BBQTrophies.com is the culmination of more than 45 years of dedication to traditional slow-smoked barbecue and my desire to design and manufacture truly unique, one of a kind awards for today's BBQ competitions.
My experience with BBQ goes back to the early 60's in a small southeast Georg ia town where my father built and owned a poultry processing company. Since we were the "Chicken" people we were constantly asked to barbecue chickens for every fundraising opportunity in and around Claxton, GA. While my Dad was becoming known as the "Chicken Man" I was busy dividing my time between my 2 passions - playing football and eating slow-smoked BBQ from Mr. Kelly's BBQ Joint.
Mr. Kelly had one of the South's famous old cinder block pits in front of his house and everyday he would smoke pork shoulder, ribs and whatever else anybody wanted smoked. I can still smell the oak coals in his pit and taste the Carolina style vinegar based sauce he made fresh every day. To this day, I have never made nor tasted a better pork sandwich than Mr. Kelly's, and I have eaten at some of the best and most well known BBQ places in the South, the Midwest and the Pacific Northwest. Although Mr. Kelly is no longer with us and his pit has been closed for years the memories still linger and my quest for that perfectly smoked pork sandwich continues to this day.
After high school I attended the University of Georgia in Athens, GA. During my senior year in business school I decided to leave the banking job I had held while working my way through school and open The Trophy Shop in Athens. At 24 years old I started a business that has evolved over the past 47 years into what today is one of the most modern, state of the art awards companies in the country. During these years I have owned and operated shops in Athens, GA., Ft. Walton Beach, FL in Milford, MI. and as of September 2017 back in Fort Walton Beach, FL. I have dealt with large customers such as the Georgia High School Athletic association, The Georgia State Fair, the Atlanta Braves professional baseball team and while in Florida my main customer was the United States Air Force. I manufactured custom awards and shipped them to bases world-wide before selling the store and moving to Milford to be near family.
In 2010 I decided to pursue my BBQ ambitions by becoming a Certified BBQ judge and was certified by the Kansas City Barbecue Society. My first summer I judged 6 KCBS sanctioned competitions. My plan was to become a Master Certified Judge. During 2011 and 2012 I experienced serious health issues and had to stop judging, Now that my health issues have been resolved and I am "as good as new" I am back to judging. In late 2010 my wife, Jennifer and I decided to combine the power of the internet, my years of experience in the awards industry and my passion for all things BBQ into one focus. We have created a truly unique buying opportunity for BBQ competitions across the country. After my wife died 4 years ago I have decided to return to Athens Georgia and continue building BBQ competition trophies.
I understand BBQ, I understand competitions and I know how to design and build the best quality awards and related products for contests, cook teams and all the Backyard BBQ enthusiasts out there. You can purchase your awards, your cook-team "logo" merchandise and share your BBQ stories all in one place - BBQTrophies.com. I understand BBQ and live the life of the smoke! I cook competitively and judge when I have the time. I can even help design your logo if you need that service. Now you can have your awards made to your specifications and designs instead of just taking what the local trophy guy has to offer. Take a look at my stock designs and my custom designed awards and let me know what you want for your competition.
Welcome to BBQTrophies.com and please contact me with any questions or suggestions.
