Wristbands

If you have not picked up your wristbands, please contact Todd or I to do so. Todd has the Wed night tickets and 24-hour wrist bands.

Each paying member receives either a 24 hour wristband or a 3-day pass as part of their membership. If you are not expecting to spend the night, then you may want to trade for a 3-day pass wristband that will still get you in the park all three days.

If you purchased a 3-day pass in addition to your 24 wrist band, you will need to pay Todd. If you did not order one back when we were asking about them, then there may not be enough to go around.

I have the team wristbands, of which each member will receive 3. One for yourself and two for who ever you like (spouse). Each additional wristband is $15.00. We need that money up front. We are also asking if you can pre-sell them, please do as we need capital to purchase food, beverages, etc.

Please make arrangements to pick your wristbands up before MIM as someone running down to the gate ever 15 minutes to meet someone to give them their wristbands is a hassle and tiresome to say the least.

Thank you for your support.

Summarization of team meeting

We had a team meeting on Sunday the 4th to unload the trailer and go over a few items for Memphis In May. Here is a summarizing of what we covered.

• MIM load in will be Tuesday around noon. Please contact Todd for specific times for loading the trailer, etc.
• Break down begins Saturday night for the cleaning and packing. Sunday around 10 or 11 we will meet to load everything up and take it to Todd's house for unpacking.
• The team night, family night, etc is Wed night. At 3:00 they will kick everyone out who does not have a 24-hour wrist bands. The park then opens at 5:30 until 10:00 for Wed night ticket holders.
• We are asking that everyone make an attempt to either help set up or break down if possible.
• There are no rides, Ferris wheels, etc at Memphis In May. I do not allow the younger children in after say 0'dark thirty typically. Around that time the general atmosphere is normally not conducive for younger children, bring them at your own risk after that time.
• We will edit a few songs on the song list as to the language as requested by a few folks.
• We are looking at having a general selection of food between 6 and 8 on Ed, Thursday, and Fir day. With left overs being eaten on Saturday. The menu will consist of something along the lines of what we had at Southaven with Burgers, Dogs, BBQ chicken, Potato Salad, Slaw and pulled pork sandwiches from the shoulder we pulled in Southaven.
• Please emphasize to your friends when you invite them that the invitation is for them and not for the to in turn invite their friends. Members get to invite friends, friends do not get to invite friends. If everyone only invites 3 people, we have over 100 people - it can snowball quick. My 18 year old son is invited and he may bring a friend, however he does not and will not have invitational powers to in turn invite a bunch of friends, we are not set up for that kind of entertaining and we do not want an over abundance of under age young adults in the tent.
• Everyone will need to wear a team wrist band. Team members will receive 3-wristbands. In general one for themselves, one for a significant other and one for whom ever they choose.
• Each additional wrist band is $15.00. This does not get them in the park, it only gets them in the tent. And we would still encourage a "donation" with the amount depending on what they are receiving in return. If someone comes in for an hour and has two beers obviously their donation amount would and should be different than a friend who hangs out for hours on end, eating and drinking to their hearts content.
• We are asking that you pre-sell a few so we can raise a little bit of funds to purchase the food and beverages. Emphasize to your friends that are thinking about coming that YOU had to pay $15.00 for that wrist band and that you can't afford (or the team) to hand them out free of charge.
• We do have a few donations from corporate sponsors again for MIM. Mark Miesse, a closing attorney in Germantown is donating $500 and J.B. has acquired $200 from a pool supply distributor with a possible another $500 from another company and we would then entertain around 10 employees.
• When you are heading from home and coming down to the park, make a courtesy call to someone at the park to see if there is anything we may need. It would be greatly appreciated.
• Especially during Thursday and Friday nights in the middle of having a really good time, it is easy to get caught up in the moment and forget that there a things that need to get done to facilitate us having a good time. Take time (maybe 30 minutes) and help out. Simple things to keep an eye out for is taking out the garbage before it over flows, helping to pack things away after we eat, volunteer to clean a few dishes (we need to be stingy on the amount of water we use), help out at the door checking for wrist bands, helping to serve the bar (if we have one).
• No under age drinking by anyone will be tolerated. If you invite someone in the tent you need to have a very clear understanding as to whether or not they are of drinking age (and no a good fake ID does not count). You will be held responsible for your guests. Todd and I are responsible for the teams behavior and the team can be instantly disqualified and asked to leave should we get caught, this is not fair to the team.
• Brian has volunteered to help with supplies for jello shots if we can find some volunteers to make them. Please do not break out the jello shots during family hour (or Wed night) as the young children will have a hard time understanding why they can't have jello.
• Have special request for alcohol? Buy it and bring it. Bring a cooler with your name on it, a piece of tape wit your name will service. Respect a cooler that you know is not yours.
• The cooler on the trailer will be for the meat, etc and will not be accessible for bottles of liquor, etc. personal items need to be placed in coolers.
• Parking is of a premium. Make arrangements if you can, or fight for one as most everyone else will have to do. Bringing down personal coolers, etc in the middle of rush hour on Thursday or Friday is inadvisable as it is a royal pain. Try to get these to the park during day light early hours with Wed and Thursday afternoon being the easiest. We will not have room to load them in for you on Tuesday as our vehicles will be crammed pack full of supplies. (you are welcome to join us and carry them in at that time).
• Please email me at memphisremax@yahoo.com with an idea on when you can be down a the park and if you will be able to spend the night on any of the nights. We have two cots available, I used them at Southaven with a sleeping bag and a small pillow and they worked fine.
• It is customary by most teams to allow other 24-hours wristband holders in their tents with out asking for a "donation" if you will. However it is also customary to bring in a full can of beer or what ever and not to use theirs unless you are willing to help them out with their beer costs as well.
• Rush hour on Thursday and Friday night are from 8-11:30. It gets hectic, lets keep an eye out for each other and for folks trying to enter the tent who don't belong.
• We will need to take turns at the bar (if we have one) in 15 minute increments or so.
• If anyone else has access to a large marine cooler, we would love to borrow it.

Lets have fun and enjoy Memphis In May. Thank you to everyone for all their support.

Southaven Springfest

I would like to start by thanking everyone who was able to pitch in for the Southaven Springfest. It all came together quite nicely as a team effort. I think most everyone had a really fun time and seemed enthusiastic over the competition in general. All in all it was a very good practice run for Memphis In May.

Our Ribs came out really nice and we were only a little over 2 points out of first place. This means the top five places were really tight in judging with everyone else in the field a good step or two behind. Our fifth place finish with these scores should be viewed upon as a success, especially considering the competition on hand and our over all scores.

Again, thank you to everyone who was able to make it out and give us a hand. We even had a large group of folks who were unable to make the competition that came out of Thursday to help set up as their contribution.

We're ready for Memphis In May!

Pictures to come!!!!!!!!

Team Party for Memphis In May

Team,

Sorry for the short notice....

We are glad to announce that we will be allowed to have a team party on Wednesday night at Memphis In May. The general public is not allowed in until Thursday, so this is a time for us to relax as a team under kid friendly conditions. Thursday night and Friday night will be our partying nights and a time to let loose and get a little wild, but Wed will remain kid friendly. Drinking will be allowed; however we ask that you keep it at a reasonable level due to the atmosphere (we can show our asses the next two nights).

There is one small hitch. We only have access to 30-passes, so we are asking that you order passes for yourself (if you do not have a 24 hour pass), your spouse or kids, etc. If your son or daughter wants to bring a friend, please be honest about that so we can insure that the family members children have access to the tickets first, then if there are any available after that we will ration them out. Team member families need first access.

We need a head count on what you think you will be ordering for the Wed night family event. We have to order and pay for them this Sunday at the cooks meeting. I have a "tentative" 24-hour wrist band list below. If you receive a 24-hour wrist band you do not need to purchase a ticket for Wed nights event. This list will change I am sure, as folks will state that they can not make it Wed night or that they will unlikely be able to spend the night in the park. Priority for the (17) - 24hour wrist bands are as follows: Cooks, team members that will be spending the night, full year team members, etc. Please do not be offended if your name is not on the list -- ........(see email).........

I need a head count for Wed night family night. I need a volunteer list for people willing to spend the night Wed, Thurs, Friday & Saturday. It is best to have two people each night.
24 Hour Wrist Band List:

• Ed
• Todd
• Palmer
• Mike Reed
• Brian
• Johnny
• Ron
• T-Bone
• Jeff
• Donna
• Cindy
• Tim
• Chuck
• Blake
• Jeff
• Zena
• Leaving one open after I get the volunteer list and speak with some folks.
• Team Members that do not recieve a 24-hour wrist band will recieve a 3-day pass, paid for by the team.

If you can not use your wrist band on Wed night, please allow it to be used by someone who can, we will return it for you to use on Thursday and/or Friday night. Please get these in to us as quickly as possible. We will need reimbursement as soon as you can as well; as we have to pay this Sunday.

Southaven BBQ Entertainment

It looks like the SOuthaven SPringFestival will have a pretty good line up for the stage.


Friday the 25th 2008

• Aquanet (6:30 p.m.)
• Gabby Johnson (8:00 p.m.)
• and Collective Soul (9:30 p.m.)

*************************************************

Saturday the 26th 2008

• Billy Grantham (6:30 p.m.)
• Eric Church (8:00 p.m.)
• Chris Cagle (9:30 p.m.)
  

Membership Dues

If you are on the monthly payment plan, you should have received an invoice (email) of what you owe, especially if you by chance are behind in your monthly payments. It will benefit the team a great deal if you can get caught up to at least where your dues should be at for the month of April. It will help us out a great deal as we are in need of funds to complete our Memphis In May competition requirements.

Thank you as always for your support, the team appreciates it very much.

Southaven Spring Festival BBQ contest

Optimus Swine team members, we are proud to announce that we will be competing in the Southaven Spring Festival 2008 BBQ contest this April 24th - 26th. We are in need of donations to make this happen. I am not setting a standard amount per say, because this is a voluntary donation and different folks will be able to do different things. I will, however; keep track of expenditures and make it known at the contest of the amount we are shy or over. Anything that is received over the amount we actually use will be used for other team functions.

Load in will be Thursday afternoon the 24th. Anyone who believes they may be able to help please shoot Ed and email at . We will be doing both shoulders and ribs, so time will be tight and things a little hectic maybe (but we will still have fun). Other interesting differences will be that only four other assistant cooks will be allowed in the judging area at the time of judging. Anyone interested, please speak up so I can get a decent idea of who will be there and who won't be able to make it. Everyone in the tent must wear an apron and a hat.

If you are interested in doing any ancillary contests, I will need your entry fee in advance. They are offering Beef, Poultry, Seafood, Sauce, Beans, and Desert. We have had an interest in Seafood and Desert so far, but nothing is etched in stone yet, so speak up if you want to try your hand at something.

Southaven Springfest BBQ Contest

So far we have spent the following (or obligated to)

$100 - Rib entry
$100 - Shoulder entry
$75 - Porta John
$15 - Electrical
$120 - Fruit smoking logs (paid for)
$90 - Hickory wood (paid for)
$200 - Shoulder meat (estimate)
$100 - Ribs (estimate)
$50 - Sauce (estimate)
$40 - Spices (estimate)

If we hit the Grand Slam, The Tri-fecta, The granddaddy sweep - we could win $3,200 in prize money and an inventation to Jack Daniel's BBQ Contest. Obviously, that is unrealistic, however we can shoot for the stars!

As I receive more information and specifics, I will pass them on to the team via the Blog.
Go Optimus Swine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BBQ Season 2008

It is time to break out the BBQ rig, equipment, thaw all the spices and start the inventorying of equipment and goods for the new BBQ season. It is here, and we need to get ready to kick some asteroids. Team members, please start getting in the habit of checking the Blog on a regular basis for information on events and general news. I will keep it up to date now that the season is upon us.

Our first event will be the Southaven Spring Festival 2008 this April 24th - 26th.

Successful Super Bowl Party!

Successful in more ways than one. First and fore most the Giants beat the Patriots, AMEN brother. Secondly, as usual; Jeff and Chery were perfect hosts for the party - I think it is safe to say that everyone who was able to make it had a good time and plenty of food. As you know we did a practice run for Memphis In May BBQ contest with a full case of Ribs. That went really well with a lot of compliments on our ribs. I learned a few things as far as the process goes and about the type of ribs that we will be using.

A huge thank you to those of you who pitched in and donated for the cost of the practice.
Jeff & Cheryl, Tim Melton, Bill Vaughn, Ed & Kat have pitched in so far (it's not too late). That means the team only lost about $100.00 on the practice.Our bank roll is all but depleted with the pre-paying of the Memphis In May contest. The only practical way of practicing will be to ask for donations and or have a surcharge from team members to compensate for the cost of practicing. It is safe to say that it costs us $200 to do a full case of ribs competition style. $100 in ribs, $36 in wood and the rest for ingredients, etc.

Another successful team event!

Mississippi State Wins!

Those of us that were able to make it out to the Liberty Bowl had a great time, at least everyone I have spoken with had a blast. It was a great turn out and great food provided mostly by Johny. We had folks come in from far and wide, visitors from Florida, Alabama and the like. Major financial contributors were Mike Reed and his friends, Brian's boss (sorry sir, I forgot your name) and B.J. in from Florida.

Liberty Bowl Tail Gating Party

We will have the rig down a the Liberty bowl for a tail gating party. If you are a Mississippi State fan or just want to come out and tail gate like a bunch of us are doing, feel free. We will have BBQ, Hamburgers, hot dogs and the like. BYOB, because beer will be on a shortage I am sure. Please pitch in to help out with the food as the team can not afford to expend any money on this. We're not looking to make money, just to reimburse those that are coming out of their pocket to make it happen.

We will be setting up as close to the big oak tree at Tobby field as possible. Feel free to call Brian, Johnny or Ed that day to find out where we are at.. Go State ! See you there!

Happy Birthday Debbie Reed !

Today was Debbie's birthday, and despite popular belief that she planned it for the same day as team clean up to avoid helping out is incorrect. She has had the same birthday for at least the last 35 years. When you see Debbie be sure to wish her a happy 36th B-Day !

Team Clean Up Went Well.

Thank you to Todd, Brian, Tim, Johnny, and Cindy for being able to help out with the team clean up today. It didn't take long with all of us helping, but it was definitely things that just had to get done. One "treasure" was the aromatic green growth in the sink and some of the pans because we did not clean them out from the last event. We need to be conscious of that and not make that mistake again if at all possible.

Johnny, Tim and Brian each get an extra BBQ sandwich at the next event for tackling the the nasty green growth. It is impossible for everyone to make it to every team event, meeting or cleaning, but it is important that we all make an attempt to do our fair share when feasible. Again the team thanks all who made it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Super Bowl Party!

Jeff and Cheryl have been gracious enough to invite the team to their annual Super Bowl Party at their house in Germantown. BYOB and call Cheryl for ideas on a snack or appetizer or something. We will be having a Memphis In May practice as if it were a contest, with the team members acting as blind judges. I know from experience that it will be a great time. Anyone wishing to be a part of the cooking team should be there for the entire rib cooking portion if at all feasible, to learn and to participate.

We are asking each team member/s to donate $25 toward the practice run for Memphis In May. Doing these practice runs without taking in any fundage is draining our small reserves quickly. If you can help out we greatly appreciate it, if the holidays have you a little tight, we understand that too.

Unofficial Team Mascot

Optimus Swine is here! Our un-official team mascot "Optimus Swine" was donated by Ms. Paula Barlovic. We're excited to have him on board our team; he should come in handy should we get in to any brawls at a BBQ contest. Anyone have ideas for logos? emblems? Slogans? Mascots? If so, please place your recommendations here by clicking the "comments" link below.