By Tabitha Evans Moore | EDITOR & PUBLISHER
It’s Wednesday afternoon and Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue Awards Ceremony Emcee Chip Chapman is knee deep in spare ribs. He and Chris Schafer, the pitmaster of Heavy Smoke – the 2024 winner of The Jack – stand shoulder-to-shoulder getting ready for the Champion’s Dinner, which will take place at Miss Mary Bobo’s Restaurant later that evening. The air’s thick with hickory smoke and anticipation.
It’s just one of the many duties the Chattanooga resident will take on this week for the 36th annual event that’s known around the globe as the Super Bowl of Barbecue. He’s not just the voice behind the mic on Awards Night, he’s the guy hauling tables, taking notes, and keeping the barbecue circus spinning.
Chip’s face may look familiar – especially to those from East Tennessee. He anchors weekday morning and noon news broadcasts for WDEF-TV Channel 12 – sharing everything from weather forecasts to interviews with famous musicians in his signature deep raspy voice and good hair.
He says he originally set his sights on a career in special education, but life had other plans.
“I thought I might do broadcasting for five years, have a lot of fun, meet a lot of cool people, and then go be a saving grace in special education,” he tells us. “Life has a way of putting you on a different career path than the one you imagined.”
Surrounded by the Best
Chip’s been a fixture in Lynchburg for all 36 years of The Jack, though it all started in the judge’s tent. Then as the Barbecue approached a double-digit birthday, then Event Coordinator Tana Shupe asked Chip to step in when the regular emcee, Clayton Knight, couldn’t make it. Chip admits his reasons for accepting the gig were a little self-serving at first.
“I figured out fairly quickly that if you’re emceeing it, you get to eat whatever you want from wherever you want,” he jokes. “If you’re judging it, you are restricted.”
Chip says his father instilled a love of cooking, especially open fire cooking on the grill, from a very young age. That passion fueled his desire to linger in Lynchburg during Barbecue week and make himself useful.
“At first, I learned a lot more about what I didn’t know when it came to grilling and smoking.”
Barbecue, he says, is equal parts art, science, and patience.
The Jack fills every year with rock stars from the world of smoke and sauce. Myron Mixon, Tuffy Stone, Brad Orrison, Mike Mills, Chef Paul Kirk, Ardie Davis, and Carolyn Wells have all either judged or pulled their smokers into town here in Lynchburg over the years and Chip says he’s picked up little morsels of knowledge from all of them.
“Every year I get to add something to my little holster of cooking and smoking tips and secrets,” he explains. “In Lynchburg, you get to learn from the best. I’m like a sponge, soaking in everything I can – every word, every nugget of wisdom, everything about the whole process.”
For example, Chip says anyone who is in a hurry should just skip the whole thing.
“You must take your time. Every smoker and every grill is a little bit different. You must learn the tricks of what you’re cooking on before you can master what you are cooking or smoking.”
Behind the Scenes Memorable Moments
As a behind-the-scenes insider for all 36 years, Chip says he’s enjoyed some memorable moments with celebrities.
“Lynchburg native and University of Tennessee Head Coach Johnny Majors was always a lot of fun,” he says. “He always told us some inside stories from the sidelines and locker room that most UT fans never got to hear.”
Chip says the most memorable celebrity encounter revolved around American actress Betty Lynn, who played Barney Fife’s girlfriend on The Andy Griffith Show.
“She came across as a very prim and proper lady. And she was,” Chip says. “Organizers asked me to sort of keep an eye on her to make sure she had everything she needed during the event, which I did with pride.”
After the awards ceremony and at Betty Lynn’s request, she, Chip,and veteran Knoxville News Sentinel reporter Fred Brown stopped by the hotel for a cocktail or two.
“She drank both Fred and I under the table,” he laughs. “She was a completely different person behind closed doors that in the public space. She possessed an amazing sense of humor.”
Those stories are part of what keeps him coming back year after year – but the real magic, he says, is in the meticulous work behind the scenes.
The Planning is Continual
Chip doesn’t just glide into Lynchburg on Saturday for the emcee gig. He arrived here in Lynchburg on Monday and will spend the days leading up to the event helping like every other volunteer.
“The week is crazy and hectic and goes by extremely, extremely fast,” he says.
Chip says most casual event goers might be surprised with how much work and planning goes in the event.
On Tuesday, you might find him in Wiseman Park setting up. By Thursday, he’s handling a punch list for the Queen of The Jack, Debbie Christian. For Chip, the devil is in the details, and he’s constantly perfecting and notating what needs to be tweaked for the following year’s event.
“The planning for next year’s barbecue will literally begin next week,’ he says. “All of us are in contact with each other throughout the year, bringing up ideas, talking about what worked great, and where we have opportunity to improve. The planning is essentially continual.”
Chip says the days leading up to Saturday are a masterclass in keeping different plates spinning in the air – something he says is a lot of work, but also very rewarding.
“The Jack Daniel’s team, competitors, and locals all treat the volunteers like gold. That’s what keeps us coming back,” he says. “This is one of the highlights of my year. It’s an extended barbecue family reunion.”
Making an Entrance
On Saturday, Chip will make a flamboyant entrance to a yet-to-be-revealed theme song dressed in a get up that’s a little rock-n-roll and a little Mardi Gras.
Chip says 40 years of broadcast experience in both radio and TV have taught him to always lead with a strong open. It’s something the barbecue world has come to expect from him on a Saturday afternoon in October in Lynchburg.
“If I just walked up to the podium without some of the welcoming hoopla, I think a lot of people would be disappointed,” he explains.
He confesses he’ll start thinking about the grand entrance for the 2026 awards ceremony on his drive home from this year’s event.By Sunday, he’ll drive out of Lynchburg bone-tired but smiling – his voice a little raspier, his heart a little fuller.
“It’s going to take me a few days to recoup,” he says. “But I will continue to come here and bust my butt every year until I am no longer physically able to do it, or until one of the Jack Daniels organizers says, ‘Hey man, you’ve had enough,’ and I hope that time never, ever comes.”
Though you’ll likely spot him throughout the day on Saturday, Chip Chapman will be at the Judge’s Tent for The Jack Awards Ceremony at 5 p.m. on Saturday. It’s open to the public and anyone can attend. •
{The Lynchburg Times is the hometown newspaper of Lynchburg, Tennessee the home of The Jack Daniel Distillery. We get an up-close, insider view of news and events happening in The Holler. If you’ve visited, and would like to follow goings on here in Lynchburg until you return, give us a follow over on Facebook.}