This was my first year attending the rod show in Charlotte.
My wife and 8 year old son came with me. My wife kept telling me they need one of these shows in Louisiana, where we are from, because it would fill with guests.

I explained to her that Tom hears this every year and I am kind of glad there is not one down here, because it would break me :)

I wanted to thank everyone for the good time we had.
My son won a Rodmaker Magazine sweat shirt at the reception, and that made his day. Some nice man gave him a t-shirt Tom threw at him at the reception, and that made things even better for him. He felt like I would have if I had won the Renzetti Lathe.

Sunday when they gave away the Global Rod, they let my son pull the winning numbers out of the bucket. I told him to pull my number, but he said he had to close his eyes.

Congratulations to the winners, and thank you all for helping my son have a great time while I shopped and met people I have been conversing with on this forum for the last year or so.