Seven years ago today after some talk on a message board I had set up for that purpose, five guys walked into GrandLan and had our first meet up for local play. It was Me, Chauncy, Baggs, Singe, and G-Boobie. I’m the only one of those five who still makes it out regularly. Two of them moved away, and the other two have new families to focus on like me.

In the time since then we have seen a lot of changes, both highs and lows. Getting and losing venues and sponsorships, big events, fundraisers, charities, travel, staff turnover, the dwindling numbers at the tail end of SFIV, the boom when SFV launched. Even re-branding the whole org to GRFGC.

There was a lot of hard work and headaches, but it was the rewarding kind of hard work, and in that sense it was a pleasure to do my part. Somehow, this has turned into one of the more successful things I’ve ever started, and I made a lot of great friends by doing it over the years.

The time has come for me to step away from the leadership side of this. I now have my second child coming into the world and I’m just not going to have the time or energy for it any longer. My daughter is due in October, so I’m out after the September RCR6.

This is good news for all of you. Like the scene in general, my contributions have dwindled over time which is always followed by a boom. We have a lot of new faces and right now is a great time to step in, get involved, and make stuff happen. Don’t wait for someone else to do it, do it. There’s nothing special about me, I’m just some dork, you can do it too. You got this.

I have found that Morahan has an excellent set of skills for this, leadership, initiative, judgement, and consistency, so I have been training him over the last several events to effectively replace me.

It was never supposed to be a one-person job however, and things have always gone better in the past when several people came together in synergy, so don’t be content with that. Everyone gets burned out eventually but it can be later rather than sooner. Support each other in everything you do and this can be so much better than if you just show up to play.

That goes for new people who still have to learn how everything works, and for the ones who have consistently proven themselves to be valuable and knowledgeable resources: Kelter Skelter, HalfPump, Chauncy “Tru” Talon, Stabicron, Danimal, and anyone I am leaving out due to my advanced age and deteriorating cognitive functions, lol.

I’ll still be around, I just won’t be the go-to guy. You may have noticed me slowly transitioning out. I’m looking forward to just enjoying the game for a change.

Thanks to all of you, and shout outs to G-Boobie and Swifty McQuick as well, who contributed greatly to our local scene before they relocated.

-Slappy