by Miranda G. McLeod
Staff Writer
What started out as a cookout for 30 people has grown into a barbecue bash serving more than 1,000.
The 26th annual Jacksonville Port Authority Holiday Barbecue at the port’s cruise terminal Wednesday drew an estimated crowd of more than 1,000 port and private sector employees and customers. David Smolder, director of operations for the Blount Island facility, has been a key to the barbecue for the last 26 years. He and other colleagues at the port started the barbecue.
“We started off in the Talleyrand facility cooking ourselves and serving only 30 people. It grew so large, we started catering out,” said Smolder. “Last year we had 1,200 people. This year we’re going to break that. We might have to order in more food.”
Smolder said the event was the port’s way of saying thank you to the maritime community.
“We see all of our customers face-to-face. It’s a chance for everybody to see everyone else,” said Smolder.