Founder
Jim Early, President & CEO

Jim Early is the founder of the North Carolina Barbecue Society (NCBS). Jim is also a trial lawyer and Superior Court mediator. In September 2007 he closed his law office to devote full time to NCBS. He lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and has three children. Jim is also the author of what many call the definitive book on North Carolina barbecue, The Best Tar Heel Barbecue Manteo to Murphy. He speaks nationally and internationally to lawyers, doctors and business personnel on ethics, professionalism, quality of life issues and stress management. Jim is an experienced hunting and fishing guide and outfitter and leads parties to venues such as Alaska, Montana, the Bahamas, Scotland, South Dakota and Africa. Jim is also a gourmet cook and has taught numerous cooking classes for local colleges, businesses, etc. and his meals run the gamut from black tie to kicked back around the campfire. Jim has written numerous cooking articles, several books and shares proceeds from his current books with Special Olympics North Carolina and Feed the Children. For more about Jim see www.jimearly.com.

Bill Eason
Officer & Board Member

Mary E. Lindsey
Officer & Board Member

Mary E. Linsdey is the Secretary of The North Carolina Barbecue society (NCBS) and has been a board member since the Society’s inception. Mary has excelled in her scholastic pursuits from an early age. She was one of the first students chosen for the Highly Academically Gifted program in the Winston Salem/Forsyth County School System. Mary attended high school at the Career Center and received seven scholarships upon graduation. She continued her studies at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill entering as a sophomore. In addition to her studies at UNC Mary found the time to work two part time jobs, study in England and help a big animal vet vaccinate cows in Africa. Mary graduated from UNC 2000 as a Johnston Scholar and a member of Phi Beta Kappa Society among other honors. She then attended East Carolina University and received her MBA 2002. Mary worked a full time job throughout her graduate studies and still maintained a 4.0 GPA. She was inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma 2002 and received the Mino Osterkamp Outstanding MBA Student of the Year, 2002-2003. Mary is a gifted musician and has composed, orchestrated, and conducted a number of her compositions for events throughout the state. She is also an excellent cook.
Mary was the Administrator and managed Wilson OB/GYN, P.A. in Wilson, NC upon graduation from MBA school until June of 2007. This job entailed managing a high-volume practice with 4 physicians and 30 employees. She is currently physician practice manager for 4 groups at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. She is responsible for the financial management and budgeting for these practices, forecasting and projections, staffing decisions, Human resource management, marketing and other administrative needs. Mary is married to Dr. Wesley Lindsey and they have one child-Charlotte, age two years.