Team, we have finalized the details for our upcoming MEAT & Greet team mixer for the spring. Here is the information.

Where: The Holliday Flowers warehouse at 444 Monroe. This is in The Edge district just east of the Downtown core. For those not familiar with the area, the warehouse is a converted 1960s motor lodge on Monroe Avenue between Lauderdale Street and Marshall Avenue. The warehouse is down the street from High Cotton Brewery and across the street from some newly-built townhouses. There is plenty of parking in the area.

When: Saturday, March 19; drinks at 4:30 PM, dinner at 6:00 PM. We will have a whole shoulder, cooked according to the tips Frank and the cookteam received at judging school and from certified BBQ judges at a practice presentation back in January. If you plan to come, we ask that you RSVP to moodyques@gmail.com so we can get an accurate headcount and plan the amount of meat we need to prepare.

Why: This is your chance to hear from Frank and the cookteam what they have learned in the offseason, and how they have improved the quality of our product with each practice cook. You’ll be able to get a gander at our new cooker, which is as of yet unnamed so if you have a name suggestion give it to Frank. Brent and his team will let you in on design plans for the booth this year, to honor Canada, the 2016 Memphis in May honored country. This is also a good chance for you to offer valuable feedback about what you loved about last year, as well as what you think could be improved.

If you would prefer to pay your dues by check, therefore avoiding the PayPal service fee that is charged if you use this website to renew, treasurer Misty will be on hand to accept your payment. We will get team members who pay added to the team roster on this website (on the sidebar on a screen, at the bottom if on mobile) within 24-72 hours.

We will have a sign-up sheet for those who want to let Travis know they will be available any days, and what times, for load-in and build happening Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday May 7-10.

Feed the Pig: We are hoping you will consider throwing in a nominal donation at the event, to help offset the cost of the MEAT for the MEAT & Greet.

That’s the scoop! If you have any questions, email moodyques@gmail.com.

Team, we have some good news to share with you this morning. Royal Oak Charcoal has committed to be back with us for 2016. As you are aware, the cook team has learned a lot at judging school and from our practice presentation to three BBQ Fest judges. High quality charcoal and wood is key to getting our preparation just right, and Royal Oak will provide those products. We thank Royal Oak and are excited about their commitment to the Moody Ques.

We still have room for an additional sponsor or two. If you know anyone who would be interested in sponsoring this award-winning, highly visible team that is well covered in the media, please email moodyques@gmail.com and let us know. Please show potential sponsors our sponsorship packet. If anyone needs a printed copy of the packet, please email the team and we will get you one. Remember that all sponsorship levels in the packet are just sample ideas of what we have to offer. We can work with sponsors to customize a BBQ experience that meets their needs.

For months the cook team has been refining their cooking process, using the information the team learned at judging school and the feedback we received from the BBQ judges at our practice presentation. The cooks are ready to show the rest of the team what they have learned! We are having a team meeting and mixer, a MEAT and greet, on Saturday, March 19. We will have a full shoulder and several racks of ribs for you to try. However, we need to gauge interest so we know how much meat to buy. If you plan to come, please RSVP to moodyques@gmail.com.

We will have more information on the MEAT and greet, in particular the time and location, in the coming weeks. Be sure to check this website often. If you are not getting the team emails let us know and we will add you.

Follow us at @moodyques.

The weather will be getting warm soon and it’s time to start planning for our two upcoming regionals in April, as well as the main event itself in May. The Moody Ques’ board of directors met on Sunday, February 21 and we have a few pieces of news that came out of the meeting.

First of all, congratulations to team president Clay Thompson! Clay landed a job at a logistics company in East Memphis, and started Monday, February 8. With a new job, however, comes a lack of vacation time, and Clay will not be able to take off work the entire week of BBQ Fest.

In Clay’s place, Travis from Holliday Flowers will be the driving force behind load-in and booth build activities. He would like to get a group of booth workers who can commit ahead of time to help him Saturday, May 7 through Wednesday, May 11. If you have a lot of vacation time accrued at your job, it would be a tremendous help to the team if you could take part or all of that time off and sign up to help Travis. If you can, please email moodyques@gmail.com and let Travis know we can count on you and what dates and times.

The Moody Ques are competing in the fourth annual Atoka BBQ Fest on Friday and Saturday, April 1 and 2. We have assembled a cook team of Erik, Clay, and John D, with Dusty coming late and cooking too. Team members are welcome to come Friday night, but would be better off coming during the day Saturday when there will be leftover food and it will be more of a hang out atmosphere. Here’s a Google Map of the park. Take Highway 51 north out of Memphis to get there. Atoka is about 10 minutes north of Millington.

The Southaven regional happens three weeks after Atoka, and we will update you with more information in a future post.

If you know of a potential sponsor and need a printed copy of the sponsor packet detailing what we have to offer, let us know and we will get you one (or several if you need them). If you have friends, family, or co-workers who would be interested in joining the Moody Ques as team members for 2016, let us know that too.

If you haven’t paid your team dues for 2016, now is the time! The PayPal widget on the right sidebar (if viewing on screen) or at the bottom of the page (if viewing on mobile) is ready and waiting to accept your money. If you need to mail a check, email moodyques@gmail.com and we will give you the mailing address.

Thanks everyone. It’s shaping up to be a great year!