Robert King posts in a CBBQA Wiki Message:

Congrats everybody. We had a great time and was nice to meet you all!
Robert and Tricia King

Gary Notley posts in a CBBQA Wiki Message:

Another awesome contest.

Thank Thom and Del.
It was nice to have the mayor of Los Alamitos come up to us and thank us for what we were doing, and all the troops were so friendly and they liked the free Gringo Bandito hot sauce I was giving out. (I gave out over 250 bottles)

Friday potluck was off the hook. So much amazing food. So Cal did it again. And the gift exchange was a blast. Thanks Thom for putting that on.

For a contest that had no prize money it sure was a hell of a lot of fun. Ranks up there as one of my favorites this year.

Thanks again Thom, and thanks Del for an amazing event. Cant wait to do that again next year.

On a side note, if any team that was at the Los Alamitos event didn't get some hot sauce, send me a PM with your address, and I will mail you out a couple sample bottles.

Oh yeah. Congrats to Harry Soo and Mark for your first Grand Championship. And to Dan Cannon for the Reserve.

And it was awesome to see Dale and Tammy finally get a walk again. It was long over due.

Now I believe Glen Stanley will have something to say about me whooping him in our pork challenge, but Ill leave that up to him.

More thanks...

Phil Carter for the amazing bagels and smoked salmon for breakfast. (I got Palm Desert)
Larry for coming out and doing the awards
Kyle for giving Brian and I a hand with the chicken.

Neil and Glen for coming out to the potluck, and gift exchange

Birds Pit Crew, and The Smoking Yankees for coming down from Nor Cal (and any other team that had to drive far)

The All Hogs Go to Heaven team, for being the coolest bunch of people I have ever met.

And mother nature for not raining on us.

And Justice, for allowing Kelly and Kathlene to look after all the important things that happen at a contest.

And last but not least, all the judges that enjoyed the BBQ we provided for them.

Sylvie Curry posts in a CBBQA Wiki Message:

Congrats to all and especially Harry for his GC and Dan for his RGC. It all means so much more when you consider the gift you all gave. Sorry I couldn't be there.

Laurence Hill posts in a CBBQA Wiki Message:

Thom, you have another out of the park hit, just keep the hits coming.

I needed to get to my extended family, and was glad I was able to make it, Thom thanks for allowing me to help

Harry, Dan and all those there Congrats. I never left a contest I did not learn from, so your all winners.

Did I mention that Dan would be teaching for CBBQA - U. I tasted that brisket (it was more than good)

Glen Stanley posts in a CBBQA Wiki Message:

This was a whole lot of fun. It was great to have an event this late in the year, and to have the weather cooperate. Thank you Thom & Del for coming up with a replacement for Hawthorne. Hopefully, we can do this one on an annual basis. We had fun competing as BAD SANTA BBQ, and decorating up our booth. It was great to have Country join us this year, and with each of us doing only one meat, it made for a fun/low stress event. Thanks to Chris for taking a walk in brisket, and keeping us from getting skunked.

It was sure a great venue, and the folks on the base were awesome. I do have to apologize to the base for one thing though........

That damn manikin standing right out side the bathrooms kept looking at me every time I walked in to the room. I could see his eyes following me as I passed by. It was kinda freaking me out, so I put a plastic shopping bag over it's head. It was that, or pee in the bushes

Congrats to Harry (AKA: Vince Jr.), and Dan for taking top honors.

And congrats to my buddy Gary for kicking my a** in the pork throw-down. I'll be ready for the next one

Del King posts in a CBBQA Wiki Message:

I want to that all of you that showed up. Well I know that contests have changed since I have really competed. It has turned into a RV convention with BBQ. Sorry for getting grumpy at so many people for bringing your RV's. JUST DIDN'T EXPECT THEM ALL. I go that problem worked out. For those of you that were there if you looked toward the back of the building all that grass field. Well Already got permission to use that area for next year. Spaces will be 15 wide by 50 long. So next year we are limited on the number of teams that can show up to 300.
Cheryl Courtwight just wanted to say THANK YOU again for your donation of time and Meats. We had more than the families could eat but much of the meat went to units that were pulling duty this weekend and taken home by the families for future meals.

OH THEY ARE GOING TO CHANGE THE DRILL WEEKEND NEXT YEAR SO THAT ALL UNITS WILL BE ON BASE THE SAME WEEKEND SO WE CAN EXPECT TO HAVE 1,000 FOLKS AT THE CHRISTMAS PARTY NEXT YEAR.
Thank again.

I want to apologize to everyone on the quality of the Beef Ribs. I got so busy parking all of you that I was not able to attend them like they needed to be taken care of. So next time around they will be 1,000 percent better. I should not have even put them out but I had said I would bring them so I put them out.

I am truly sorry.

Robert King posts in a CBBQA Wiki Message:

Now that I actually had a full nights sleep I can gather my thoughts. I have found I can sleep easier in a bed and a warm house. Go figure.

The potluck was awesome. It was like going to 10 different restaurants and getting your favorite meal from each. The gift exchange was great also. If I knew foil was such a hot item we would have wrapped some up.

I would like to thank Del and Thom for putting this on. It was a great event. I would also like to thank everybody for their hospitality and making us feel welcome as this was our first event. I felt like I could have asked anybody for anything and they would have been glad to help. Thanks for the coffee in the morning (Phil?) I got to live in harmony with the wife for one more day

The cub scouts had a blast. I know there wasn't much for them all to do but they learned a lesson and had some fun. Can't ask for much more.

Top ten things I learned:

1. Foil is better then gold and beer.

2. Grab a beef rib at potlucks the first time around. I guarantee it won't be there the second time around.

3. Plan for cold! They have this new invention called a sleeping bag. I liked the invention so much that I have 4 of them.....in my shed......I heard they work good at contests. I also heard if you actually put them on your checklist they might actually make it to the contest. I had a perfect plan to steal Bad Santa's propane heater at 3 a.m. in the morning!

4. Get a propane torch! 4 briquettes of old wet match light you found in your box won't light when you forgot your starter chimney.

5. Get your meat at least the day before not the day of. Running around at 12pm the day of the event to grocery stores trying to find ribs that weren't scary isn't fun.

6. The girl screaming going into the bathroom was your wife. I did give the dummy MP a good talking to. Not too much though because he was even scaring me with his cold hard stare. I did share a drink with him later in the night so all is good.

7. Flip your brisket! I forgot to flip my brisket. So one side tasted great with the mop sauce and the other side not so great with just salt and pepper. Guess which side we turned in?

8. Taco bell tastes sooo good when you get home from a contest. It still has a smoky aftertaste though.

9. Del and Thom actually do look like their forum avatars (pictures). If Del didn't wear his collar I probably wouldn't have known who he was.

10. Taking your wife to a BBQ competition on your anniversary perhaps wasn't the best idea but was nice being able to spend time together without work and kids (sorry kids!) for a couple days.

Thanks and Merry Christmas to everybody!

Thom Emery posts in a CBBQA Wiki Message:

You Bet
I love seeing new teams coming up
You and Reds BBQ (reply to Robert King)

Stephan Franklin posts in a CBBQA Wiki Message:

Excellent contest Del and THOM!

Congrats to Slap yo Daddy and BBQ by Dan!

The potluck was outstanding and the gift exchange was a lot of fun!

Phil thanks for the bagels, lox and coffee (several cups) as I needed it to get the engine humming!

Country thanks for letting me borrow your Thermapen as mine took a crap; need battery

Again, 1st rate contest. I got dibs on my same spot next year as I was extremely on time

Cinnamon MacDonald posts in a CBBQA Wiki Message:

Hi everyone thanks for the great time! Especially Brian and Gary for the JD LOL and Vince (Steve) Ha Ha Ha very funny! I'll never believe another thing you say again. EVER!!! You got me but that's ok I had a great time. Felt great the next morning too... Maybe I'll switch to JD instead of Kessler from now on. Cant wait for the next comp in Palm Desert I heard its a lot of fun. thanks to Tom and Larry and OK OK you too Dell. Most fun I've had at any event. Congrats to all who took walks and Salute' to Harry Soo you need some help at the next event cuz I would love too help out or just "stand by even in case you need me" lol.
See you next time ,Cinnamon (Rusty Barrell)

Vincent Carrocci posts in a CBBQA Wiki Message:

Congratulations on your first GC, Harry! Way to go!!

Dan, you are and ever shall be The Man!

Happy to hear that the weather cooperated and that the weekend was dry. That always makes for a better time for everyone, especially since there was a more going on than just a competition.

Well done, y'all!

Did the proclamation come back from the Governor's office prior to the event making this an official State Championship?

Thom Emery posts in a CBBQA Wiki Message:

No proclamation this year

Harry Soo posts in a CBBQA Wiki Message:

Wow! Just got done unpacking from Sunburst and am still pinching myself about our surprising first-time GC. What a great way to end the year at Sunburst with our fellow rookie teams 7 Kinds of Smoke and Notley Que cooking on each side of us, the same way we began in the very first contest at Ground Hog in April. After competing nine times and experiencing many errors and setbacks, Mark and I have learned to minimize missteps. He is such a great assistant cook and our success has been 51% his efforts to keep me from screwing up. Also, we’ve become luckier at guessing what judges might be looking for in appearance, taste, and texture. We’ve learned along the way that each meat is unique and how it needs to be cooked and flavored in order to create a product that brings a smile to the judges mouth requires a lot of effort. We’ve been fortunate to find something that the judges liked in Viejas and subsequently fine-tuned it for the Sunburst finale.

Thom and Del, thanks for putting such a great effort organizing this exceptional contest, great cause to support our troops, and the convenient So Cal location. Also, thanks to our Cheryl from the Sunburst Division for being a great host and making sure we had a large sit-down room for the potluck, Xmas gift exchange, and awards ceremony. Thanks Kelly and Kathleen for officiating and giving us the scores quickly. Thank you Larry for driving 3 hours to attend the awards ceremony, and congratulations on being the new CBBQA president. Thanks to all the judges who showed up to taste and score our entries.

Tim and Diana from Rusty Barrel, I hope you will find a vegetarian to experiment with the tofu, BBQ sauce, and rubs you won at the gift exchange! Also, whoever got the pig tail turning tool, it’s a neat tool to dunk your chicken into sauce so there are no blemishes on the sauce finish. In the past, I used tongs and that was terrible. This tool makes it very easy to get chicken sauced in a jiffy and put into the tray without brush streaks or blotches.

I think I enjoy cooking the potluck dishes as much as the competition meats so for those who couldn’t make it, here are a couple of pics. Muchos gracias to Gary Notley for his Gringo Bandido Hot Sauce. Gary, if your sponsor wants to use the Shrimp and Grits picture, you have my permission.

Congratulation to Dan for RGC. I’m glad I had a chance to chat and get to meet you. Will be looking forward to your class next year.

Congratulations to all the teams who came especially the ones who came from Nor Cal and San Diego who made the long drive. Special mention goes to Chris and his wife and Dad (Smoking Yankees) who lent us pots and utensils to cook our potluck dish, and for taking all the pictures. Larry is right, whenever you compete, you learn a lot regardless of how the final results are. I think I met most of the teams and will be looking forward to seeing all of you again soon. Special mention goes to Dale on his overdue walk. Tammy, please keep taking Dale out to contests and I’ll continue the potluck dishes for you!

Lastly, thanks for Phil (7 Kinds of Smoke) my neighbor for the coffee, bagels, and letting me mooch on his generator power. Thanks go to Roberto from T&H Meats for my ribs, pork butt, and brisket. Roberto, whom I met at Viejas, runs a meat store and if you want championship grade meat, he’s the man to talk to. He is a business member on the CBBQA website. Thanks to Larry from Rib Ticklers for graciously delivering Roberto’s meat to me from San Diego.

Happy Holidays everyone. See you all next at Palm Desert in 2009!

Darry Smith posts in a CBBQA Wiki Message:

Excellent job Harry, congrats on your fantastic season

Sylvie Curry posts in a CBBQA Wiki Message:

I predict a lot of folks may be hooking up with Roberto from San Diego for meat. Harry, I am so proud of you. Your passion for cooking is commendable. Congrats again.

Rebekah Juencke posts in a CBBQA Wiki Message:

Thanks Gary, It was so nice to talk with you guys, you two are a kick in the pants...thanks for the sauce and congrats on your wins and your new sponsorship!!! (reply to Gary Notley)

Conrats on RGC Dan!!! It was great talking with you at this event. We arrived home 7 hrs later but it was well worth the drive, Had a great time!!!
(reply to Dan Cannon)

Congrats Larry on your new position as President:)~
Sorry it took so long to post the pics, I had to resize them one at a time as I am new to the picture downloading job I had handed to me...lol. We had such a great time with everyone who attended...thanks for the big welcome to our team by everyone this year!!!!

Hahahaa...Happy Anniversary!!! (reply to Robert King)

Ditto on thanks for all you do...We look forward to seeing you at the events we have attended and look forward to many more in 2009.........Thanks !!!!
(reply to K and K MacIntosh)

Edward Brisendine posts in a CBBQA Wiki Message:

We had a great time this weekend. It was very nice meeting everyone. Hopefully we'll be able to get out to Palm Desert and give it another go!

Neil Strawder posts in a CBBQA Wiki Message:

Man I am sorry I didn't get to cook this one but I am glad that Glenn and I got the chance to come out Friday night and talk to everyone. I wish we could have gotten there earlier with the red beans and rice before everyone was full! At least we were in time for the gift exchange. That was a lot of fun!

Congrats to Harry and Dan! You guys must've done some outstanding cooking.

Harry you outdid yourself again with the Shrimp and Grits. I would love to spend some time in the kitchen with you. I'll bet we could come up with some amazing dishes.

I am so glad that everyone had a great time and I'm sure it will be even better next year.

Brian Kreisler posts in a CBBQA Wiki Message:

Wow!! is all I can say. This was a fun no stress contest for me. It sure was a lot of fun. The potluck on Friday was fantastic and the gift exchange was great. Thom did a great job on the gift exchange and made it a lot of fun.

Thanks to:
Thom and Dell for putting on a great contest.
Phil and family for the lox's and bagels.
Kyle for giving us a hand with the chicken.
Kelly and Kathleen for all your great work.
Glen and Cinnamon for cracking open the JD
To Steve and Chris for all the great laughs.
Ardith and Ted for the great pre dinner and breakfast. I really appreciate those meals at the comps.
Larry glad you could make it down to present the awards. Especially with what you had to deal with.

Also nice to see the teams from up north drive down, and get some walks also.

Harry and Mark Congrats on the GC. You both disserve it and are great guys. Harry you always tell me that you appreciated me helping you with your chicken your first comp. Now I have to say back to you thanks for that one bit of advice on my chicken. Now you are the teacher!!

Dan congrats also on your RGC. It was good to see you there.

It is always great to be able to shoot the breeze with the other teams and this event was no exception.

It was super cool that the Mayor came by and thanked us.

I am looking forward to seeing everyone in Palm Desert.

As we were ready to pull out a mother came up to us and said how much she appreciated our time and efforts. That kind of stuff makes it all worth while.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas.

Dan Cannon posts in a CBBQA Wiki Message:

Ditto to everything EVERYBODY above said !!!

Del and Thom are the best and it was a great event and it was great to provide the food to the base folks.

Perfect weather, venue, and great event, no rain. Considering it is December it was perfect weather.

I will post a bunch of pictures and document (from my perspective) of the weekend Monday.

Will combine Kelly's scoring stats when he gets them in my event posted doc and pictures.

Got home safe and sound, a 90 minute drive from my place.

Thanks so much, and it is appreciated, for all the active and participating folks from so far away in northern California who made it down and made the event so much more special.

Thanks Larry for (our new CBBQA President) coming down and presenting the awards. That made it even more special

Looking forward to a great new and exciting year for the CBBQA.

And, a few things I forgot to mention in my original message Saturday night that the above messages reminded me of:

- Congratulations Harry and team !!! Great job, great enthusiasm, and great potluck submissions (which I enjoyed a bunch).
- Thanks Thom for also combining the CBBQA Christmas Party and Potluck into the event. Very enjoyable
- Phil Carter for inviting me over to have some bagels and coffee for breakfast. Sorry, somehow I missed a picture of you & team!
- Dell King for handling the placement and ease of arrival to all participating teams
- As Brian said above, thanks Ardith and Steve for GREAT food at every event
- Everybody that came from so far and made it so much more special

I tried to get by to say hi to as many folks as I could and take a picture. I am sure I missed some and/or caught you at an awkward moment so sorry about that. Will catch you at the next event. Also, hope I got everybody's email comments as of today. Names are REALLLLLY hard for me. If I put the wrong person or team name please email me with a correction.

Dan

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