New CEO has long BBQ resume, filled with trophies and a winning touch. Can he right the wrongs and put them back on a successful path for the future?

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, USA, August 15, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) has named Rod Gray the third CEO in just over three years. Rod Gray comes to this position inside KCBS with an extensive and successful competitive BBQ background and hopefully will be the answer to years of questions in leadership. Rod has cooked competitively for many years; his teams name is "Pellet Envy", and he is credited with teaching many of today's top BBQ Pit masters the tricks to winning on the professional circuit. Rod also has a successful line of rubs and sauces under the "EAT" label.

Rod becomes the 3rd CEO in just a tad over three years and is just the second with a BBQ resume like he has. The First CEO, Mr. Heath Hall was hired in early 2019 in a position created by the forward thinking, 2018 KCBS Board of Directors.

Mr. Hall's tenure was short as the newly elected 2019 Board of Director's members, came in with what many have said was a heavy hammer to "Undue" anything prior boards put in place for the future of the organization. Controversy surrounds the departure of Mr. Hall in mid 2019.

Rumors are he was fired for standing up to the Board in hope to not allow them to destroy the organization with needless and what could appear as vindictive moves to "Undue" prior board's actions. Regardless of the rumors floating around, it does appear by IRS filings that KCBS either had to "Buy Out" Mr. Hall or faced litigation and settled with Mr. Hall.

KCBS IRS filings claim they paid Mr. Hall, $232,575.00 in compensation for right at 6 months of work, this is substantially more than any other CEO for the organization according to public documents. KCBS also reports $265,910.00 in legal expenses for the same year.

Rod's hiring comes at the heels of CEO, Emily Detwiler whom in a public release only states, she is moving on in her career and wishes KCBS nothing but the best and will continue as a lifetime member of the organization. KCBS has been no stranger to controversary of over the past few years, with lawsuits filed against them by First Club Marketing LLC (FCM) for breach of contract.

FCM is owned in part by former KCSB Board Member and President, Mr. Randall Bowman. Public documents show FCM was victorious in that civil suit, and it appears to have been settled to avoid appeals. We reached out to Mr. Bowman for comment on all and he stated "it is all just a real shame any of the doings of the last few years occurred, the ship was headed in a great direction and one or two strong personalities became Board members and had the ability to change the course that was put in place by many prior boards for many years. It is heartbreaking to see what is going on." Mr. Bowman went on to say, "Heath was a perfect fit but was not given a chance or guidance in my opinion, Emily was in a bad spot, and I feel she was just used to do the dirty work for the few Board members calling the shots. Rod is a great guy; I have known him for 15 or so years and love him. My hope is he can right some wrongs and begin to rebuild the organization to what it was and let generations to come have the same joyful experiences My family and I have had over the last 20 years. I am not even currently a member of the organization."

In public records searches it also appears that in 2019 a discrimination claim was filed against KCBS and also appears to have been settled. Current IRS filings are not public as of yet and KCBS has not responded to requests for any documentation. The 2020 tax filing is the latest available and show a disastrous decrease in revenue and a massive loss for a second year in a row.

IRS filings for KCBS show

2018 revenue of $2,201,459.00 and a profit of $2,183.00
2019 revenue of $2,313,824.00 and a loss of $472,662.00
2020 revenue of $1,070,429.00 and a loss of $605,217.00

One can only assume on top of controversary, sanctioned events being lost, massive membership declines and a change in direction by the powers that be, that Covid did not help the organization either.

We certainly remain hopeful that Mr. Rod Gray, whom from what we see is one of the most well-respected folks associated with the KCBS organization, can turn this around and be the key that the organization needed so desperately these past few years.

Heather Eubanks
National BBQ Events
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