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,...