Page 12 - May 2021 Barbecue News Magazine
P. 12

 Minnesota BBQ
Society Mission
The mission of the Minnesota BBQ Society (MBS) is the promo- tion and enhancement of the art of outdoor cooking. The MBS does this by sponsoring and promoting various events and con- tests throughout communities highlighting the passion of great BBQ and fostering interest in both members and nonmembers through educational opportunities and activities. The members of the MBS are at all levels of involvement in the art: from the casual backyard chef to competition cooks and professionals, they all share the same passion. Every time I read the mission statement I
By: Mark Noordsy
think about the ways the MBS can help grow the sport of outdoor competition cooking and help build the excitement of outdoor cooking with thepeople they encounter.
This year, I asked the MBS Board to consider adding a steak cate- gory to each of the following awards- Team/Cook of the Year, Judge of the Year and Organizer of the Year. My rational is that the Steak Cookoff Association (SCA) is the fastest growing com- petitive cooking organization in the world. Plus, the SCA had a fantastic year in 2020 by successfully navigating the challenges of COVID. While the international competitors couldn’t participate at the World Championships in Fort Worth due to travel restric- tions, their kindred spirit could be felt among the 300 cooks that had earned their Golden Tickets to attend. I feel the SCA aligns well with the mission of the MBS and will compliment any future direction the MBS chooses to go.
The MBS Board agreed and approved the proposal and the MBS Steak Points Chase is now official! I was then asked to draft and oversee the implementation by joining Beth Salzl’s Team of the Year (TOY) Committee. It is a great committee full of energy and ideas. There is still some work to be done making sure we have a 2021 implementation that is fair and fun for the steak cooks, judges and organizers that are hard at work with steak cooking events. While we will be using the SCA points system and data- base, we will also include any sanctioned steak ancillary event as well. The goal is to be as inclusive as possible when it comes to which events count toward the MBS Steak Points Chase. As with the BBQ awards, this is a “for the glory of the sport” chase with trophies awarded (no cash) and you must be a member of the MBS to be eligible for the award. The TOY committee and I will be talking to cooks, judges, organizers and reps in the coming weeks to finalize the steak program for 2021. You can reach me at mark.noordsy@mnbbqsociety.com to share any thoughts or input you might have.
My goal and passion is to grow and expand the reach of competi- tive cooking in line with the mission of the MBS. I am fortunate to be part of the BBQ/SCA families. I am a KCBS Master Judge, KCBS Lifetime member, an SCA PRIME judge and SCA lifetime member. One of the best things I get to do is write articles for Na- tional BBQ News about “In the World of BBQ, it’s the People you Meet and Friends You Make”.
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