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What makes a superb burger?
Is it the meat used to make it? Or possibly it is how the patty is seasoned?
The govt board members of Gator Grill Club have an easier rationalization — it is the grill.
Understanding methods to grill meat to perfection, and bonding with others over it, is strictly why Gator Grill Club, a brand new scholar group devoted to the artwork of grilling, was based.
The membership’s first official assembly drew a crowd of round 300 college students to Flavet Field. The e-board cooked burgers and scorching canine whereas educating college students the significance of grill security.
Tyson Jimerson, a 19-year-old UF finance freshman, has been a member of the membership since its first assembly.
Jimerson initially grew to become concerned with the membership after enjoying a basketball sport with its founder, he mentioned. A want to study extra about correct grilling drew Jimerson in, however the membership’s deal with outreach made him keep.
The membership plans to do cookouts for the homeless as its essential type of neighborhood outreach. It additionally hopes to host grill security occasions and usher in animal science college students to showcase how meat is processed.
“At the end of the day, if you’re not doing something to contribute to the community, there’s something more you could be doing,” Jimerson mentioned.
The membership plans to satisfy on Wednesdays, with every assembly centered on totally different elements of grilling. While some will likely be extra akin to the primary assembly, which was a grill-out, others will deal with meals security and methods to grill correctly.
Members have varied levels of barbecue backgrounds. The logistical head of the membership, Ava Prator, a 19-year-old UF laptop engineering sophomore, is amongst these serving to out extra behind the scenes than on the grill.
“I help a lot with room bookings. Right now, I’m making merch. I take notes and keep track of what’s going on,” Prator mentioned. “I don’t have a lot of grilling experience, but I do like to help when I can.”
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Another member of the e-board, Reed Coene, a 19-year-old UF finance freshman, believes the logical subsequent step for the membership is partnering with companies in Gainesville. Doing so might assist the membership, which presently pays for prices out of pocket, safe extra steady funding, he mentioned.
“It’s definitely going,” Coene mentioned of his quest for sponsorship. “But we haven’t really gotten any responses back yet.”
Despite the difficulties with outreach, members are nonetheless hopeful they’ll be capable of develop the membership greater than they’ve already, mentioned Coene.
Coene mentioned he’s grateful for the work membership founder Cooper Zysk did to get the membership began.
Zysk, a 19-year-old UF development administration freshman, has been an avid griller his complete life. In highschool, Zysk and his mates had cookouts for soccer video games. What began as a hangout between mates grew to become a cherished custom.
It was this sense of custom — and the neighborhood that got here with it — that Zysk needed to deliver to UF, he mentioned.
But founding Gator Grill Club wasn’t a simple job. While Zysk began the method of constructing the membership in September 2025, it didn’t change into official till January on account of security causes — largely round permitting college students to keep up a correspondence with fireplace on campus with out officers current.
Before the membership acquired began, it first needed to get insurance coverage.
For Zysk, the membership’s success is a dream come true, he mentioned. Only one assembly in, the group behind Gator Grill Club has cooked over 300 burgers and 500 scorching canine.
“So far, it’s been a wonderful, wonderful job for our exec team and everyone who’s been working together with it,” Zysk mentioned. “Our future is very bright.”
Contact Nevaeh at [email protected]. Follow her on X @nbakerharris.
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Nevaeh Baker Harris is a first-year sports activities and media journalism main and The Alligator’s Spring 2026 Student Government reporter. In her free time, she enjoys watching medical dramas, studying horror novels, and listening to 90s rock music.
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