Award Ceremony - TheBigRedOne

[TheBigRedOne]

Gents,

I want to say thanks to a variety of people for this award. I'm not sure I'm all that deserving, but it's nice to be recognized by one's peers, even if it is within our small gaming community.

First thanks goes to John Tiller and his team for creating, expanding and maintaining this great game we all love. It's not the perfect platform, that doesn't exist in wargaming, but it's a great small unit infantry simulation that covers such a fantastic depth of subjects. Kudos to him, to Rich Hamilton for all of his tireless and largely unrealized work, as well as the great scenario designers past and present for putting out such a great product.

Specifically to Rich Hamilton, whom you can all blame for seeing me all over the community. We were playing against each other in a Korean War SB tourney round over on GameSquad when he inquired if I'd be interested in getting involved with playtesting. I had enjoyed the game at that point, but when he offered to give me a glimpse at the inside, I was totally hooked. About a year or so later RedMike asked me if I was interested in taking over TFE4, and shortly after that I volunteered to take on moderator/ladder duties here. Oh, and I was in the midst of starting a family. My wife (and me, to some extent) thought I was a bit crazy taking all of this on. It's been a challenge the past few years, but I'm glad that I've been able to give back to the SB community. I do apologize for being less visible the last two years or so as my personal life has been a touch more busy. Abram has done a great job of picking up for my slack. He, too, deserves huge props for his time and effort here, and my thanks for nominating me for this award.

For the management here at the Blitz, past and present for putting out so much time and energy to have this place for all of us to 'hang out' and indulge our little hobby. Enough cannot be said about the work that goes into maintaining this site, much of which is done without anyone ever realizing just how much time and energy it takes.

Lastly to you all. You can't have a great community without great guys. I never realized when I bought VN so many years ago that I'd end up playing and getting to know people from throughout the US, let alone getting to know great guys in New Zealand, Turkey, Australia, the UK, etc. Many relationships have moved beyond our pixel warriors and have involved discussions over our children, our lives and our careers. From a winemaker in Napa to a professor in Turkey, thanks to all of you for making the Blitz community a great one.

Alan