Interview with KCBS Board of Directors Candidate Candy Weaver

Those of you interested in the upcoming KCBS Board of Directors elections will be interested in this one.  KCBS BOD candidate Candy Weaver, of BBQ’rs Delight was kind enough to answer a few questions here about her experience with the organization and her hopes for its future.  Thank you Candy, for taking time out of your busy holiday schedule to respond!

BBQ Smoker Site (BSS): I know there’s been some good growth in terms of new members over the last year or so, and the TLC Pitmasters series may spur on some more. How would you describe the KCBS to a new guy like me in terms of its reason for being and benefit to BBQ culture in general?

Candy Weaver (CW): The Kansas City Barbeque Society exists to “celebrate, preserve and promote barbecue as a culinary technique, sport and art form. Our goal is to have barbecue recognized as America’s Cuisine.” That’s the mission statement and it pretty much says it all, except the method it uses to promote this mission, which is only mentioned in the word “sport.”

I believe that any national coverage via the media will spur interest in KCBS and competition BBQ cooking. Look at the old shows on FoodTV that get shown every year. If these shows weren’t watched, they wouldn’t be dusted off to play again. I don’t know what you mean by “BBQ culture.” BBQ is America no matter where its roots began.

BSS: Can you give our readers a little information about yourself, your experience with KCBS, and why you’ve chosen to run for the BOD?

CW: In my working background, I was involved in non-profit organizations as an employee. When my mother died in 1999, I joined the family business and was presented with running and developing products for the newly formed BBQr’s Delight. My first experience with KCBS occurred in October of that year at the Jack Daniel’s Invitational Barbecue Contest.

BBQr’s Delight was a sponsor at many local contests which were KCBS sanctioned. We advertised in the Bullsheet and other barbeque publications. In 2003, the local contest’s organizer asked me to compete to make the lead sponsor happy with more competition teams. I won something! I was hooked, became a CBJ and judged some. Went to Dr. BBQ’s cooking class and cooked my first contest in May of 2004.

I trained to be a certified Table Captain, and cooked some more contests. After Rod Gray resigned from the Board, cooks had limited representation on the board. Several people asked me to run. I have the ability to commit the time to serve KCBS on the Board. KCBS has played a major role in my life the last 5 years. I will commit 3 years if elected to serve the organization. I will serve only one term.

BSS: A few key issues seem to be at the forefront of this year’s KCBS BOD election – namely, the need for more cooks on the BOD, the desire for increased transparency into what goes on with the BOD, and the issue of rule changes and other administrative decisions taking place with what some believe is a lack of fact finding or due process. Can you speak a little to each of these points?

CW: KCBS is a triangle made up of cooks, judges and organizers as the sides. Right now, there are far more judges as members than cooks. Contests wouldn’t happen if not for the commitment of time and money that cooks put forth to do the contests. Cooks should have a major role on the BOD. I think it’s funny that ever candidate has a cook team tied to their name, even if cooking is not their main KCBS thing. That’s shows how important this issue is this year.

I’ve been told that the BOD incumbents will be re-elected. This will only keep the status quo alive. One new person cannot change the BOD or promise any transparency or any major changes in the system. Four new members of the BOD, might just upset the status quo to achieve meaningful changes. There are strong candidates running this year.

There are issues which should have been resolved long, long ago! For example, there are still problems with the computer scoring system. Why have these not been fixed? Where is KCBS spending its money? What is the annual budget? Again, these are transparency issue.

It seems to me that the BOD is way more involved than it needs to be in the day-to-day operation of KCBS. Why? Why is the BOD involved in personnel issues? Who is the current office manager or is there one? Why are rules changed on the fly in the middle of the year? Why is garnish prohibited one weekend of the contest season, when the danger was the weekend before? The BOD needs to look to the future of the organization, not focus on the minutia of day-to-day activities.

Whatever your position is on any of these matters, please vote. I’d really like to see a record vote for the BOD occur this year. Let’s make real changes!

BSS: I’ve heard a great deal of late about the need to get KCBS Judges on the same page when it comes to what they should and should not consider during a judging session. It’s almost as if different regions or judging school focus on different points, despite there being a universal rules guide. Can you talk a bit about KCBS Judges and your feelings about continuing education or re-certification?

CW: When I went to CBJ school, it was more about what was a DQ than what was good BBQ. This is a very subjective thing, this judging of BBQ. I believe that the most important thing for a judge is to judge the first entry with the same seriousness and same criteria as they judge the last entry.

In a perfect world, I’d like each judge to judge each tray completely at one pass. This means you see it for appearance, you take a sample and you judge it for taste and texture BEFORE you get to see another box. This would totally and completely eliminate comparison judging. It would eliminate the need for a special “plate” all that would be needed would be a judging slip.

I believe in re-certification if a CBJ hasn’t judged in a while or only judged one local contest a year. I’m planning on retaking the class in either January or February of 2010 and doing some judging this next year. From a cook’s perspective, I’ve got to say that most of the time I believe that judges to a good job. When I’ve revisited my entries, I can generally agree with my scores.

BSS: Can you talk a little bit about those who have endorsed you so far? Why do you feel they’ve decided to stand behind you in your KCBS BOD election campaign and what does their support mean to you?

CW: Wow, this is a hard one! I’ve not been keeping “score” as to who has endorsed me or not. All I can say is you learn who your friends are and aren’t! I am of 2 conflicting opinions myself. I can see where serving on the BOD, especially this fractured BOD, will take much of the fun out of competition cooking. I’ve been warned of this by former members of the Board.

This is one reason why I will only serve three years. One term is enough. I don’t do this as an ego thing, I’m running because I truly feel that I can bring a perspective in barbeque that few others have. I have management experience and have experience dealing with difficult people. But part of me would like to stay on the sidelines, cook some contests, play with my friends and not be concerned about the state and future of KCBS. If current problems are not addressed, this organization will falter and be replaced.

BSS: Looking back on your time with the KCBS, who are some of the people who you feel have or may currently be doing the most to support the organization in a positive and forward thinking manner?

CW: Tony Stone, our past president, as a strong leader he kept the board directed. He is also someone that I admire greatly. He’s had the courage to take responsibility when he’s been wrong. That’s a hard trait to find these days.

Ron Harwell (not Board member Don Harwell) has done such a great job through the years writing articles and reviews of contests for various publications. Plus, he’s one of my favorite contest reps. As a cook, I know when he’s there things are very likely to run right.

This list could go on and on! There are so many people who support KCBS by judging, cooking and organizing the events for us to participate in whatever manner we choose to do so. I have met people on the BBQ trail who I consider to be my closest lifetime friends. From sea to sea, there are BBQ events going on, bringing people together celebrating the American Cuisine of barbeque.

I would like to commend the current members from every corner of the USA of the BOD, all of whom devote their time and energies to the mission of KCBS, even if I don’t personally agree with every direction they’ve taken. Carolyn Wells who is working to promote barbeque competition down to Australia. What a great American export!

BSS: I have to ask, what do you think of the TLC BBQ Pitmasters series, and do you think it will wind up providing a positive boost to competitive barbecue’s popularity?

CW: I like it. Where else could I see Johnny Trigg’s ribs and Trish make a pork box!? And Tuffy inject his brisket! Even with all the talk about Myron’s mouth, Myron is being Myron, and he’s a great competitor and all around BBQ man.

Yes, I think it’s promoting BBQ. I think John Marcus is doing a fine job producing the show. I think it’s interesting to watch and I think it’s interesting enough for someone not involved in barbeque to get interested in it. I think it’s a pity that John Marcus did not get on the BOD when he ran a couple of years ago. KCBS would be in a different place right now.

BSS: Is there anything else you’d like to share about you and your KCBS BOD election campaign?

CW: VOTE! If you’re a member, make your voice heard. You sure have no right to complain about anything unless you VOTE.

If I am elected to serve the membership on the BOD, I will do my utmost to listen to every member’s’ concerns and serve the wishes of the membership of KCBS. I will represent cooks on the Board, and I will only serve one term.

Again, I’d like to thank Candy Weaver, KCBS BOD Candidate for taking time to answer our questions.  Reposts of this blog are happily permitted with a link back to this site.

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