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Beef Checkoff Kicks Off Another BBQ Tour

Once again, in partnership with The American GrillMaster Experience, the Beef Checkoff Program is kicking off a summer-long grilling tour in 2012. The American GrillMaster Experience is a beef barbecue demonstration and educational tour - including beef grilling demonstrations, product samples, recipes and other checkoff-funded resources - designed to educate and inform consumers about grilling techniques.

A total of 30 events are planned on the 2012 tour, covering 28 states, from March 3 - Nov. 4. Twenty-seven of those events will be in parking lots of Club locations, as part of the Sam's Club National BBQ Tour, which is the largest Kansas City Barbeque Society sanctioned competition series.

"Savvy consumers want to see, try, taste and experience products for themselves before they make purchasing decisions," says Jane Frost, cow-calf producer from San Jon, N.M. and vice-chair of the checkoff's Joint Retail Committee. "Connecting with consumers through promotional sampling in an environment of fun and excitement proves to be one of the best platforms for engaging our target audience, promoting our beef products, and driving home promotional messages that keep beef top-of-mind with consumers and in their shopping carts."

In 2010, Sam's Club launched a pilot competitive barbecue program and became the first major retailer to sponsor KCBS, the largest and most respected barbecue sanctioning body in the world. From that pilot program, the Sam's Club National BBQ Tour was born. During 2011, the inaugural tour became the largest competitive barbecue series in America, doling out more than $400,000 in prize money, the largest prize pool in barbecue history. In 2012, the stakes are even higher, with more competitions and a whopping $500,000 in prize money!

"These events provide the beef checkoff with a unique opportunity to showcase beef cuts that perform great on the grill, at a variety of price points, while engaging directly with consumers," Frost says. "And with the help of our state beef councils, 'Ambassadors of Beef' will be promoting, educating and speaking with consumers of all ages about the taste and nutritional benefits of beef all summer long."

Click here to view the GrillMaster events schedule or visit GrillMasterTour.com.

For more information about your Beef Checkoff investment, visit MyBeefCheckoff.com.