Page 32 - DEC2021 Digial Issue: Barbecue News Magazine

T. Michael Garrison
The Flying BBQ Judge mgarrison8@sbcglobal.net
An essential element in any
competition BBQ event are the
Reps. Sometimes they do not
get the credit they deserve for
the success of an event, but
they are the element that
makes sure everything is done
by the book, the schedule is
adhered to, and the cook
teams, the judges, the organiz-
ers and the volunteers are all doing everything like they are sup- posed to. This month I want to recognize a husband and wife team of KCBS Reps who are top notch. Their contests are among the best and they have handled some pretty difficult situations and handled them well.
Rusty and Julie Cook are excellent Reps and have encountered many unusual situations. One of my early contests, after moving to Florida in 2014, was at Kissimmee Florida, the Kissimmee Val- ley Rib Rodeo. This was one of their early contests as Reps. Unfor- tunately, another BBQ organization had scheduled an event on the same day in the same town. When this happens both contests suffer as most of the teams and most of the judges belong to both organizations. Thus, they have to choose which one they will sup- port. The cooks faced this problem along with many others asso- ciated with the BBQ event and everything came off without a hitch. I was really impressed, and this was the beginning of a very long friendship between the cooks and these Reps.
Rusty was born in Pensacola and is a top quality auto me- chanic. He raced sports cars for many years in the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). In my earlier life I was a member of this organization and partici- pated with my Jaguar XK120M. This is great organization. Julie was born in Carrolton, Georgia, and they were married in 1984. She was a very supportive part- ner to Rusty in their SCCA days as they were participating in about 30 plus events a year. Rusty currently works for
Loomis with their high security vehicles for transporting cash and securities. His territory ranges from Puerto Rico to Maine, so he travels extensively.
Their first exposure to cooking over an open fire came in 2007. Julie enrolled both of them in a KCBS Judge Class, something they had always wanted to try and learn more about. Rusty said since she had always been such a staunch supporter of his sports car racing he felt he should support her interest in BBQ Judging. After the class they were both hooked on BBQ and all that goes with it. They both love to travel and use BBQ judging as a reason to see the country. They have judged in New York, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia and up and down the East Coast. The first contest they judged was the Pork and Brew in New Mexico. Their second was the Pig Jam in Plant City, Florida. This is a contest that I judge each year as well. They were judging 37-40 contests a year and loving every minute of their experiences.
While interviewing them they emphasized much of what I empha-
BBQ PROFILES:
Rusty and Julie Cook
BarbecueNews.com - 32
DECEMBER 2021