05/31/2026
This weekends cook off was very anticipated by me for awhile not just because it’s one of the hometown cook offs but also because I was hoping to get my 7th win of the year here at home where competition BBQ started for me 3 years ago and punch my ticket to The Jack! I never dreamed I would be in this position but like my good friend Aaron Lesley kept telling me just enjoy the journey and if it happens then it happens! I want to say thank you to the Ardmore Elks Lodge crew who put on an awesome event and to Judy, Walker, Laura, Robert and Alta for the hard work ya put in this weekend, I was happy to share this moment with yall!
Biggest thanks of all goes to my wife for allowing me to pursue this dream and taking care of both our kiddos and those of you who know them know that’s tougher than any competition!
Next I want to thank my boss Benton Ray for being so supportive of my hobby. When I first started I told him “hey man, I bbq on the weekends sometimes I’ll need to leave early and sometimes I’ll need to miss all day on Friday” he said that sounds awesome and that he would support me in it 100%!
Next is my amazing sponsors who continue to believe in me and support me every week. None of this would be possible without them.
A couple guys that always took my call or text and helped me anytime I needed it from day one, thanks Aaron Lesley, Tim Esch, Justin West, and James Dodson.
Last but not least is my BBQ family, thank y’all for all the support over last few years and especially this year. We all come out every weekend to win and to hear people at these last few comps come up and say I hope you beat me today or I’ll take RGC today so you can wrap this thing up was pretty cool.
Thanks to these folks for helping us too!
