Tom Price is a small business marketing consultant with a focus on food companies and home based business. In his thirty-four year career, Tom has worked for both multinational and regional consumer products companies and has developed his own consumer products company, which he recently sold. Tom helps companies maximize outcomes of promoting their brands with major retailers (eg. Wal Mart, Sam’s Club) using affordable traditional media and web 2.0 internet tools.
Tom’s business philosophy emphasizes results: “Quick returns result from investing wisely in marketing and brand development.” Tom also makes time for barbecuing on “Grillzilla,” working to develop new food products and fund raising for children’s charities. 
Tom Price (on right) with the "other Big Tom" Tom Buchanan from the Survivor TV show
People are curious about how I got the nick name “Big Tom”. Here’s the story……….For ten years I owned a company called Big Show Foods Inc. I manufactured and sold food products (barbecue sauce mainly) for two guys on morning radio named
John Boy and Billy. John Boy had this custom where by he gave everyone working around him a nick name. Since I am a big guy I became “Big Tom” (not one of his more creative moments). He’s also got a “Tatter”, “Mario”, “Coach Cobb”, “Red Fred”, “Carl the Cook”, “Ed No”, “Spanky” and “Jackie and the Twins” just to name a few. Some (not mentioned here) are in Big Show Time Out but that’s another story.
Through out the ten years I was associated with
The Big Show I did a lot of promotional appearances for the John Boy and Billy Grilling sauce. I owned three big trailer grills and I licensed another company to build and operate four other grills. John Boy would talk about where “Big Tom” and the “Big Show Grill” were going almost every day. It was not long before I became “Big Tom” to the millions of Big Show fans. My dad used to call me “knuckle head” so I guess Big Tom is a little improvement.
One year I was in the
Food City hospitality booth race week at
Bristol Motor Speedway. A big guy in bib overhauls walks up to me and asked “are you Big Tom”? I said yes and he introduced himself as “Big Tom”. This was Big Tom (
Tom Buchanan) from the CBS reality shows
Survivor Africa and Survivor All Stars TV series. I don’t know what I was doing on Thursday nights but I was not watching Survivor because I did not recognize this TV star.
Anyway, Tom told me I was the guy getting him in all the trouble back home. I was confused. How could I be getting someone in trouble I did not even know? Tom told me. He was from a small town in Southwest Virginia called Rich Valley. All his buddies listened to the John Boy and Billy Big Show every morning. When John Boy said “Big Tom” was going to be someplace Tom’s buddies would all call him up and give him s--- for not inviting them to go. They did not believe him when he said he did not know what they were talking about.
That’s how I came to know “Big Tom” Buchanan from the Survivor TV series. He’s a good friend to this day and I am always looking for something we can do together. I have several more Big Tom stories I will tell you about later.