John and Don McLemore know how to throw a party.

Owners of Columbus, Ga., based Masterbuilt Manufacturing, a company that produces charcoal, gas and electric barbecue grills, smokers and indoor electric turkey fryers, the brothers brought with them an entourage of employees last Friday and hosted Grillin’ for the Gulf at the Erie Meyer Civic Center in Gulf Shores.

Hundreds of local residents and guests filled the facility, enjoying the free lunch that consisted of Butterball deep-fried turkey, smoked Smithfield BBQ ribs, corn on the cob, and green beans .

Two months ago, Concepts Publishing out of Birmingham, who serves as the publishing company for Masterbuilt, tossed out the idea of taking a trip to the Gulf Coast to simply spend some time cooking for the residents.

The McLemore brothers thought it was a great idea and began putting plans together.

“We called our people together in a companywide meeting, and overwhelmingly everyone thought it was a fantastic idea and opportunity for us,” said John McLemore.

As a result, Masterbuilt bussed more than 55 employees and 15 volunteers down to Gulf Shores to help with the project, from registering guests as they arrived for numerous door prizes, to helping in the kitchen, to bussing tables to make room for more.

Using their own indoor turkey fryers, the brothers were busy preparing the 90 turkey breasts that were donated for the event from Butterball, and the 500 pounds of ribs donated by Smithfield.

In addition, Coca Cola, Bruno’s, Publix and Bud’s Best Cookies got involved in the action as well. Blossman gas provided the propane, Glover-Auten, a wholesale food distributor out of Columbus, made donations and ABF Freight helped get the products to the Gulf.

“It has just been an overwhelming support of volunteers and support from so many people,” McLemore said.

Participants who chose to take Masterbuilt up on their offer to enjoy a free lunch also registered for door prizes to be given out throughout the day.

“This has been great,” said Peggy Smith a Gulf Shores resident. “These people are so friendly and things have just been so depressing around here all summer long, it is great to see smiles on peoples faces, not to mention that this food is delicious.”

So why did Masterbuilt decide to bring the party to the Gulf Coast?

“About 50 percent of our entire volume comes form the Southeast,” John McLemore said. “These people down here have been supportive of Masterbuilt products, they love our products. So we thought, what a better way to show our appreciation for the support of our products over the years.”

Both John and Don McLemore strapped on an apron and spent the morning and afternoon doing the cooking.

“We are doing the cooking but we have a great staff of people with us and without them we couldn’t have pulled this off,” said Don McLemore. “We’ve done things of this nature before, but not on this scale. This was a huge undertaking but the staff and volunteers have made this easy.”

On Thursday night, the company hosted a special tailgate party for some of the local fishermen and families who have been adversely affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

According to Don McLemore, Masterbuilt, their family owned company that has been in business for 35 years, offers products all across the region in Lowe’s and Home Depot stores, as well as in Walmart, Sam’s and Bass Pro Shops.