A special moment for me was when I first talked to a Decipherian. Memory is a bit hazy, but it was either Sean Smallman or Marcus Certa. They asked me if I would like to become an Ambassador for STCCG and I quickly accepted this offer. First kudos go to these guys for allowing me the opportunity. God Bless you Sean Smallman for inviting my on the journey. (And my Blessings out to Marcus wherever he is these days.) I was excited, ecstatic and even a bit nervous. I had no idea of what was expected of me nor what I was to do on a regular basis. I only knew one other player here and he was my best friend that I had introduced to the game.

My first tournament was a fiasco. It was 03/98 and I barely had eight players. I had no idea on how to work PADD's and I scheduled it at the exact same time and location as the once-a-month Star Wars tourney. I thought I had learned a lot from that experience, but I soon realized I still had a LONG way to go. Second kudos and Blessings to Guy Kargl, former Squadron Member. Without his help in those early days, I would have crashed and burned for sure.

My second tourney was a bit better than my first, but not much. It was non-sanctioned because I was still trying to figure out how to get the word out on STCCG, so I had not had much of an opportunity to build a player base. I had forgotten to make arrangements with the store owner, so I had no room to hold the tourney there. I had to quickly arrange the tourney at a different store. Sheesh, I never dreamed that being an Ambassador was so much work!

My third tourney went pretty good. Guy Kargl had helped by showing me the ropes on a mailing list and by also passing the word out through his player base. I had a great turnout that day, but while the PADD's had become easier to manage, I was unprepared for the onslaught of flipping through the rules over and over for questions of all kinds. I made a few bad calls and was taken to task by the players, but most understood what kind of pressure I was under and let my bad calls stand.

Getting to be a part of the sci-fi convention here as an exhibitor to demo STCCG. Over the years I have demo-ed to hundreds of people and met several dozen science fiction and fantasy stars. I have had pictures taken with them and received their autographs. STCCG started that ball rolling early on and last year I became a permanent staff member in good standing with the convention. This has been a dream come true for a fan-boy like me and I shall be forever grateful for STCCG.

Getting to meet Kyle Heuer one year at an above mentioned convention. He was quite the player and very easy to approach and converse with. He took us out afterwards and bought us dinner. Every year since then, I have asked Decipher to repeat their appearance at our convention and I hope one day they will return. Kudos to you Kyle and God Bless you. It was an honor and a privilege to make your acquaintance.

Getting to Host large events such as Grand Slams, Regionals, State Championships and World Championship Qualifiers. At one regional where I had almost 40 people attend, I met players from around the country and got to witness first hand some top-notch competition and world class decks.

Getting to travel to Amarillo, Texas and help out with the Barnes and Noble Star Wars Game Day promotion when Young Jedi was released. I had a blast on the trip, lots of fun with the store manager and the people who attended and learned a lot about YJ in the process. I still have a SWGD poster hanging on my wall from Saturday, May 8th 1999, at 7:00 PM.

Getting to travel to Joplin, Missouri to participate in the First (and only) I-44 Bajoran Civil War. When Oklahoma and Missouri were still in the Bajoran region, a former Ambassador in Joplin and myself thought up and idea to have players from both states get together and have some friendly competition. The interstate that connects our two cities is Interstate 44 and you can figure out the rest. :) That event had over 50 people and was one of the finest times I have ever had as a player and an Ambassador. My wife, best friend and I traveled to Joplin for the day. While my friend and I played, my wife went sight seeing and shopping for the day. My best friend beat out some of the best players from both states, including other Ambassadors and won the whole she-bang. I couldn't have been prouder. Not only of my friend and fellow player, but as an Ambassador and as the one who introduced him to the game.

Getting to go to Shawnee, Oklahoma for some different events and being blessed with the presence of the awesome players in the OKC area as well as Randy Smith. Randy has been a help and a Godsend from almost the very beginning. He has helped arrange events in his area when I needed them and even provided a venue for all the people to come and play. He has also selflessly donated his time and effort and helped exhibit STCCG at the sci-fi convention I mentioned earlier for the last year or two. He was recently made an Ambassador and I can think of no one else who truly deserves this honor. Kudos and God Bless you Randy Smith for helping to make the journey easier and a whole heck of a lot of fun.

Watching my player base age. With age comes more responsibilities: Jobs, college, pesky girls (lol)and new cities with new challenges. I have watched my player base dwindle down to nothing because of these circumstances. Demos and other promotions have become moot because most people believe STCCG 1E is dead. 2E has hardly done anything in my area of the state.

IMHO, Watching the Online version of STCCG die a slow death because World's Apart is a part of that equation. World's Apart has put a slow burn on STOCCG and I fear that it shall be gone within the next year. They have cut the players discount and started charging them entry fees to play in tourneys. They have talked big and told the players they will be giving them lots of new, updated features and items, yet have yet to deliver on any promises made. They have said that the charges to tourneys will result in greater prizes, yet they are only giving away what DigitalDeck gave away for free for the same said tourneys. I have distanced myself from the very thing I was SO proud of at one time. And a large part of it is how World's Apart has miss-handled it all from the get-go. From my perspective (and MANY other players online who are beginning to distance themselves from STOCCG), WA doesn't give a doggone about STOCCG. They are just milking it for all they can until their next cash cow, LotROnline, comes along.
( I apologize for the tirade above, but it just rips me up inside to see how well DigitalDeck ran STOCCG for the players and how World's Apart doesn't even give the players responses to their questions. WA has started charging more and are giving less. And that just doesn't fly these days.)

And life in general has become pretty busy over the last few months for me as well. I started going to school last August. I am studying to become a Registered Nurse. Medical professions have been popular in my family and I have always been interested in them as well. I am always watching Autopsy on HBO or Forensic Files on Discovery. I used to watch "Emergency!" on TV and dream of becoming a paramedic. So, I am finally chasing my dream but with that dream comes a price. With school, my family and being a full time house-husband for three boys, ages 2, 7 & 9, I no longer have time to hold my monthly tournaments or even to squeeze out a demo every now and then. I have tried to maintain my duties but they have suffered over the last few months. School and family MUST be a priority.

After much soul-searching, I have decided to retire my position as an Ambassador. I have not reached this decision lightly nor do I make it easily. A big part of it is my responsibilities to my family and to school. Another part of it is that I feel that Randy Smith will uphold the ideals of the program and do an excellent job representing the Ambassadorship here in our state. You know that I shall always be here for anything you shall ever need. Please, Do NOT hesitate to contact me if you need help, advice or just to say hello. I look forward to seeing you again next June at Trek Expo.

I also want to say God Bless to the Louisiana Ambassador Denzil Miracle. It was an honor and a pleasure to meet you last June and I hope our paths will cross again. I am glad to have been a part of your life when you needed it most and you have been a great friend at the Online version. Take care my very dear friend and good luck. Do NOT hesitate to contact me anytime you desire.

And God Bless the others who have been there for me over the years. Evan, Kathy, Bruce and more recently, Bojo. Your help has been priceless over time and it shall not be soon forgotten. There are so many more that I cannot remember at this time, but they all know that they are appreciated and will be missed.

And with that, I will close my heartfelt good bye to you, my brothers and sisters of the Ambassadorship. I have come to know you through your posts on this list and through correspondence. Never have I felt as such a part of a community other than my own family as I have of this, my STCCG family. I shall miss your posts, both serious and humorous. God Bless all of you. May your paths be lined with latinum and the game of STCCG go on for some time to come. For me though, "All good things must come to an end."

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