Page 20 - Barbecue News DEC 2020 Digital Issue
P. 20

 2021 NBBQA Awards of Excellence
It’s that time of year again when the NBBQA is accepting submis- sions for the Awards of Excellence. The submission date closes De- cember 31st so there is no time to waste. There is a lot going on this year and you are going to want to be a part of it. If all goes as planned, we will be celebrating our 30th Anniversary as an Associ- ation in Louisville, Kentucky March 3-6, 2021. On March 4th will be the Awards of Excellence banquet where many in our industry will be awarded for their hard work and creativity. As you remember from last year, the AOE celebration along with the entire confer- ence had to be canceled due to COVID-19. But we were able to an- nounce the AOE winners virtually, which you can still watch on our YouTube channel (https://www.nbbqa.org/awards-of-excellence).
We are anticipating 2021 will bring us all back together for what is always a highlight of the year. There are seven main categories from sauces to rubs to BBQ equipment to anything digital. How- ever, with 38 sub-categories, there is a place for you to enter your submission and possibly, in more than one category. With the vol- ume of entries coming in daily, there is a great need for volunteers and judges to help the process move along smoothly. When the time comes, we will be putting out a call for both volunteers and judges, so, stay up to date by checking our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/nbbqa) for the latest.
Volunteers
With an organization such as the NBBQA, volunteers are essential in every aspect. From the National Conference to the board to the Awards of Excellence, we could not run efficiently without our great volunteers. These people step up whenever asked to do what is needed. The really great thing is, they aren’t always the same people. There are two types of volunteers when a call goes out, those with specific skill sets for specific tasks and those who are willing to lend a hand when needed. These two types are needed for every task in an association such as ours.
As we have grown over the last 30 years, so has our need for vol- unteers. For the conference, we will have a need for hosts for each session room each day. We will need people to help with registra- tions, directions, clean-up and a plethora of other tasks, some of which just require a friendly face, of which there are plenty within the NBBQA. When the call comes out whether it is for the Awards of Excellence when judging is taking place or for the National Conference in March, feel free to throw your BBQ hat in the mix and get even more involved with our great association.
Judging
With all the hard work you put into developing your rubs and sauces, we want to make sure we have the same quality of judg- ing. Every week, as food sport competitors, we go out to compete where certified judges analyze our turn ins. From appearance to taste to doneness, whatever the sanctioning body deems neces-
sary to determine a winner. The NBBQA feels having certified judges elevates the level or credibility of our awards and makes for a much more level competition. Therefore, AOE judging will utilize the SCA methodology with NBBQA judging criteria. The judges will be as follows, Culinary Chefs, any person with a current certified judge number with any of the following sanctioning bod- ies, SCA, KCBS, PNWBA, MBM, FBA, GBA, or in the EAT Methodol- ogy. To also keep it as fair as possible, judges may not have any business or family connection to anyone with entries in the Awards of Excellence.
For the past few years, we have realized there is much more to the BBQ industry than sauces and rubs. There are marketing and edu- cational components which contribute a great deal to spread the love of BBQ and grilling. This is the reason we have added the digi- tal categories for blogs, articles, books, videos and more. If you have one of these types of products, rest assured the judges will be experts in the respective fields. Using the same type of criteria as for rubs, leaders in the industry will making up the judging process to ensure fairness and a high standard of competition.
In order to keep up with all the ways you can be a part of this years Awards of Excellence and celebrate the 30th Anniversary of our association at the National Conference, visit our website at www.nbbqa.org and also our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/NBBQA. We are looking forward to seeing you and your submissions at the Awards of Excellence banquet in Louisville, KY March 4th 2021.
—UPCOMING EVENTS—
September 16, 2020 - December 31st, 2020
NBBQA Awards of Excellence Product Submission is open
December 5, 2020
Awards of Excellence Judging
December 16, 2020
NBBQA Webinar
Christmas Feast – Featuring the NBBQA Board
March 3-6, 2021
NBBQA National Conference Louisville, KY
March 5, 2021
Rhinestone Hat Steak Cook-off Louisville, KY
 BarbecueNews.com - 20 DECEMBER 2020











































































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