I hope you are all well and looking forward to a great spring and summer as much as I am. At this writing I would like to take time to reflect on the loss of a very good friend and a most important part of the WINS family, JD White. JD was the driving force behind the creation and management of WINS in its most infantile state. I say infantile because WINS in fact was his baby, he took care of it and nurtured it these past 20 years or so. I know there are many of us that have devoted much of our time and effort to the health and welfare of the society, but none more than JD.

I was fortunate enough to serve as an elected member in some compacity on all the leadership boards except one, the very first in 2000. I got to know JD very well over the years due to the hundreds of emails and many phone conversations we had pertaining to WINS business. JD was very passionate about WINS and how it was perceived to others on the internet. He was pretty much set in his ways which at times lead to some very heated disagreements. Though at times we had some harsh words, the bad feeling only lasted until our next phone call. We both wanted the best for WINS but didn't always agree in how to achieve that.

Working with JD wasn't always easy, but I sure miss his input and guidance, he set this all up from the beginning and monitored the list as a parent would watch over a child. He really was the list mommy as he was affectionately called by the members. I know the loss of JD has had some effect on many of our membership, I was fortunate enough to meet with him for a few days here in St. Louis and take him to one of our local shows. Those were good times that I will always cherish, I consider myself lucky to have met him and really think I am a better person for knowing him.

He had a lot of struggles in life, but handled them all pretty well, you can't think of WINS without thinking of JD. He will surely be missed, but not forgotten by all of his friends here at WINS. I will be writing his memorial for our "In Memory of" page, listed on our website. It will be hard to convey all he meant to WINS in such a short space, but I hope to do him justice in my effort.

Rest in peace my friend.