Hey all you DCMM folks going to the Dragon this year. There's a movement afoot to present Barry and Robin Patascher with gift cards to show them our appreciation for all the work they do to make MOTD as great as it is.
You see, Barry's brother died this past year which forced him to close their business. This early retirement was not planned and has caused them a lot of stress. Barry's wife Robin, has MS, which gets progressively worse with each passing year. More stress.
Barry refuses to be paid for his time in organizing the Dragon, which is a full time job that takes 8 months each year. He has also refused to raise registration rates so that he could get a small...make that tiny...amount of money for his efforts.
The idea behind the gift cards, rather than handing him a cash donation, is that he'll use it for himself and Robin. Otherwise, he might take that donation and just plow it back into the Dragon organization.
So, if you can see your way clear to pick up a Lowe's gift card ( his son works there, and apparently there more Lowe's in the NC mountains, making it more convenient for them) in any denomination, I'm sure it'd be most appreciated. Spread the word, please!
We're not sure when or how the cards would be presented, but I'm thinking at the Farewell dinner. What ever we end up doing, it's going to be a surprise, so please keep it secret and tell others to do the same.
Thanks in advance and see you all soon!
Katie