Jeff Stith - Candidate for Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) Board of Directors

Please click HERE to read my views on specific issues.

1. Please describe the skills you possess (which you believe are stronger than the other candidates) which would make you an asset as a board member, in dealing with the challenges facing KCBS, and give an example of how those skills would serve the KCBS Board of Directors and its membership.

My experiences:

For the past five years, I have served on the Parks and Recreation Board of Directors in my hometown of Pleasant Hill, Missouri. I have served as secretary, vice-president, and for the last year, as president.
Founded and served as president of an historical preservation non-profit organization to protect and preserve artifacts and buildings of historic significance in Pattonsburg, Missouri.
In my career, I have over 20 years of combined experience in management, marketing, Web design and human resources which would be beneficial in promoting and leading the KCBS through this very important time of growth and development.

My skills acquired through these experiences:

Ability to motivate people
Tenacity to see projects through to successful completion
Ability to work as part of a team to accomplish missions and goals
Outstanding organizational skills

How these skills will benefit KCBS and its members:

As KCBS grows and moves into the future, we must keep up with the needs of our membership by constantly seeking out new ideas to promote barbeque and the organization itself. Successful completion and implementation of projects can only happen when leadership works together with a common goal. I see myself as a leader who can motivate others when things “bog down” and encourage committees and the board remain focused. My organizational skills will enable me to make the best use of my time when serving our members. These skills will be especially important as I work with my assigned committee, which I see as the level where the real work is accomplished.

2. If you are a Cook, Judge, Rep or Backyard Cook, please identify the major KCBS issues concerning, one of areas in which you are involved. Describe the major issue, your strategies to correct or improve the issue, and what you see as the biggest challenge to the success of your plan.

As a cook, the major issue I see facing this section of membership is a general concern that the KCBS does not listen to the cooks. This problem seems to consist of various concerns, all working together to help erode the confidence and faith our members have in the organization, with many choosing not to renew memberships. One of the major components of this problem would be rules being changed or discussed in mid-season. How can cooks keep everything straight when the rules are being rewritten as we’re firing up the smoker at contests? Rules changes should only be considered during what most of us would consider the off-season and I would propose all changes be given more than a few months before being implemented. For instance rule changes may be brought forth at the January rules meeting, be voted on and passed in February or March but the implementation date should always be January 1 the following year.

Another component of this problem would be the specific issues that are being addressed by the Board of Directors. In looking at many of the decisions made, it appears that the Board is getting way too involved in the day to day operations of the KCBS rather than looking to address the issues that will make the KCBS successful well into the future. My strategy to address and improve this issue will be to call upon my own five years of experience in cooking competitively and to actively seek out the opinions and concerns of my fellow cooks all across the United States, not just here in the Midwest. I will use this information and keep it at the forefront of my mind each time I enter the board room to discuss, and vote on issues that affect my fellow cooks. I do not anticipate that it will be an easy road as there are board members who do not cook or rarely cook and might have gotten out of touch with what we have and what we need from week to week. Continually bringing the wishes and opinions of those who cook to the attention of the Board will remain a priority.

3. Identify your major short term goal and the major long term goal, if elected to the Board of KCBS and your plan to implement change or improvement in order to carry out each of these goals.

Short-Term - Help to restore harmony, respect and cooperation to the organization. This begins at the Board level. Bickering and disrespect of one another leads to a lack of productive meetings, few results, micro-management and a membership that is frustrated and disgusted. I believe a voice of reason in reminding others of why KCBS was founded in the first place is important.

Long-Term - Four long-term goals are of major importance to me.

Continued work to provide more consistent judging. Comment cards have, as currently used, proven largely pointless. It is always going to be subjective scoring but establishing a continuing education program for CBJs will help. Too many "generations" of CBJs are learning things in different ways. It hurts consistency and we need to require refresher classes.
Developing new scoring software. I have visited with reps and have seen how the current software works and where the bugs and other negative issues are. I have also discussed with a professional programmer how we might develop and implement new software that will be user-friendly and developed at minimal to no cost to KCBS.
Communication with membership. Improvements have been made in this area but there is still work to be done. Members should eventually have access to all meetings and not on a limited basis at it as it is now. They should also have access to budgets and financial records to see where their money is going and have opportunities to provide opinions and feedback to the Board of Directors. I, too, would support the implementation of Town Hall meetings to give members a direct voice to Board members.
Tangible and quality benefits to being a KCBS member – hotels discounts are everywhere. We can do better. The Restaurant Depot benefit is a great start! I believe we need to establish a scholarship fund for members and their families. We need to find a way to pay cash to the KCBS’s top ten Teams of the Year in all categories and overall. We need to get creative and come up with many good ideas.

4. If elected please explain "you level of commitment, time and energy" for committee projects and monthly reports, board meetings and attendance, as well as representing KCBS to the public and being responsive to our members.

Whenever I decide to become involved in anything, I believe in full commitment. As the saying goes, anything worth doing is worth doing right. When I began my campaign, my promise was to be available to membership, to listen to their concerns and to represent their concerns at meetings of the Board of Directors. That has not changed and will not change. I will attend meetings of the board regularly and in person. My record in this area is impeccable: in my 5+ years of service on the local Parks and Recreation Board of Directors, I have missed only one meeting when I had to be out of town. While some committees have busier times of the year than do others, I will work hard to minimize or eliminate the instance of "no report" following my committee name.

5. Please describe your participation in KCBS activities and years of experience.

I have been cooking barbeque and learning all types of outdoor cooking since I was a child. I joined KCBS and began cooking competitively in 2005 when I formed Big Creek BBQ. We cook 10 to 15 contests per year. In 2006 I became a CBJ and I judge one or two events per year. I'm currently working on my third year as organizer of "Smokin’ on Big Creek" BBQ Contest in Pleasant Hill, Missouri and for the last two years, I have worked on the committee for The Fountains Blaze-Off and Senior Q in Independence, Missouri as part of Senior Q Month in October. I have also donated my time to Kookers Kare, attended KCBS rules meetings, banquets and organizer round tables. I have also realized my responsibility as a KCBS member and voted in every election since joining the organization.

6. Please explain why you want to be a member of the KCBS Board.

I believe the saying "You can be part of the problem or you can be part of the solution." This is a very critical time in the history of the KCBS and as such, there many important issues to be resolved. As a member of the Board of Directors, I will have the opportunity to be a part of the solutions. Talking is cheap - by volunteering my time to listen to members and truly represent them on the Board, I will have the opportunity to walk the walk and make a difference. I know too many people who don't want to renew their KCBS membership for various reasons - I want to help make it so that people are proud to say they are a member of KCBS. For further information, please visit my Web site at www.VoteJeffKCBS.com.

If you would like to receive Jeff's weekly email update during the campaign, please fill out this form and submit. There will be no further emails sent after January 18, 2010 and your address will NOT be shared with anyone else.

If Jeff is elected to the KCBS Board of Directors, he will provide a Web site as well where you can sign up again for monthly updates if you so desire.

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