April 19-20
Boss Hog goes Memphis
By Elizabeth Billips Associate Editor

The Boss Hog cook-off just got bigger ... make that way, way bigger.

The annual rib cooking contest has been sanctioned by Memphis in May (MIM) and is expected to draw teams from across the country.

Besides a huge cash prize, the winning team will earn a spot in the 2008 world championship in Memphis with their entry fees paid in full.

According to Nan Palmer, chairman of the Downtown Organization of Retailers (DOOR), the newly sanctioned contest will undergo major restructuring.

For starters, the event, which has always been held in conjunction with the Farm Fest, will be pushed to mid April at the request of MIM officials who already had four competing cook-offs on September 15.

In addition to stricter rules, Palmer says as many as 200 MIM judges will be sent here along with a computerized scoring system.

To meet MIM requirements, the event will be held over a twoday period with both amateurs and professionals vying for a title.

As many as three different contests will be held including rib, shoulder and whole hog.

Organizers are also considering an informal "anything but pork" competition the night before.

Along with big prizes, DOOR organizers are securing big entertainment including "The Hushpuppies."

MIM officials say the Boss Hog will make a great addition to their network of sanctioned events.

"That weekend in April, I have no other contest in Georgia so I would think you would draw well from your state," MIM spokesperson Chip Scott said.

He said first-year events normally draw around 15 professional teams with at least 12 members each. Once established, he said, MIM events tend to grow in leaps and bounds.

For example, organizers in Galax, Va., a town of 6,500, drew only nine teams for their first "Smoke on the Water" contest in 2006. This July, however, 20 teams competed and the crowd was estimated in the 10,000s.

Palmer hopes the Boss Hog will follow that example.

"The main reason we got sanctioned was to promote tourism," she said. "We want to get people coming to Waynesboro and talking about our town."

And the odds are good. Right now, of the 42 scheduled MIM cook-offs, there are only four others in Georgia including Moultrie, Vienna, Milledgeville and Richland.

DOOR volunteers will be spending the next month finding a location, creating a web site and booking entertainment.

"This is a chance for everybody in our town to show off their community spirit," Palmer said.

"That'ssomething we

know we're

good at." DOOR wants to hear from you. Ideas and suggestions may be sent to npalmer@fnbwaynesboro.com.