Most of you who know me, know I’m not much of a speech person, so I’ll try and keep this brief and just thank all the people who got me involved with the volunteering.First off, I’d like to thank Gary Lewis, for whom this award is aptly named. When I first starting playing disc golf in this area, he was pretty much the only person running tournaments. And they weren’t just your basic tournaments, he ran a very smooth show with all the extras that really make a tournament great. He was the first person that inspired me to help out. I would play one day of his events and would show up the other day to give him a hand.Secondly, I’d like to thank Jesse. He’s spent countless hours getting courses ready and making sure every little detail that goes into running the biggest and I must say best events get done. Beyond that, he is a great promoter of the game. He’s always encouraging new players to join in leagues and tournaments. Any problems that arise, he manages to handle in a way that makes everyone feel they’ve won. It’s always a pleasure to help him out in any way I can.Next, I’d like to thank Frank Grimes. I know everyone is always talking about how much time he puts into the courses but until I really got involved, I never really know how much time that actually was. Just look at the number of points he has for the J-Town Disc Golf Club’s Member Reward Program and that doesn’t even include a lot of the work he does out at Channahon and doesn’t want credit for. Even with all the work he puts in, he is still the first guy to give others a big thank you and props for a job well done. It seems like, especially this year, that he’s inspiring a whole new generation of players to help out on the course.Next, I’d like to thank Ray Hill. He’s another behind the scenes guy who is the inspiration for a lot of what I do. It’s his ideas that often spark some of the more innovative things we do. He was the one that asked the state coordinator for the rights to award the IL USDGC spot which lead us to create the Ropes at the Oaks tournament.Lastly, I'd like to thank all of the J-Town players who come out to these events and show those running it, your appreciation. A lot of you are willing to step up and help out when it’s needed and it goes a long way towards keeping all these volunteers inspired to keep going. Thank you.
I've been asked to post my speech for those that couldn't hear me.Quote from: pooleje on October 12, 2013, 04:30:00 PMMost of you who know me, know I’m not much of a speech person, so I’ll try and keep this brief and just thank all the people who got me involved with the volunteering.First off, I’d like to thank Gary Lewis, for whom this award is aptly named. When I first starting playing disc golf in this area, he was pretty much the only person running tournaments. And they weren’t just your basic tournaments, he ran a very smooth show with all the extras that really make a tournament great. He was the first person that inspired me to help out. I would play one day of his events and would show up the other day to give him a hand.Secondly, I’d like to thank Jesse. He’s spent countless hours getting courses ready and making sure every little detail that goes into running the biggest and I must say best events get done. Beyond that, he is a great promoter of the game. He’s always encouraging new players to join in leagues and tournaments. Any problems that arise, he manages to handle in a way that makes everyone feel they’ve won. It’s always a pleasure to help him out in any way I can.Next, I’d like to thank Frank Grimes. I know everyone is always talking about how much time he puts into the courses but until I really got involved, I never really know how much time that actually was. Just look at the number of points he has for the J-Town Disc Golf Club’s Member Reward Program and that doesn’t even include a lot of the work he does out at Channahon and doesn’t want credit for. Even with all the work he puts in, he is still the first guy to give others a big thank you and props for a job well done. It seems like, especially this year, that he’s inspiring a whole new generation of players to help out on the course.Next, I’d like to thank Ray Hill. He’s another behind the scenes guy who is the inspiration for a lot of what I do. It’s his ideas that often spark some of the more innovative things we do. He was the one that asked the state coordinator for the rights to award the IL USDGC spot which lead us to create the Ropes at the Oaks tournament.Lastly, I'd like to thank all of the J-Town players who come out to these events and show those running it, your appreciation. A lot of you are willing to step up and help out when it’s needed and it goes a long way towards keeping all these volunteers inspired to keep going. Thank you.