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Nov 18 - A few of the children who participated in The Challenged Children's Rodeo in Norco, CA. The CBBQA was happy to provide the food for this great event. Picture by Neil Strawder. Check out this forum post for more details

I was perusing the CBBQA competition calendar and saw that Shake, Rattle and Smoke! was being held in San Jose. I was not ready to compete but did see at site that judges were needed. I contacted Ben the contest organizer, and sent him a pic of my ribs from the Alameda county fair, explained my BBQ background and listed the BBQ books in my cookbook collection. Although they wanted KCBS qualified judges, Ben invited me down as an alternate judge and he said it would be a good experience for me to come down and check out event , even if I didn’t judge it would be a good learning experience. To my surprise one judges seat remained empty and I sat down and began judging. After the judges briefing by Gene we had an hour or so to kill. The event was in conjunction with a KFOX event and I ran into Laurie Roberts and Fred Reiss. Laurie is a long time bay area DJ and my first paying gig as a stand up comic was with Laurie at a dreadful room that hosted 5th quarter comedy after Monday Night Football sponsored by KJSO and Laurie was the hostess. Fred Reiss is a comic and writer who hosted a Wed night showcase a Emersons Bar and Grill in Palo Alto. Emersons was notorious for a rough crowd who did not hesitate to skewer any comic who floundered or stunk up the joint. Trust me I can attest to the fact, but, I did endure and became a regular at Emersons and it was one of the rooms that helped me develop my craft. Any comic who performed there always recalls those Wed nights. I told Laurie and Fred I was here to judge and would catch up to them later. I had also met Ric Gilbert of Ric's Righteous Ribs as I had planned to enter the Rockin Rib event one of the best contacts a Q'er can make is Ric. It was fun and exciting judging, as people would wander up and ask " How do you get to judge?", a sense of celebrity was in effect as many asked this question. Everyone at my table were helpful and very gracious. Being a first time judge and not qualified by KCBS I found it important to get it right and consistent. Kelly our table captain assured me I was in the right zones of scoring and that was settling. It was great to discuss between entries what we liked, didn’t like and what was your philosophy. A great lesson! One of the acts of the event was Foghat, the first concert I attended as a young lad in Iowa back in '74, I wandered the BBQ area with the same wide eyed enthusiasm as I did my first full blown Rock and Roll concert. I met with Ric after judging and spoke with many others, a great sense of community and competition was evident. I went home later that day convinced I would compete at the next available contest opportunity – the 2007 West Coast BBQ Championships in Fairfield. I had no idea of what awaited me there.

Read what happens next….

• 13 - BoD Meeting - Open to CBBQA Members only
• 16 - (KCBS) 5th Annual West Coast BBQ Championships - Fairfield

September

• 10 - BoD Meeting - Open to CBBQA Members only
• 20 - (KCBS) Red Hot and Real - Clovis

October

• 8 - BoD Meeting - Open to CBBQA Members only
• 2-5 - (KCBS) American Royal - Kansas City, MO
• 18 - (KCBS) Smokin' at the Park - Viejas Outlet Center, Alpine
• 25 - The Jack Daniels

November

• 1 - Best of the Best
• 12 - BoD Meeting - Open to CBBQA Members only

Full Calendar...

• SoCal BBQ Crawl I
• Q Fest South - San Dimas
• QN4U Competition 101 Class North - Casa de Fruita (Hollister)
• Backyard No. 3 -- March Meat Madness - Garden Grove
• QN4U Competition 101 Class South - Anaheim
• Ric's Backyard Warm Up - San Jose
• Palm Desert BBQ and Chili Cook Off
• Backyard on the Lake '08 - Lakeside Ranch - Westley
• Wishland's Que'n for Kids - Orange County
• American Cancer Society's Fresno Relay for Life - Fresno
• 2nd Annual Stagecoach Music Festival - Indio
• 5th Annual Modesto Blues, Brews & BBQ - Modesto
• Salute 08 - 29 Palms Marine Base
• Rock 'n Ribs - Gilroy
• 3rd Annual Eggs by the Bay Eggfest - San Jose
• (IBCA) Golden State Championship - Hesperia

1- All Hogs Go to Heaven 117

Steve Madaule~ Lancaster,CA

2- BLQUE Cuttin Edge QN 112

Larry & Nick Hill~ Hanford,CA

3- Rhythm n Que 103

Vince Carrocci~ Scottsdale,AZ

4- 155 South Bar-B-Q 89

Bram Britcher~ San Jose,CA

5- Smitty's Smoke Patrol 82

Darry Smith~ Santa Clara,CA

T6- Otis and the Bird 72

Jay Benedict~ Mesa,AZ

T6- Tropical Heat 53

Dan Daniel/Bill Keyes~ Ventura County, CA

8- Four Q BBQ Team 72

Neil Strawder~ Hawthorne,CA

9- Sug's Shack 63

Charles Myles~ Fontana,CA

10- Slap Yo' Daddy BBQ 60

Harry Soo~ Diamond Bar,CA