Gary Stevens Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 I doubt that many, if any, have notice my absence at USPSA matches. There is a reason. At one of Sarge's matches I made a bad call that affected a shooter. That convinced me that it was time to retire. I have bowed out of all forms of NROI duties after several decades. Now before I get a series of "well bye" or "don't let the door hit you in the A$$" I write this to simply explain my absence. No pity party required or expected. Thats pretty well sums it up. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckS Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 You earned the rest! Enjoy it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyOne Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 Gary, I'm sure all who have been in your orbit in the hundreds (or thousands!) of matches that you have officiated in, appreciate all the time and effort that you have put into this sport. With that being said, not only will we miss you in your roles as MD, RM, and RO (and all the other roles you have played!), we will miss the humor and level headedness (if that is even a word!) of your running a match (I can still see you riding around on that golf cart in one of the BITBG, wearing that KY blue hair/visor thingy!). Final thought. Not to say that you don't deserve a retirement, but, to retire after one (bad) call after probably thousands of good calls is selling yourself short. We are all human and humans make mistakes. If everyone quit after making a mistake, where would we be? Just my thoughts... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teros135 Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 Gary, thanks for all your good work over these many years, and best wishes in your retirement! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 Gary, you taught me my very first RO class over ten years ago. I have always considered you as my mentor. I appreciate everything you have given to me and the sport . You will always be welcome at my matches. But if you can’t make it I’ll understand and will miss you very much. Sarge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yekcoh Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 4 hours ago, Gary Stevens said: I doubt that many, if any, have notice my absence at USPSA matches. There is a reason. At one of Sarge's matches I made a bad call that affected a shooter. That convinced me that it was time to retire. I have bowed out of all forms of NROI duties after several decades. Now before I get a series of "well bye" or "don't let the door hit you in the A$$" I write this to simply explain my absence. No pity party required or expected. Thats pretty well sums it up. Gary Any message to younger RO's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Stevens Posted August 10, 2021 Author Share Posted August 10, 2021 Do your best you can do. My problem came with not being able to stay abreast with the ever changing rule set. Without stability the path is open to making bad calls. What happened to me was totally my fault, no one else's. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ima45dv8 Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 Your knowledge, wisdom, and especially demeanor will be missed. And I get what you mean about the ever-changing ruleset. If I were asked to RM a major these days, I would politely decline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuz Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 Mr. Stevens, I don’t know you, and have never met you, but hopefully you will still get out and shoot a match every now and again. Our games are too much fun not to participate in, and most other shooters are a pleasure to be around at the range. And you can certainly mentor other Shooters and hopefully convince them to become ROs, and even MDs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waktasz Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 ROs make crap calls at matches throughout the country every week. Don't let that stop you, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
71Commander Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 Regardless of anything, you have my respect. Well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pskys2 Posted September 9, 2021 Share Posted September 9, 2021 You've been there for us for so long....and I've appreciated your input, knowledge and efforts! Hope you're still able to compete, but we will all face that door someday. Thanks for all you've done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vluc Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 Gary, sorry to see this though I am seeing it with a number of my fellow senior/super senior CRO's, self included, we are working fewer matches as it is hard to keep up. Maybe there is a lesson here regarding the now ever-present lack of rules stability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritinUSA Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 VLUC summed up my opinion too, with all the rule changes that we have seen over the past few years its little wonder that mistakes get made. Being an RO is a horrible job, if you do everything right no-one remembers you, if you do one itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny thing wrong, the heavens come down like a ton of bricks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Moneypenny Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 I know I'm late to the party on this, I hope I still get to see you on the range some time , you have a huge amount of knowledge and have put in the work for decades. I always enjoyed working with/for you.... insert chicken... it's made of rubber like the tars on yer car! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoMiE Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 Thank you for your service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillChunn Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 Gary, You sir have more than earned your retirement and that is your choice. It seems as we age, the "track meet" type of stages takes an unrelenting toll on the body. This has always been a transitory sport. People come in and leave on a regular basis. What you will be remember for is what you did when you were "here". The RO duties for Steel Challenge are much, much easier. Especially if the timer is BlueTooth linked to the scoring tablet. All the best, Bill Chunn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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