On this Gold Star Mother’s and Family’s Day, we want to spotlight a very special volunteer - Gail Simmons. Gail volunteers with Operation BBQ Relief in memory of her son, PFC Ryan Simmons, who served with the U.S. Army in Iraq. He suffered from PTSD and other injuries...
Mike “Jet Blue” Schwirian, the 2023 Operation BBQ Relief Innovation Award recipient, has been an integral part of our volunteer family for seven years. He volunteers hundreds of hours each year and goes above and beyond in service to our mission. “I have a competition...
The Operation BBQ Relief Leadership Award is presented to a volunteer each year who others willingly follow, trust, and seek to emulate. The 2023 Leadership Award recipient, Steve Anderson, is just that. He volunteers hundreds of hours each year and inspires all he...
The Rod Cramer Volunteer of the Year Award is presented to an individual who exemplifies volunteerism and is recognized for their outstanding contributions to Operation BBQ Relief. This year’s recipient, Gary “G5” Brownsberger, was chosen due to the heart, work ethic,...
Joleen Baldauf’s journey to become an Operation BBQ Relief volunteer began just a few short months after we provided our first meals in the aftermath of the Joplin, Mo. tornado in May 2011. “In December 2011, I had stopped in Joplin, Mo. on my way to visit my...
One volunteer who always goes above and beyond in service to our mission is Emlyn Thomas, who currently serves as our area coordinator for Illinois. Emlyn got involved with Operation BBQ Relief in 2022 after hearing about us at several Kansas City Barbeque Society...
Tom “Doc” Barowsky first heard about Operation BBQ Relief in 2015 when he was competing in a Kansas City Barbeque Society competition in North Carolina., where he was then living. “At the time I was running a one-physician practice and could not participate in...
Gene Boldman first heard about Operation BBQ Relief in 2021 at a Kansas City Barbeque Society competition and was immediately drawn to our mission to feed communities after disasters and enrich the lives of heroes every day. “I'm retired and was looking for a way to...
Our volunteers choose to spend their time with Operation BBQ Relief for many different reasons. For Jim Rude, his family was personally touched by our mission. “I first heard of Operation BBQ Relief when our Co-Founder and CEO Stan Hays was featured on CNN in 2017 as...
When a tornado struck her community last month, Betsy O’Dowd of Clarksville, Tenn. knew she wanted to do something to help. She saw on the Montgomery County and City of Clarksville websites that Operation BBQ Relief was in the area serving people impacted by the...
Since before Operation BBQ Relief even officially existed, Laurie Polak has been an important part of our family. Laurie and her husband, Brian, were both involved with the Kansas City Barbeque Society when a large EF5 tornado struck Joplin, Mo. in 2011. Our...
Don Edwards first heard about Operation BBQ Relief when he was a competition BBQ judge and decided to first volunteer with us in 2018, when Hurricane Florence hit Wilmington, N.C. “Something in my spirit directed me to volunteer. I remember doing 23,000 meals in the...
Randy Hartmann first heard about Operation BBQ Relief in 2018 and was immediately intrigued by our mission to provide hot meals and hope to communities in need. “As a pitmaster and career firefighter/paramedic, I knew this would be a natural fit for me – continuing my...
Since 2017, Joy Lloyd has served Operation BBQ Relief behind the scenes first as a virtual volunteer and now as a Senior Volunteer Coordinator, performing tasks from her home such as coordinating and setting up deployments and projects, training volunteers,...
Longtime volunteer David Burch of Smokey Dave’s BBQ first heard of Operation BBQ Relief in 2011 when we responded to a need for tornado relief efforts in Joplin, Mo. Competitive pitmasters from nine states answered the call to feed displaced families and first...
Ever since Hurricane Florence hit North Carolina in 2018, Louis Pratt has been an integral part of the Operation BBQ Relief family, serving on more deployments with our disaster response team and The Always Serving Project than he can count. He recently served as site...
August 7, 2023 is National Purple Heart Day, and we want to share the extraordinary story of one of our longtime volunteers – Alan Nichols. Alan valiantly served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War and received the Bronze Star, Army Commendation for Heroism,...