If there’s one question we consistently get each year, it’s who’s the guy in the bowler hat?

Legendary barbecue judge Ardie Davis aka Remus Powers visits Lynchburg each October. The Jack Daniel World Championship Invitational Barbecue honored him as featured judge in 2008 and the Judges’ Choice Award in 2002. In 2016, industry leaders inducted Davis into the Barbecue Hall of Fame, which only includes 15 total members. He also authored several books and the officials judges’ oath that is take at all competitions sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) including The Jack.

He’s a larger than life presence at the annual Barbecue, who can enthrall for hours with stories … a barbecue rock star of sorts.

Born in Oklahoma, Davis grew up loving the Uncle Remus stories, a collection of black American folktales published in 1881. They feature animal characters like Brother Rabbit, Brother Fox, and Brother Bear and explore the struggles black Americans encountered on southern plantations. Davis adopted Remus as his barbecue forename. The second part of his name sparked from his personal life … a mechanic by the last name of Powers whom Davis worked for in his youth.

He’ll return to the Holler on Saturday to preside over all thing barbecue. Keep your eye out for him. •

{The Lynchburg Times is an independently owned and operated newspaper that publishes new stories every morning. Covering Metro Moore County government, Jack Daniel’s Distillery, Nearest Green Distillery, Tims Ford State Park, Motlow State Community College, Moore County High School, Moore County Middle School, Lynchburg Elementary, Raider Sports, plus regional and state news.}