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See Operation BBQ Northwest on FoodTV.com

Over 30,000 Meals served since 2003

"To give honor and thanks to those who protect our freedoms, and their loved ones,
with the unique American hospitality of BBQ."

Washing State Dept. Veterans Affairs 2008 Outstanding Male (Non Veteran) Konrad Haskins

 Home | Past Events


 

81st Brigade Washington State National Guard Iraq "Send-Off" 08/19/2008
1,200 Soldiers & Families, Game Farm Park in Auburn, WA

Stryker Brigade Welcome Home Version 2.0

OpBBQ welcomed home the 3/2 Stryker Brigade with a BBQ for 5,000 on 11/22/04 Details Here.  This was the first ever combat tour for a Stryker unit.  The 3/2 is wrapping up its second and much harder tour in Iraq.  We are at about 90% (as of 10/08/07) of the $12,000 we'll need to buy food.    The BBQ is scheduled for October 11th. Donation needed by October 9th.  Yes the number to feed was increased by the Army at the last minute from 5,000 to 6,000.


Thank You For Your Help!
All Cash Donors Large and Small
Stubbs Midday's on KMPS
Kirby & Co. KVI
Monroe WA. Chamber of Commerce
Tim's Cascade Snacks & Nalley's
(both divisions of Birds Eye Foods)
Sunbacker Fiberglass
Thermo King Northwest
Anonymous Bun Company
Two Loose Screws BBQ ~ Jim Minion
Teddy Bear's BBQ, Duvall, WA~Konrad & Phyllis Haskins

 September.

 

51st Signal Battalion (deployed to Iraq as 29th), Fort Lewis May 24th, 2007

This is the same signal battalion we fed in 2005.  They are just home from a tour in Iraq.  The commanding officer feels blessed that he brought all his troops home alive.  A wonderful group of 450 soldiers and families.  We appreciate all they do.

53rd Marine Aviation Training Support Group, NAS Whidbey Island 06/09/2006 As Seen on Food TV

This is the third year in a row we have done the Jim Creek Family BBQ for the Marines.

FoodTV was looking for real stories about the "Power of Food" for a new series of short spots on the Food Network cable channel.  Of all the stories submitted two were picked for the pilot episodes.  One of the two stories was that of Konrad & Phyllis Haskins and the volunteers of Operation BBQ Northwest feeding the troops.  The network liked the pilots and more episodes on different stories were ordered.


Shooting Video for Network Food Show "Power of Food", May 2006



Shooting Video for Network Food Show "Power of Food", June 2006
Now Airing (July 2006)

A Co. 25th BSB, "Welcome Home from Iraq"
Ft. Lewis 10/08/2005

Signal Corp, "Welcome Home from Iraq"
Ft Lewis 08/11/2005


53rd Marine Aviation Training Support Group
Jim Creek Military Recreation Area, WA
June 17th 2005

Thank you to Steve and Jackie Yip of Rainbow Catering who delivered this for us with the help of Ken and Ruth Peach.  This was our second year doing this event and we have volunteered for our third year in 2006.

1/25th (Stryker Brigade in Iraq) BSB FRG, "Kids Day"
Fort Lewis, WA, April 30th, 2005

BBQ for Spouses and Kids of the 1/25 Stryker Brigade currently deployed in Iraq.  What a great group! 

BBQ & Pictures Provided by Steve Yip of Rainbow Catering and his wife.  Steve is an amazing volunteer for Operation BBQ and one of the top competition BBQ cooks in the Northwest as well as an amazing caterer.


Click for Larger Image

D Det, 22d PSB
Fort Lewis, WA, March 23, 2005

BBQ for 201 Soldiers and family members at American Lake, Fort Lewis.
 

21st Cargo Transfer Company
Welcome Home/Christmas Party
Fort Lewis, WA, December 16th, 2004

These troops have been in Iraq supporting the Stryker Brigades (3/2 & 1/25). We will be celebrating their homecoming and Christmas with a BBQ for the soldiers and their families.

Wounded Soldiers of 654th Holding Company
Christmas Party
Fort Lewis, WA, December 3rd, 2004

In cooperation with www.OSOT.org we are throwing a Christmas party for these great Soldiers.

Menu

3rd "Stryker Brigade 2nd Infantry Division
Welcome Home BBQ
Fort Lewis, WA
November 22nd, 2004

The biggest ever Operation BBQ Northwest event for 5,000 Soldiers & Family deserves its own PAGE

3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division Official Home Page

296 Battalion of 3rd Stryker Brigade 2nd ID
Hail & Farewell,
Tacoma Tennis Club, Tacoma, WA
November 20nd, 2004

www.TeddyBearBBQ.com catered the Hail and Farewell for the officers of the 296th Battalion.  They got Teddy Bear's $20 menu for $5 per person. This is the same 296th as the unit below this entry and one of the 6 Battalions that makes up the 3rd Stryker Brigade (see above entry.)

Menu

3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division Official Home Page

HHC 296 BSB "Outlaws"
Welcome Home Party
Roy Rodeo Hall, Roy, WA
November 10th, 2004

These guys must really like BBQ. They only had to wait ten days when the  entire 296 battalion is eating BBQ for their Hail and Farewell on 11/20.  Then just two days later the entire 3rd Stryker Brigade is getting a free $50,000 BBQ for 5,000 on November 22nd. Teddy Bear BBQ catered this event at cost, which was $5 per person.  These fine soldiers really enjoyed the food as most made two and three trips through the chow line.  Despite protests from Konrad and Phyllis the FRG gave them a gratuity which they are donating to the big BBQ on the 22nd.

All you can eat menu;

Click on Pictures for Large Image

3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division Official Home Page

Wounded Soldiers of
654th Holding Company
Ft. Lewis, Washington
October 24th, 2004

We were contacted by CPT Tealla Martin XO of the 654th Holding Company to feed over 200 wounded soldiers at Fort Lewis.  We of course said we would love to do it.  This group includes Oregon National Guard soldiers in this Seattle PI Story and in fact the morning of the event the New York Times came out with the same story.

Menu


For your donations.  This was our first event that the donations covered 100% of our costs.

 

Cooks & Volunteers

Click on Pictures for Large Image

Chow Line
Chow Line

Cooks @ Work
Tastes Like Chicken

Ruth Peach
SGM Ken Peach
Phyllis Haskins
Konrad & Amelia
Haskins

Many more pictures of this event are here

 

Ft. Lewis Catholic Community
Annual Picnic
September 12th , 2004

The Fort Lewis Catholic community needed help with their annual picnic.  This did not full under the normal guidelines of Operation BBQ so Konrad & Phyllis Haskins of www.TeddyBearBBQ.com arranged to do the catering for the cost of the food.  This was at the main base chapel where just days earlier Konrad received a Commanders Coin from Lt. Gen. Edward Soriano (3 star General) commanding general of I Corps at Fort Lewis, WA for his work on "Ride for Troops". The event was a very well received with  over 600 meals served.  The kids just loved the Garlic Mashed Potoes.


Click on Thumbnail for larger version

Naval Hospital,
NAS Whidbey Island, WA
August 25th, 2004

One of the Marines who we fed on June 18th was transferred to the hospital at Naval Air Station, Whidbey Island, WA the week after that event.  Being a good Marine he did not let the grass grow under his feet and quickly put in a call to Phyllis to secure the services of the Northwest crew of www.OperationBBQ.com to feed the Hospital staff and their families for the annual picnic.  Despite the finest in liquid sunshine this was still a great event with very wet sailors and marines finding their way to the chow line for BBQ.


Click on Thumbnail for larger version

 

"Stryker Brigade" Spouses & Dependants BBQ
Third Brigade Combat Team, Second Infantry Division
Ft. Lewis, WA, July 15th, 2004

This event started with Krista Cossalter Sandberg, Executive Director of Puget Sound USO, calling Konrad & Phyllis Haskins (Owners of TeddyBearBBQ.com & BBQHog.com) to see if they could help with a dependants’ BBQ.   Konrad & Phyllis are the organizers of Operation BBQ NW.  The event was for 250 wives and dependants of  "Stryker Brigade" Third Brigade Combat Team, Second Infantry Division who are stationed in Iraq.

Konrad & Phyllis put out the call for help.  Sgt. Maj. (Ret.) Ken & Ruth Peach are Operation BBQ NW regulars answered the call.  They not only volunteered to help but also helped donate the food.  Steve Yip of Rainbow catering once again came to help and donated dessert.  Konrad & Phyllis donated the rest and took care of smoking the meat and preparing the side dishes.

The menu consisted of BBQ Beef and BBQ Pork.  Both were slow smoked for 12 hours with Hickory.  The sides were homemade coleslaw and garlic mashed potatoes.  For dessert we had Steve's amazing apple crisp with vanilla ice cream.  To keep everyone hydrated we brought our big blue Igloo drink cooler full of soda and bottled water.

This day was all about the spouses and children.  One of our volunteers Ruth Peach knows what these fine ladies are going through the rest of us can only begin to imagine.  Everyone enjoyed the food and kept thanking us although for us it was our way of saying "Thank You" to them for all they do.

Krista brought "Operation Stuffed with Hugs" Teddy Bears for all the Children present.  A big "Thank You" to the folks at Build-A-Bear Workshops for donating the bears.

Special Thanks to Capt. George McCullough for helping to coordinate logistics for this event.

One of our goals is to organize a welcome home BBQ for 2-3 Stryker Brigade.

 

Click on Thumbnails to Enlarge

Steve Yip of
Rainbow catering
& his Apple Crisp
Chow Line
Mess Hall
Operation
Stuffed with
Hugs

Konrad & Phyllis
with "Junior"
Phyllis with
"Stryker" the
Beagle
Thank You
Stryker Brigade
in Iraq

Konrad on a Stryker
Click on Thumbnails to Enlarge

Stryker News Photo Album & Thank You

Mission Accomplished:  A Big "Thank You" to the spouses and children!

 

Destination Harley,
Tacoma, WA
July 11th, 2004



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We donated over 1,200 meals which raised $6,000 for the Stryker Brigade FRG.  The line of 1,200 Hungry bikers stretched for 3 blocks but our crew worked their butts off and quickly got them their food. 

The Ride for the Troops was to show support for our troops in Iraq.
Over 1,600 Bikes of all makes showed up for the ride.  The bikes stretched for 17 miles from first to last.  The city, county and state Police did a wonderful job of escorting the ride including closing lanes on I-5 and holding intersections.  More details can be found on the Ride for the Troops Home Page.

Big Thank You to Destination Harley Restaurant & Gene Cope for hosting this event.

Special Thanks to King 5 TV, KMPS and KZOK who covered this event.  Most of the media ignored this amazing huge Good News story but these fine folks did a great job.

Stryker News Story , Photo Album & Thank You

Sponsored by Destination Harley and www.BBQHog.com
 

American Veterans Traveling Tribute
Marymoor Park, Redmond, WA
July 1st to 4th, 2004

 

 
Click on thumbnails for larger version

The American Veterans Traveling Tribute is the largest traveling replica of the Vietnam Wall with over 58,000 names of those who were lost or are missing in Vietnam.  The Tribute was at King County’s Marymoor Park, July 1st-4th, 2004.  Operation BBQ Northwest fed the volunteers over 400 meals.

KVI Radio and especially Alyson Soma from the marketing department did a wonderful job organize the event. KVI had lined up QFC grocery stores to feed the volunteers, then QFC dropped out at the last minute.  A mutual acquaintance of President Bush and the Haskins' suggest that KVI Radio contact Teddy Bear's BBQ and see if they could help.  We are always ready to show their respect for the service men and women, veterans and active duty alike.

The crew from www.TeddyBearBBQ.com donated the food.  We felt privileged and honored to spend their 4th with a wonderful group of vets.

American Veterans Traveling Tribute Home Page

53rd Marine Aviation Training Support Group
Jim Creek Military Recreation Area, WA
June 18th 2004


Click on Thumbnails for larger version

The 53rd Marine Aviation Training Support Group from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island need BBQ. They support training of Marine Aviators flying EA6-B prowlers in a joint training mission with the US Navy.  They were planning their annual field exercises and family BBQ. Konrad Haskins from www.TeddyBearBBQ.com happened to be in the same Harley Davidson rider training class as one of the instructor pilots from the unit.  Always looking for Operation BBQ opportunities Konrad handed out business cards and the call came in.  March 18th found the Northwest crew from www.OperationBBQ.com feeding 200 marines and their families.

Konrad and his wife Phyllis who are the owners of www.TeddyBearBBQ.com and www.BBQHog.com prepared a feast fit for 200 Marines.  The menu was Pulled Pork cooked for 14 hours in a FE100 with hickory pellets,   Konrad's championship winning chicken cooked on Weber Ranch Kettles with Cherry wood, homemade coleslaw and Garlic mashed potatoes cooked fresh with the turkey fryers seen in the pictures.  They also provided the ice cream to go with Steve's amazing Peach Cobbler.

Steve Yip of Rainbow catering cooked up some of the best Peach Cobbler the Marines had ever eaten.  He also brought up his big Texas offset smoker to help with the cooking.

US Army Sergeant Major (Retired) Ken Peach and his wonderful German bride Ruth drove up to help cook and serve the meal.

The event was Sponsored by www.TeddyBearBBQ.com, www.BBQHog.com and Rainbow Catering.

The Marines and their families were very happy and impressed with the food and we lost track of how many times some came back for encore plates.

Col. Steven Keim the commanding officer of the 53rd MATSG presented every volunteer with a commanders coin and for Konrad he had a special "Thank You" print.

This was a great event and everybody left happy.

53rd MATSG Website

Carter Lake Elementary School PTA
McChord AFB, WA
March 19th, 2004

The PTA needed catering for their annual fundraiser for the school which is on base with all the children's parents in the Air Force.  Konrad and Phyllis Haskins of www.TeddyBearBBQ.com organized the event and donated some of the supplies.  They were not able to be in attendance as they had another catering event that night.  We are still waiting on the write-up and pictures from the event.  Here is the Thank You;

"Phyllis,

Your group was wonderful.  They are so professional; they came right in set set up a great table.  Our school is so grateful to your organization. 

Thank you again for making our night a success.  We have heard so many wonderful things about the food.  Would you keep me as a contact if you ever need any donations?  Monetary or otherwise, I'd love to help!

Carrie Gardner"

63rd Ordnance Company and their families,
Ft. Lewis, WA,
December 22nd 2003

In co-operation with www.operationbbq.com  and the support of our sponsors we helped feed 200 members of the 63rd Ordnance Company and their families on December 22nd.  They just returned from active duty and were shipping out again in three weeks.


Click on Thumbnails for larger version

Write up by Phyllis Haskins

Stephanie Gaines needed catering for her group’s Christmas party.  Their budget was limited; she put the call out on DirectCatering.com for some "heavy hors d’ oeuvres" for a December 22nd party at Ft. Lewis, WA.  Knowing the competition from other caterers would be fierce, the ever-diligent TeddyBearBBQ.com  snagged Stephanie’s request and sent her an email pointing her to the Appetizer page on the website catering menu, letting her know they could get the job done.

 

Stephanie read the email, picked up the phone, and talked to Teddy Bear himself about putting some "meaty" party platters together for 200 soldiers and their families.  During their conversation, he learned that she was a warrant officer for the 63rd Ordnance Company, which had already been to Iraq once and was to be shipped out again in late January.  Once he knew the details of their gathering, Operation BBQ, Ft. Lewis Christmas Party was underway.

 

Through the generosity of members of the BBQ world who felt passionate about helping to feed this brave group of men and women and their families, the affair turned into a full-blown, all-you-can-eat, four-meat, four-side, dessert and beverage feast.  The entire feast was presented as a gift from the BBQ community to those put their lives on the line so that we can freely and happily pursue our own dreams and aspirations.

Jim and Angel Minion from Angel’s Taste of Heaven cooked the ribs, pork, and beef.  Konrad and Phyllis Haskins from TeddyBearBBQ.com smoked the turkey, and brought the potato salad, coleslaw, BBQ beans, and Jack Daniel’s apples.  Teddy Bear’s own Montana’s Best Barbecue sauce topped off the meat.  The desserts were donated by 2Fat Bikers BBQ.  David "Doc" Hensley, and Walt Grosjean.  Everyone except 2Fat Bikers BBQ are Pacific North West Barbeque Association members.

Though the Pacific Northwest weather outside was cold, damp, and foggy on that December day, the Family Support Center at Ft. Lewis where the group gathered was warm, festive, and filled with the smells of BBQ.  The 200-plus guests dug in; the ribs, pork, beef, turkey and sides were all hits, several times over.  The desserts were decimated.  The sodas were consumed with glee.  While everyone enjoyed the feast, Santa (looking suspiciously like the company’s commander who had already made a few trips through the buffet) handed out some really great presents to the long line of happy children. 

 

Our Operation BBQ team received an overwhelming number of personal thank-you’s from the grateful group that day, and we did our best to respond to each soldier personally with our thanks on behalf the BBQ community for their service.

Another write up by Sgt. Maj. Ret. Ken Peach (pictured above):

Yesterday Ruth and I were privileged to observe two experienced couples(Konrad and Phylis Haskins and Jim and Angel Minion) in action at a catering for the 63rd Ord Co at Ft Lewis.  (Complete story in next Drippings from the Pit).  They stopped at the site and before you could blink an eye they had unloaded and were setting up.  Even in the cramped kitchen the four moved about and in no time had set up.  Four types of meat, cold slaw, potatoes (Ruth said it was the best American Potato Salad she had ever tasted), spiced sliced apples, beans and deserts to make the mouth water just looking at them.  The troops poured in and went right to work on just about everything.  At first we didn't know what the reactions would be but it didn't take long for them to come back for seconds and start thanking the two hard, working couples for all their efforts and results.  Afterwards we got to taste what was left over and it was all delicious and would have been a 9 on anyone's score sheet in any event.  The Commander and contact person, WO Gaines kept coming back and thanking the two couples and expressing a desire to give them all a medal or something (and those four deserved it).   And to me it was the PNWBA's finest three hours I have ever seen.  I hope we can do more things like this in the future. 
Old Sarge

Sponsors
Konrad "Teddy Bear" & Phyllis Haskins (Jack Daniel's Apples, Sides, Coffee & Equipment, Supplies and Turkey Smoking)
2Fat Bikers  BBQ (Desserts)
Jim & Angel Minion "Angel's Taste of Heaven Catering" (Pork. Beef, BBQ Pit & Red Meat Cooking duties)
David "Doc" Hensley (Ribs)
Walt "Pork Butt" (Wood, Charcoal & Pellets)
Everyone except 2Fat Bikers BBQ are Pacific North West Barbeque Association members.

Home | Past Events

 

Konrad & Phyllis are the Pacific Northwest Coordinator for www.OPBBQ.com

As of 2007 www.OpBBQ.com a.k.a. Operation BBQ Northwest is now a project of Veterans Service Foundation of Washington
a 501(c)3 nonprofit public benefit corporation organized for charitable purposes.

OpBBQ a.k.a. OpBarbeque a.k.a. OpBarbecue

This website is donated and maintained by Konrad and Phyllis Haskins owners of www.TeddyBearBBQ.com .
Copyright © 2002-2009 All Rights Reserved.

Tribute to my father www.Sam-Haskins.com