Our world was turned upside down January 13th 2006 when a member of our family was diagnosed with Leukemia. Our company had just begun selling sauces and rubs but needless to say everything was put on hold. A brave little girl from her hospital bed said “Dad, you really need to bring some business cards and logo pens to give away and sell some sauce while you’re here.” Talk about thinking of others before yourself!

Thanks to her bravery, incredible strength and amazing courage we are happy to report that Morgan has completed her treatments and is 100% cancer free! We received more help and love from our community than we ever thought was possible. So many people gave their time, support, love and money.

Cass & Shelly Bresette host an annual Winter Co-Ed Softball tournament each March to benefit a local child that is ill. In 2006 my daughter was one of the beneficiaries of this tournament. We wanted to give back to all of those that helped us, so for the past two years we have sold our BBQ and donated all proceeds to the tournament beneficiary. We also sponsor a team in the tournament each year. Hopefully we can continue to do this as it is an amazing experience and such a great chance to give back. We did cook for Cass & Shelly this summer when they hosted a BBQ to try and raise money for this year's recipient. Please visit Cass & Shelly Bresette’s website for more information: www.FreezingFunForFamilies.com

We also sponsor the Vermont Voltage professional men’s and women’s soccer teams (St. Albans, VT) and are a member of the Barre Partnership.

We ran a concession at the Vermont Mountaineers games last year. This is our local team playing in the NECBL (New England Collegiate Baseball League). We were one of three vendors serving food to a very supportive and friendly crowd. We offered barbequed chicken & ribs, pulled pork sandwiches, BBQ chicken\pork nachos & BBQ chicken\pork quesadillas. The Mountaineers won their second straight NECBL Championship this year! It was great fun being a part of such an amazing organization. It really is a fan-friendly atmosphere and we were made to feel part of the family immediately. We began growing a devoted group of BBQ lovers and we met some great people and learned an awful lot. We are looking forward to the start of the 2008 season which is just around the corner - Go Mountaineers!.

We had a booth for the Barre Home Coming Days celebration this year in Barre, VT July 27th & 28th. We had the same menu as at the Mountaineers games, but the sales were vastly different. We could not keep our ribs in supply. Every time we took 6 racks off the grill and cut them up - they were gone in about 10 minutes. We went through almost 200 pounds of ribs, along with 200 pounds of chicken and 150 pounds of pulled pork. It was a very busy weekend with Mountaineers games sandwiched around the homecoming celebration, but extremely successful and we all had a great time.

Barre recently held its annual Scary Barre celebration that included a parade. We entered a rolling graveyard BBQ float in the parade. I was the Grim Reaper, Rob was Leather Face, Glo was Mrs. Death, Kyle, Gill, a friend Cory and sister Carol were all zombies. Unfortunately the weather was horrible. It was cold and rainy, but we still had a great time throwing candy to the brave kids that stood in the rain to watch the parade.

We spent our winter running a concession at the Frost Heaves basketball games, our local basketball team in the ABA that won the championship two years in their inaugural season and made it back to back titels this spring. We offered a slightly altered menu for these games due to indoor constraints, but we will still had happy people leaving with full bellies! To learn more about the Frost Heaves please visit their website: www.VermontFrostHeaves.com

Always remember: family, friends and community are what life is all about – so let those close to you let them know how you feel about them and be sure to make one extra person smile today! On that note I want to especially thank Glo, Rob & Dave - you are all such a huge part of our success and your hard work and positive attitude is truly appreciated!!

Thanks for all of your support.

Ed