Melissa Jenkins

Melissa Jenkins

Gathering with loved ones around the grill is the favorite pastime of our January Pit Boss Hero Melissa Jenkins.

Jenkins knew she wanted to join the military her senior year of high school, with the goal of pursuing higher education.

Jenkins graduated asic training on her 18th birthday. Her six years of active duty included stints in Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, and Germany and deployment to Kosovo and Iraq.

Her military occupational specialty (MOS) was carpentry and masonry, and she was an E4 Specialist when she left the service because of injury. Jenkins now works as a graphic designer at Dansons.

Going through what I went through makes me a better person, more disciplined," Jenkins said of her military background. She says her fiance is the one who can typically be found behind the grill.

The couple enjoys grilling steaks - complete with the Pit Boss chophouse steak rub - and making pizzas on their Pit Boss PB820 XL.