It is with honor and pleasure we cooked for the Vermont Air National Guards on October 8. The Green Mountain Boys played a golf tournament in raw rainy weather without any complaints or concerns, except for the putts that didn't drop. After golf, we cooked pulled pork, loin back ribs, baked beans and slaw for a traditional BBQ dinner. I want to thank my teammates Jeff Murray and Dot Decker for all their help putting the feast together. The Vermont Guards are heading back to Iraq in January and we wish them a safe deployment and a quick return home.

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It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our Lost Nation team member, Butkus Decker. Butkus was in charge of the test kitchen and was an inspiration for me to keep cooking. He ate a lot of my food, mostly bad, and it kept his tail wagging. Although he wasn't able to keep food down during his last days, he still ate an entire pork butt. He will be sadly missed.

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New Holland is my favorite contest. The people from the Dutch country sure know how to host a barbeque competition. Jack McDavid cooked an awesome dinner on Friday night. The breakfast cooked by Melvin Stolfuz's family was delicious and sure hit the spot. Mel's Meadow Creek Hog Cookers were popular and all the top hog cookers used them.

Lost Nation finished the season off strong with a 5th place finish and calls in pork and ribs. Congratulations go to Team Agave and their head cook, Steve Farrin who cooked with his father Dale.

This season has been a long one and it seems as if we were just getting into our prime. 2006 is going to be our year.

Bel Air is one of the contests in which we've always wanted to compete. We heard that Craig Ward and the Bel Air Alliance know how to run a first-rate event and everyone was right. With Linda and Jerry Mullane as the contests reps, we knew we were in for a fun and eventful weekend. I didn't know that it would start on Thursday night.

Heading down to Swarthmore, PA to spend the night with my mother, I hit a pothole in Northern New Jersey. The impact broke the spindle off the rear axle and sent my tire down the highway. Miracles started to happen when the truck stopped without damaging any other cars on the 5 lane highway during rush hour. Our rescuers at Lenox Towing, who I owe some Q to on a return trip, got us safely off the street. My teammates, Loren and Steve came to the rescue next with a few malt beverages and a place to sleep. The next morning, Steve and I started on an adventure to get me to Bel Air. We rented a U-Haul trailer for the cooker. I balanced the trailer the length of the Jersey Turnpike, doing 40 miles an hour. I didn't know how I'd to cook on the trailer or how I'd get the cooker off on Sunday, but I thought things would work out.

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When I got to the contest in 100º plus weather, the cooks came out of the wood work to help out. Led by Dean Ayres of Pork and Deans and with the help of Tuffy and his team, Cool Smoke, we got the pit jacked up and in cooking shape.

We cooked some consistent BBQ and got calls in ribs and pork and finished with a fifth place. Congratulations go to Cool Smoke and Tuffy, some of our saviors, who placed third. Jack McDavid and his vending team were the reserve Grand Champions. I don't know how they can cook so consistently in a KCBS contest while vending in the heat and humidity. Jack it a world class cook and a great guy.

Well, for the third time this year we offer congratulations to the BEAST OF THE EAST: Team Dizzy Pig. What can we say? Chris, John and Kenny are among our favorites and they are kicking some butt this year. They're awesome.

After the contest I drove the trailer to Dean Ayres shop where he is going to replace my axle and straighten the fender. The only thing he asks is that I reimburse him for the parts. I don't know how I could ever repay Dean. As someone once said, "BBQ cookers are the tops!".

We traveled to one of our favorite contests of the year in Asbury Park. Arlie Bragg is a world renowned contest organizer and any time you get the Mullanes as KCBS reps, you have a well run contest. We cooked some BBQ that we were proud of, but our slump for 2004 continued with no calls for the contest. We were not surprised to hear the iQue team called for the Reserve Grand Champions. Them boys can cook anywhere and get their name called at the end. Congratulations to Chris, Jamie and Dave. We were thrilled when the Grand Champion title went to The Senator (AKA Hoff Daddy's). Mark and Mark have been our neighbors and among our closest friends since we started on the BBQ circuit. Our heart felt congratulations go to you guys; we are thrilled at your success.

Lost Nation made the short trip to Harpoon with high expectations, but critical decisions near turn in time sent our chicken and pork to the bottom of the standings. Congratulations go to the iQue team who won both the KCBS barbecue contest and the NEBS grilling contest. These boys are among the best cooks in the country and were appropriately named the NEBS team of the year.

The South Jersey shore seems like home for the Lost Nation team. Wildwood is one of the best contests of the season. Our neighbors, The Philly Pigs and Cooking Commandos, had the parties running all day and night. We thought that we cooked some of our best BBQ of the season and got a second in ribs at the awards ceromony. The forty friends and teammates were surprised and let out a cheer when we were called for the Reserve Grand Champion. That powerhouse, The Dizzy Pigs, walked away with the Grand Championship. Congratulations go to Chris, John, Kenny and Chuck. Thanks go out to the Anglesea Fire Department and especially to Linda and Jerry Mullane, the best KCBS reps.

Cape Cod was last week's destination for the Lost Nation crew. For the first time we were joined by my niece, Kelly Decker and her fiancé, Dan Kay, and we had a ball. Saturday's grilling contest let the team express their culinary skills. And with the open garnishes, the girls could, and they did, run wild. We finished 4th overall, with a first place in pork chops.

On Sunday, we had a lot of friends and family at our site while we cooked in the BBQ contest. Everybody was excited going to the awards, as we cooked some great food against some of the best teams in New England. It was a long wait until our name was finally called for a first place in brisket. We had consistent 6th place finishes in the remaining categories and finished 4th overall. Our hats go off to the Grand Champs, Lee and Rob of Back 40 BBQ and to the RGC, that pesky I Smell Smoke team, who was last year's NEBS Team of the Year.

I traveled to my home state of Pennsylvania for a whirlwind weekend of BBQ cooking. Arriving at 3 AM, I was up early for the Doylestown Country Club crowd. The 120 golfers were fed 6 packers, 12 pork butts and 50 slabs of spares. It was my pleasure to cook in Executive Chef, John Ripley's kitchen. Doylestown has the finest food service in the area.

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Friday morning I woke up to a driving rain storm to start "Barbeque on the River". It was a very well run contest by Smoking Dude's Tom Christine. You can always tell when a contest is run by a cook. Lost Nation cooked some of our finest BBQ and came in 15th place. We were very proud when our fellow NEBS members, Team Agave, and iQue were named Grand champion and Reserve champion, respectively. Congratulations to Steve and to the iQ boys: Chris, Andy, Dave and the iron man, Kenny.

Under threatening skies, Lost Nation traveled to the Pork in the Park BBQ contest in Salisbury, MD. We claimed the top prize in brisket, which was a Lost Nation first! With neighbors like Hoff Daddy's, War Pigs and New Guys No More, it was a fun weekend for the Lost Nation crew. We would like to congratulate our good friends, The Dizzy Pigs for winning the Grand Championship. Kenny, John, Mike and especially Chris are as good of cooks as they are friends.

Due to poor attendance at the Lost Nation Team Meetings, Assistant Pitmaster Bruce Decker has been replaced by his daughter, Kelly Decker. Her vast BBQ knowledge and unique youthful energy will make her an integral part of the team. We're all excited to welcome Kelly to Lost Nation Smoke Company.

The newly elected board of directors are sworn in at the Ice Bar in Stowe, VT.

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After an encouraging finish at the 16th Annual Jack Daniels World Championship Invitational Barbeque competition, our team is preparing for the 2005 schedule. We start our journey in Salisbury, MD at the Pork in the Park competition on April 22 & 23.