A State Championship proclamation is a proclamation from the governor of a particular state designating a given BBQ contest a "State Championship". It can also be a concurrent resolution of a state's legislature introduced by one or more state representatives. It basically lends legitimacy to a contest, as well as allowing the winner of the contest to be invited to or qualified for other prestigious BBQ contests. For instance, if an event has 50+ teams, the Grand Champion will receive an invitation to the American Royal Invitational BBQ, Kansas City, MO, and their name will be placed into the lottery draw for the Jack Daniels Invitational, Lynchburg, TN. Qualifying dates for the American Royal is August 1 thru July 31st of each year; Jack Daniels Invitational qualifying is from September 1 thru August 31st. Depending on sanctioning body, winners may be qualified for invitations to other contests as well.
Overall, a State Championship proclamation makes a contest more desirable in the eyes of BBQ cooks. If the event has a proclamation of being a State Championship, the first year there is a 15 team minimum to make it a qualifier, thereafter it is at least 25 teams. The event must have entries of beef, pork, and poultry to be considered for the above invitationals.
If a contest is held on the same weekend each year, say with some other local festival, a concurrent resolution is the best, as there is nothing to change in it every year. However, if a contest changes dates, say from the first weekend in March to the second weekend in March, then it is necessary to get a new proclamation each year, so that the new date will be in it. It usually takes at least 2 weeks for a state to issue a proclamation - in LA, for instance, that is the required amount of time - check with your state to make sure. Also, many states won't issue a proclamation any more than 60 days out from the contest; many contests make it a part of their routine to request a proclamation from the state 6 weeks before the contest. Generally, there is no charge for a state proclamation (other than your time) - but again, check with your state to be certain.
It is a good idea for you to make a copy of the state proclamation - your sanctioning body will likely request it for their files, and it makes a nice addition to your Grand Champion award - most proclamations are quite suitable for framing!
It's been asked "How do you summarize those things that come as a result of a State Championship proclamation, so I can put that on the application for my contest?". Well, this sums it up pretty well:
GRAND CHAMPION WILL BE INVITED TO THE AMERICAN ROYAL INVITATIONAL, KANSAS CITY, MO
AND INTO THE LOTTERY DRAWING FOR THE JACK DANIELS INVITATIONAL, LYNCHBURG, TN.
Those finishing in the top spots in sanctioned contests are also eligible for some other contests: