Steve Grady is the co-owner (with his wife Gerrie) of Grady's BBQ in Dudley, N.C. Grady's BBQ is one of the Historic BBQ Pits on The NCBS Historic BBQ Trail. Steve is a legendary Eastern North Carolina Pit Master and has cooked over 12,000 whole hogs. Steve was one of the Class of 2008 NCBS Wall of Fame inductees and has been showcased in a number of newspapers and magazines. See the USA Today article on the News and Events link on this website. Also see Grady's BBQ on the NCBS Historic BBQ Trail on the BBQ Trail link on this website.

Steve grew up on a farm and has raised pigs and been around pigs all of his life. As a boy Steve learned to cook pigs the old fashioned way on pits with live coals.  Steve never departed from his up-bringing. Twenty-three (23) years ago Steve left his job at the lumber yard and opened Grady's BBQ in Dudley so he and his wife could work together. Since Grady's opened, Steve has adveraged cooking about 10 whole hogs a week , fifty-one weeks a year.  Steve and Gerrie also do catering in addition to the cooking at their permanent location at the intersection of Arrington Bridge Road and Sleepy Creek Road outside of Dudley.

We are pleased to have Steve bring his vast cooking experience and sage wisdom to our board. And in addition we can tap into Gerrie's considerable skills in the kitchen and have the pleasure of her million candle watt smile at our events.

Born in Concord North Carolina, Richard Turner acquired a taste for good BBQ at an early age due in no small part to the presence of several really good BBQ pits in the area that cooked cue the old fashioned way on pits with live wood coals. Richard was hooked. In 1965 Richard joined the Marine Corps and served in Vietnam. Missing his pit cooked ‘cue Richard set about to build a smoker with the materials at hand. An instrument barrel, hinges from a fuse crate and metal from a bomb crate would do nicely. He found that even the taste of C-Rations raised a click or two when smoked over wood coals.

In the 80’s Richard and a neighbor borrowed a drum smoker and cooked a whole hog. There was no turning back at this point. Richard set his sights to become a barbecue man. He later attended a barbecue school in South Carolina and continued to hone his skills. Richard says that it was only after attending the NCBS BBQ Boot Camp at Tanglewood that he really learned how to cook barbecue after training with the best of the best. Since his classes with NCBS Richard has helped with other NCBS schools as a cook and on the kitchen staff. Richard says that after his NCBS training, he now cooks with no fear. Richard cooks pulled pork Eastern NC style for churches, veteran groups and other large gatherings.

When he is not attending to his cooking duties, Richard, a retired Airline Captain, and his wife enjoy water sports at their home on Lake James. Richard is an avid fly fisherman and indulges in kayaking from time to time.

NCBS is pleased to have Richard share his organizational skills, cooking skills, passion for BBQ and interest in “The Fun Tribe” with our membership. Welcome aboard Richard.

Rick Hollowell has enjoyed over 30 years of experience in numerous positions throughout the telecommunications industry. During this time, he has been involved with the planning, construction and management of seven cable systems in North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee, and has held practically every position in the cable industry.

Today, Mr. Hollowell is involved with the broadcast, cable and wireless broadband industries as President of ComSpec Corporation, a telecommunications consulting firm located in Greensboro, NC. Mr. Hollowell holds an Associate of Science Degree from Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, NC and a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, NC.

He is an active member in the Society of Broadcast Engineers ("SBE"), the National Educational Broadband Service Association ("NEBSA"), the Wireless Communications Association ("WCA") and the WCA Engineering Committee. Additionally, he is a senior member of the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers ("SCTE") and is a founding member, past president and current Executive Board member of the Piedmont SCTE serving North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee. Mr. Hollowell proudly serves on the board of the North Carolina Barbecue Society.

His favorite activity is enjoying life with his son, Scott (13). Additionally, his hobbies include traditional cooking for all types of barbecue pork, beef, chicken, fish and whatever is on special and or abundant. Aside from cooking, Mr. Hollowell also enjoys all types of fishing, camping hiking, cycling and most other outdoor activities. He is a perfectionist in the direction and craftsmanship for restoring historic structures. An Eagle Scout, Mr. Hollowell is active in supporting the Old North State Council and is Assistant Scoutmaster of Troop 203 in Greensboro, NC.

NCBS is pleased to have Rick,  his expansive skills, his passion for BBQ and  belief in our mission, as an addition to our board.

Debbie Bridges-Webb is a stunning looking woman who looks as though she may have just stepped off the cover of Vogue magazine. That may have happened had Debbie not given up her modeling career at age 19 to help “Mama B” with the family business. Debbie grew up with Bridges Barbecue Lodge. She started waitressing at age 16, worked in the kitchen, prepped food, washed dishes, chopped cue, hauled wood and even fired the meat. There is no aspect of running a top flight BBQ Pit that is a stranger to Debbie Bridges Webb.

Her theory is you cannot tell someone how to do it if you can’t do it yourself. With “Mama B” as a mentor Debbie honed her skills. In the years before her death, “Mama B” would come in to “check” on Debbie to see if she was doing it right. She was. Debbie has been the driving force behind Bridges Barbecue Lodge for the last 30+ years. In this time Bridges Barbecue Lodge has received numerous accolades. The Lodge has been featured in Barbecue Road Trip by Michael Karl Witzel, Gourmet Magazine, BBQ Joints by David Gelin, Road Food, Eat Your Way across the U.S.A. , and Popular Plates BBQ by Jane & Michael Stern to name a few. Bridges Barbecue has also been featured in a number of BBQ books including Holy Smoke and The Best Tar Heel Barbecue Manteo to Murphy. NCBS is pleased to have Debbie Bridges Webb, one of the First Ladies of BBQ, join our Board of Directors.

Welcome aboard Debbie.