I thought hard about even writing/posting a comment here, but as my friends will tell you I am not one to keep my mouth shut, and it’s usually to my detriment.
As someone once said, “I can’t stands it no mo”! I may have to live with some consequences but here goes. Also, please forgive me for what I am certain will come to be at times my jumbled thoughts. I am not much of a writer, just an ordinary coon*** from South Louisiana. Here goes……..
There are some of you on here which at least SEEM TO BE walking around here acting like this great organization is somehow letting the kids of St. Jude’s down this year. This is simply not the case. I have come to know a few of the people on here and rest assured that as long as Tradgang will allow it, there will be enough good people involved to take up the cause and make this auction a success. Terry, don't take this the wrong way, but the seemingly lack of “participation” this year is not REALLY because of a couple of issues with guys not “getting their prizes” last year. Heck, I would venture to say that 95+% of the people on here didn’t even know about these issues. Maybe “I’m out the loop”, or naïve, but I think I know people and in the end, they will see the goal of this auction and look past some inevitable negative occurrences. I am confident of this because when MY last year’s donation was not “delivered” to the high bidder due to an event cancellation on his part, I offered Bob Corbitt (rbcorbitt on the site) to “at least give him back his money” but he simply would not hear of it and said that it wasn’t about the “prize”, it was about the kids …… that’s the kind of people, as a whole, that make up this site. This site is not about the few that have caused issues here, and they will never be of any real consequence to this site.
So, let’s not sound the retreat trumpet yet guys!!!!! Even now knowing of the issues that happened this past year, we must still keep our sights on the one truth …… that it’s for the kids …… and I personally believe that the Tradgang community will not let these issues have ANY RELEVANT IMPACT on how we contribute to the auction this year. This would give these instances far too much credit than they deserve. Let’s face it guys, none of us paid hundreds or thousands of dollars to eat Delaney’s cake. Heck, even the losers (me included) donated their losing pledge. We did, and will continue to do what we can when we can. It was simply a “great year” that year with more than usual “participation”. With any yearly event like this, there will be great years ….. there will be good years …….. and there will be less than good years. I guess that can be said of our hunting seasons too.
To be perfectly honest, I think that if there IS an issue here, it is that because of the EXTREME generosity of this great group (and the great passion for this cause that people like Terry, Doug, Rob and others have instilled in us) maybe we have had too many GREAT years. The success that this auction has had is simply FAR FROM the norm guys. I think that we (me included) quite frankly now take for granted the GREAT accomplishments that this organization has had in past years and have come to view these accomplishments as somehow ORDINARY or REQUIRED. This is not reality!
Having said all this, and being somewhat of an eternal optimist, I for one am not NEARLY ready to count Tradgang out. I still look forward to a good year and one that we can still all be proud of…….very proud of. Ask yourselves, how many organizations can boast WELL OVER A HALF MILLION DOLLARS OF SUPPORT through the years to St. Jude’s! We have already “done good” guys. While I continue to pray for the success of this noble cause, I treat every additional cent raised as a win for the kids. So let us be proud, and certainly let us never be disappointed in the outcome, whatever it may be this year or the next, for we are Tradgangers and WE WILL SUPPORT THESE KIDS!!!!!!
God Bless the supporters and God Bless St. Jude’s!!!!!
Topic: St. Jude Crunch Time!! Where are the listers?? (Read 1457 times)
