No, nothing here about heroic deeds I have done. If you think something I’ve done falls in the heroic realm of activities, you are welcome to note them, but I certainly am not looking for accolades.
No, this article is more recognition of some absolutely wonderful people who may not know that I’ve seen them do some pretty incredible things, and that I want to make sure that I’m not the only person who’s aware of it.
First up is my daughter. I may not know her as well as some others do, but I know that she recognized that she was in a very rough situation in high school, and took matters into her own hands. In her final semester of high school she had moved out of her mom’s house, had moved to a different city, and was riding an intra-city buss to get to and from school. She transfered in the middle of the semester to a school in the city she had moved to, and graduated that semester. She then turned around and married her boyfriend in the next year, started A+ certification (the school she was going to closed in the middle of the session.) and has worked at a grocery store supporting herself and her husband who is going to school to get his Bachelors degree. I have little doubt that once he is working in the field of his degree, that she will return to school. She may be a year or two behind many of her peers but she will have experiences that will give her an incredible edge in many of the subjects she will study. I would not be a bit surprised to learn that within 10 years she has an MBA and is working in management either for the chain of grocery stores she is working for now, or possibly within the technology sector.
Yes I am biased in my assessment of my daughter. She is after all my daughter. But I think what she’s done is incredible. You don’t have to agree.
I have known Anton Petersen on and off for 15 years now. Many people know him already in the Anton is Awesome fan club, and I’ve never seen a guest liaison or guest department head for a convention who does a better job of making guests feel welcome and involved in the convention they are attending. On more than one occasion he has stepped into a budding disaster and turned it into an acceptable if not positive experience for the guests attending, which is even more incredible when you consider that some of those situations have involved conventions he arrived ‘at the door’ to attend, and had no involvement with the guests department of that convention before arrival. I’m going to admit that there are times when I am concerned that he is taking on too much. Perhaps the most concerning aspect of him being involved in GPS is that I don’t expect his involvement in other conventions, will be reduced. I think it will grow significantly. We need more people like Anton. Not because he can’t do what he does, but simply because what he does should be done by more people.
Jennifer Manna is a force to be reckoned with. Outgoing, aggressive, uncompromising and both a geek and a gamer, she is someone you want on or at your side, and never as an opponent. Jen is a Feminist in the best form of the word. She fundamentally believes the principles that men and women need to recognize that our strengths are not in our appearance, but in what we ad people do, and how we treat those around us. People talk about treating everyone equally. Jen embodies that. If you are doing something stupid in her presence, she will let you know about it, or she won’t accept being in your presence.
There are many others who I would love to write up a full review on. Kat Pepmiller, Erin Lorenz, Tia Jean Starbuck, Amada Marquez, Damarra Atkins, Rin Schwartz, Peter Gamache and several other people I consider friends. Each has done things that I hope I never have to do, gone through experiences that I never will, and much more.
No one lives an easy life. We each go through some parts of our lives if not coasting, at least being aware that the experience has come at great personal expense. All of us know that times are tough. And we know that different parts of our lives are going to go through better and worse experiences, and that many of us will go through both a high point in our lives and a low point at the same time. While I note that I think of them as heroes, each is going through rough experiences at this time. From long periods of being away from her husband for my daughter, to being under employed, or experiencing medical problems, or issues with other people behaving badly in their lives. None of us are immune. All of my heroes however are some of the very best people to know, to work with, to support when I can, and to be supported by through my experience.
To my friends and heroes, thank you. May all your dreams be blessed, and the best results for all be the results of your efforts. Thank you.
