gretchen Noordsy Certified Judge
KCBS, SCA, EAT
mnbbq@outlook.com
It’s that time of year in the Midwest when the leaves are falling, snow can be in the forecast and BBQ trailers are cleaned one final time for the season. Now, we sit back and enjoy Thanksgiving, Christmas and football while we wait for Spring and the return of the BBQ and SCA competition season. Of course, leave it to diehard Wisconsinite Anita Moore to be organizing and promoting the Mamelons Durs (you will need to ask Anita about the name) SCA Steak Challenge and SCA judging class in Princeton, Wisconsin on December 28th. I sure hope the charcoal can get warm enough to cook a steak and they don’t need to plow a path to the grills!
While most cooks and judges are enjoying a well-deserved rest from the peak summer competition season, there is a group of BBQ enthusiasts already active behind the scenes. I’m referring to the event organizers and promoters whose contests make competition BBQ and steak cookoffs possi- ble.
Speaking of diehard Wison- sinites, let me introduce you to Laurie and Keith Tweten – the driving organizer force behind the Bring’n Home the Bacon KCBS Pro/KCBS Back- yard/SCA/Kids Que contests held in West Salem, Wiscon- sin in June. To say Laurie is driven is an un- derstatement and it is a good
Photos Courtesy of Mark Noordsy
thing she has Keith at her side to support her passion to serve. Laurie got her start selling Kringles (a Wisconsin Danish pastry formed into an oval and filled with all kinds of goodness) helping a local Rotary club raise funds even though she wasn’t a Rotary member. Over the next 10 years she sold more and more Kringle eventually selling over 1,200 in a single fundraiser earning the title “The Kringle Queen”. Keith was right by her side delivering the Kringle she was selling. Good thing they had a big garage! Next came hauling a car to events across the state selling raffle tickets for the Valley View Rotary. With that back- ground, it comes as no surprise to find Laurie taking a KCBS BBQ judging class and becoming a Certified BBQ Judge.
Even though Laurie is now a KCBS master judge with over 50 contests behind her, it isn’t judging that is in Laurie’s heart, it is organizing and promoting contests. So, it wasn’t long before Laurie organized her first contest as a fundraiser for two neighboring Rotary Clubs, including the
Valley View Rotary Club, of which she was now a member. She convinced 21 teams to cook in a rib competition and 19 non-profit teams to cook pulled pork as a people’s choice fundraiser. And, so they say, the rest is history. Both Keith and Laurie became ever present fixtures at BBQ
contests as they contin- ued to learn about all as- pects of suc- cessful contests in- cluding judging, vol- unteering or doing what- ever was needed. Laurie was fortunate to
BarbecueNews.com - 16
DECEMBER 2019
Laurie and Keith Tweten