I concur whole heartily with Dave's description of Rip. I met and talked to him many times at Regional and Store Events in Florida and once you met him he was like a long lost friend that you hadn't seen for years.

I will never forget the time at one of the St. Augustine Regionals when I had to leave early to get home to watch the Gators play in the March Madness Tournament. I told him I was leaving early and he said to me that "You will miss the drawing for the gold piece". I said that it didn't matter because I never win anyway.

That evening he called me at home and told me my name was drawn and because I wasn't there they drew another name. I asked him if he was kidding and he never answered me. To this day I have never been able to get anyone to tell me if my name was drawn.

What a character!!!!