September

Speaker Luncheon Program

Friday, September 17

11:15 am - 1:00 pm

Register Now!

McCormick & Schmick’s

600 Ashwood Parkway

Dunwoody, GA 30338

(In the Restaurant Park)

Capturing the Mountain Spirit: Food, Folklore and More

Joe Dabney

Author/Historian/Story Teller

When Joe Dabney starts talking, you just want to pull up a rocking chair on the ol’ front porch and “sit a spell” to listen. Come to think of  it,  that’s just what he did—sat a spell with a plethora of mountain folk, listened to their tales, which he  bundled  all up, picked up some great and a few, uh hum “dubious”  recipes,  and tossed in lots of carefully researched  history of  Southern Appalachia. The effort resulted in Joe being invited to a prestigious New York City luncheon as the winner of the highly acclaimed James Beard Award (the Oscar of food world literature) for his book “Smokehouse Ham, Spoon Bread & Scuppernong Wine.”  

Joe’s books are page-turners. His humor is infectious, his research impeccable. His collection of recipes?  Well, if possum and sweet potatoes, or bear stew get your taste-buds juiced up, the recipes are in the book. “Smokehouse” has kept people intrigued through 18 printings and a 10th anniversary edition published last year.

But Joe’s books go way beyond cookery—the recipes are only a side dish. These tomes charm with rich history, humor and tales of a truly “spirited” time. Joe’s latest book is another cultural romp,  just  published under the title  “The Food, Folklore & Art of Low Country Cooking,” Author Pat Conroy (“The Prince of  Tides”,  “The Great Santini”,  “Beach Music,” etc.) declared that the new book “would make me move to the Low Country if I didn’t live here already.”    

“More Mountain Spirits” and "HERK,” (The story of the Lockheed Hercules aircraft) are other critically acclaimed works Joe has turned out from his home in Atlanta and his mountain retreat in North Georgia. He has appeared on NBC’s Today Show, been elected a “Knight of Mark Twain” and he received a Lifetime Achievement Award by Southern Foodways Alliance at the University of Mississippi.

A native of South Carolina, Joe is a graduate of Berry College and a veteran of the Korean War. His early career in journalism saw him pounding the keys for several newspapers in the South including state editor of The Atlanta Journal. He joined Lockheed-Georgia in 1965 as editor of its employee newspaper, later handling PR on the C-130, C-141 and C-5 transport aircraft, retiring from that career to become a full-time author, historian and story teller.

Come sit a spell on Friday, September 17 and help us launch the new season of Dunwoody Business Network with a just-for-fun, get-acquainted opening day at McCormick & Schmick’s. We promise there will be no possum or bear stew on our luncheon menu. Reservations are required and seating is limited, so register now!

Note: Reservations made before 12 pm on the Wednesday before each luncheon are $25. A reservation made after 12 pm the Wednesday before each luncheon is $27 until reservations close. A limited number of seats may become available for walk-ins at $28, but there is no guarantee, so reserve early.

Dunwoody Business Network is an outreach ministry of Dunwoody Baptist church and is open to the community. We meet monthly to offer spiritual encouragement and ethical guidelines to men and women leaders in today's marketplace.