House Resolution 47

A RESOLUTION COMMENDING AND CONGRATULATING JAMES LEE ON THE SUCCESS OF J. LEE'S GOURMET BBQ SAUCE AND EXTENDING MOST SINCERE WISHES FOR CONTINUED SUCCESS IN ALL OF HIS FUTURE CULINARY CREATIONS AND ENDEAVORS.

WHEREAS, James Lee (J. Lee), a native of Biloxi, Mississippi, has truly created a sensation for taste buds with J. Lee's Gourmet BBQ Sauce, and since he and his mother first bottled the sauce in 2013, the BBQ world has never been the same; and

WHEREAS, founder James Lee, United States Army Retired, received the base recipe for his famous sauce from his dad, James Lee, Jr., and he took the base and added a little bit of this and a little bit of that to create a BBQ sauce that has been donned "the super sauce for all occasions"; and

WHEREAS, J. Lee's Gourmet BBQ Sauce is uniquely sweet and tangy and appeals to palettes from several different regions, making it "a taste that all families love," and because of its spectacular aroma, taste and versatility, the sauce goes well with pizza, chips, vegetables, sweet potato fries, steak, shrimp, chicken, fish, ribs, hot dogs, hamburgers, wild game, bread, rice, home fried potatoes and even ice cream; and

WHEREAS, James began making his sauce when he was enlisted with the United States Army, where he did tours in Bosnia, Germany and South Korea between 1995 and 2007, and the sauce was such a hit that upon his discharge, he decided to pursue bottling it full time after some encouragement from his friend, Jason McCoy, who was stationed with him in Fort Rucker, Alabama; and

WHEREAS, since its release, over 66,000 bottles of J. Lee's Gourmet BBQ Sauce have been sold, 690 stores proudly carry the sauce, five restaurants have added it to their menus in the Mississippi Gulf Coast region, and the Silver Slipper Casino Buffet in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, adopted J. Lee's as its signature sauce, and because it is made with only the highest quality of ingredients, it does not have to be refrigerated after it is opened; and

WHEREAS, The Sauce Team (TST) of James Lee, David Kemp, Byron K. Bryant, Helen J. Lee and Geneva V. Lee has introduced the sauce in cities and on military installations in Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Louisiana, and Internet purchases have been made from Nevada, Michigan, New York, California, Colorado, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas, as well as Germany and Japan; and

WHEREAS, James Lee is the 2016, 2017 and 2018 world champion of barbeque sauces and is ranked number one in the world out of 269 sauces by BBQ Superstars Pitmasters because his sauce truly is the Undisputed Champion of BBQ Sauces World Wide, and J. Lee's Gourmet BBQ Sauce was featured in Everyday Home Magazine in their 2016 spring and summer editions; and

WHEREAS, J. Lee's Gourmet BBQ Sauce is also the favorite of Pro Football Hall of Fame member, Warren Sapp, who fell in love with the sauce after J. Lee challenged him to a taste test on Twitter, and Mr. Sapp even took the sauce with him to the 2017 Super Bowl, because no tailgate party is complete without a bottle of the delectable sauce; and

WHEREAS, additionally, J. Lee has even made a trip to the Oscars to promote his famous sauce, because, on a night meant to honor Hollywood's elite, only the best of the best can be served, so J. Lee's Gourmet BBQ Sauce was chosen to be in the gift suites for the Academy Awards in 2016, and that night, even though everyone present did not win an award, they all left the show as winners because they had the opportunity to try J. Lee's Gourmet BBQ Sauce; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of the House of Representatives to recognize and commend the wonderful accomplishments made by Mississippi's finest, especially those such as James Lee and J. Lee's Gourmet BBQ Sauce, which has brought positive national attention and hungry patrons to the Mississippi Gulf Coast:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby commend and congratulate James Lee on the success of J. Lee's Gourmet BBQ Sauce and extend most sincere wishes for continued success in all of his future culinary creations and endeavors.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to James Lee and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.