Shannon, Illinois in the books

Old School versus High Tech rolled into Shannon, Illinois, host to the 2008 Illinois State BBQ Championship and Butt to Butt Invitational this July 10th - 12th, just over a week ago, greeted by huge snowflakes. Luckily, the nearly two inches of snow that fell Thursday evening melted away by Friday morning and we were treated to bright sunshine and mild temperatures. Students from fourteen states and Canada packed the sold out house for this event. Johnny and I were both totally jazzed about teaching this class because the response for this one was so awesome. I've noticed that it's easier to teach classes when the energy in the room is high and honestly, this group was as pumped as we were about the event. A big thank you to our good friends Mike and Theresa Lake of Rock River BBQ for hosting this event for us. Also, a heart felt thank you everyone who helped us during the weekend. We could not have done it without you.

We continue to see the results of these classes as the Grand Champions and category wins pile up for our students. The overall feedback, even from folks who attend with no intentions of competing, continues to be overwhelmingly positive as well. With over 300 participants in the past year, it's getting harder and harder to keep all of the names and faces straight. So, please forgive us in advance. I've never been great remembering names anyway. Now, more than ever, I see folks at events I know, but can't put a name with a face. So, if that happens to me, please don't be offended. I mean no disrespect and honestly, I feel horrible about it. Maybe it's time for me to take a class of my own, one on memory.

Thank you to everyone who make Shannon such a huge, huge success. These classes are a total blast and when folks are as excited as this last event, it makes all of the hard work worthwhile. See you all somewhere on the bbq trail!