Hi Gents,
Just got home from a wonderful two weeks in the States. I originally went to meet up with some of you guys I met on the forum and put some faces to names. The Expo more than lived up to my expectations with the exibitors and the attendees who I got to have a great chat to many of both. Also got to meet up with a lady whom I'd been dealing with for a number of years. Lily from Dbluefishing made the trip from New York to the Expo so she could meet up with me!! The Expo turned out well for her and her husband, Quentin who is also very nice and they got enough out of it to become a sponsor for the forum, which I hope they can continue. Appologies to those I missed as there was a lot going on. I spent a few extra days in Winston/Salem to have a bit of a look around and then went to Highpoint with the hope of getting a couple of half days with Tom Kirkman. What happened in that week has made the Expo pale and was worth the cost of the trip by itself!!! Tom came and picked me up from the Marriot and got me settled in Highpoint. He took me to lunch and/or dinner everyday and wouldn't let me pay my way! We had a number of great conversations and it turns out we are much alike on a lot of topics, many of which had nothing to do with rodbuilding. I got a lot of info on American history, American ways and got put straight with what goes on with your gun laws. He is very well read gent who has a lot of facts stored away to back up his thoughts. Along with Rodney and Sammy he took me to the Bass Pro shop near Charlotte. We've got nothing that even comes close to that place anywhere in this country and there's bigger ones!! Only lightened my wallet "a little bit".Got introduced to the Lexington BBQ on the way home which was also very good. Spent a whole day in his workshop with Rodney and a bit of Sammy as well. Tom BBQ'd some ribs and corn cobbs "his way" which turned out to be about as good as it gets. Along with a few beers it was another day I'll never forget. We even managed a bit of rodbuilding stuff also. Another day I got to do something I'd never done before despite living close to the water. Tom took me sailing on the local lake in one of his Hobie cats which was extremely appreciated. The weather was definitely cool but the wind didn't get very strong and I didn't get wet. Still another great day. On my leaving day he also picked me up and went back to the Rodmaker offices where Rodney turned up again and he is also a very nice guy. Hopefully I got somewhere close to "balancing the books"with some stuff I bought but I doubt it. To top it off he took me back to Greensboro to catch my plane including a help with my bags. I always suspected he was a nice gent but that turned out to be a complete understatement.
A HUGE THANKS to Tom for all that he did for me during that week as well as the Expo. A really great gent.
To the handful of detractors who'd love to drag him down your BARKING UP THE WRONG TREE. Unlike you lot he's a class act.
While he was doing all that he still managed to get the next issue of Rodmaker to it's final draft. If it's late then blame me not Tom.

ESFNEM Col
Port Kembla, NSW
Australia



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/08/2013 06:18PM by Col Chaseling.

Glad you got home safe Col....I am looking forward to hanging out with you again. Glad you had a good time. Have a Fosters for me....lol

______________________________________
Super Tight Lines......Don



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/08/2013 04:08PM by Don Morse.

Yes, Tom is a true gentleman

That was a great tribute to Tom. I am really glad it turned out so good for you with the distance you had to travel.

Bill

Ohio Rod Builders

Canton, Ohio

Sounds like you had one HECK of a time
Thanks to Tom
You traveled a heck of a distance - guess it was worth it

Bill - willierods.com

Hello Col

Glad you made it back, it was a pleasure to meet you even though we did not talk a lot (I'm not much of a talker) it was good to put a face to the name.

Tom is a great host and a very interesting person and I'm glad he showed you a good time.

Take Care.

Bob,

New Bern, NC.

It was a pleasure to meet up with some of the builders I've met here, the vendors I've met and all the Americans that made the trip a unique experience, thanks for that to all.
Yes Bill I definitely had a heck of a trip, well worth the cost and distance travelled. Would love to get back again to renew the friendships I've made, also to meet some more of the guys like Ken and the Bill's I missed this time.
Tom deserves all the credit he gets for what he does here, with Rodmaker and the Expo. He's done more for rodbuilding than anyone I'm aware of and I hope he has the desire to continue with it for a long time to come.
Ken, gentleman is correct but he has a lot more going for him than that.

ESFNEM Col
Port Kembla, NSW
Australia

Hi Col,

So glad to hear that you had a great time at High Point with the gracious host Tom that made your trip to America even more memorable.

We are so grateful to you for your suggestion to us to go to the Expo 2013. What a rewarding trip!!! We finally met you in person after years of sending emails back and forth. You are an even warmer gentleman in person. In addition, we met so many interesting people at the Expo who gave us many valuable suggestions and comments to our ever-expanding rod building components lines.

Being at the show, we realized how much Tom has been contributing to the rod building business. So we did not hesitate to become a sponsor for the rod building forum. DBlue Fishing certainly hope Tom's clean and high-class rod building forum will attract more and more rod builders worldwide.

Enjoy the cool weather in Australia!

Lily
DBlue Fishing
Long Island, NY