HOW THE GBA BECAME A REALITY
In 2006, several individuals in and around Fort Valley, GA conceived the idea of forming the Georgia Barbecue Association. Dedicated to the pursuit of great barbecue focused on taste, the GBA slogan – “It’s All About The Taste” – was born. In September, 2007, the first GBA Competition was held in Fort Valley.
What started with just 17 barbecue teams cooking on the streets of Fort Valley quickly became one of the fastest growing barbecue associations in the nation. The GBA uses a unique format with all blind judging, but with a MBN style.
Some of the founding cook teams of the GBA included:
- Big D Firehouse Smokers – Danny Evans
- Bubba Grills - Lonnie Smith
- Dixie Que – Rick Godfrey
- Smokin-AJ’s – Buster Davis
- BlueLine BBQ – Kevin Sparks/John David Anderson
- Barbecue Monsters – David Braum
- A.R Jones Smokehouse – A.R Jones
- Clyde’s Cooking – Clyde Cunningham
- G’s Specialty
- Sam Meyer
- Bryant Culpepper
- Jimmy Barnes