Page 29 - April 2022 Barbecue News Magazine

terrible.” He recalls they were last in just about everything. They got their act together, identified what they needed to do to improve, and then competed in Bainbridge, Georgia. They got two calls and finished 12th overall. Infinitely bet- ter than their first try at competition BBQ. Jim Elser from Sweet Smoke Q took them under his wing and served as an advisor. He would show them his entries and suggest they come up with similar presentations. Jim still serves as a sponsor today for their team and Mark and Jim are very close friends. In Jim’s own words “OK, I was next to them at their first contest and looking back it didn’t take then long to figure out what it takes to be competitive. Boog-A-Lou Smoke Crew doesn’t compete as much as some of us but when they show up, they’re always in the hunt for a top finish”.
Mark has numerous stories from the contests where he has competed, some I don’t feel I can repeat, and many are just what we hear within this fabulous BBQ family. In a contest in Pensacola several years ago it turned cold and I did not bring warm clothes. Mark did not even know me but he loaned me a jacket for the weekend to keep warm until I was ready to fly home. At the time it was very much appre- ciated. I have observed him helping others in a similar way through the years.
He recalls they have earned a KCBS Grand, an FBA Grand, and numerous reserve awards through the years. Earlier they were competing in a lot of contests but now they only cook about 10 events a year. They have competed in the American Royal, Sonny’s Showdown, but yet to get the draw for the Jack.
Mark buys his meats from the Butcher Shop in Pensacola. As he made this known more several other teams started buying their meats from the Butcher Shop too. The Butcher Shop is getting so much business he has built a new build- ing just to service the numerous competition BBQ teams. They attribute much of this success to Mark and his associ- ation with the BBQ family. Today they actually sponsor Mark’s team. Their other sponsor is Rub Bagby and his one man team, Swamp Boys who has been Team of the Year several times in the FBA and is certainly a leader in compe- tition BBQ. He knows Mark well and recently said “Mark, and the entire Boog-A-Lou Smoke Crew, epitomizes every- thing that is great about the BBQ community. Mark is so down to earth and genuinely caring and helpful to anyone. He’s passionate about BBQ as well as his great family. If you have not had the chance to meet him yet, do it! You’ll be glad you did.” Everyone has nothing but nice thigs to say about this team and gives them nothing but praise.
APRIL 2022
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