Thanks All, He truly was one of a kind.
THe Meet ran well, AMe held it together for the Most part. I did as well. Chewed down a few extra Nolvadex to keep the emotions in check, though.
So many people told stories about him and their interactions.
We had a guy at the Meet, going for a 1000lb Single-ply bench. He missed all three attempts, but he locked out each one. Foot moved, Butt came up, small things. I was head judge for it.
As soon as Jimmy finished his 3rd attempt, we loaded 1010lbs on the bar, We left the head judge seat empty, clicked on the 3 white lights and had a moment of silence. Absolutely, one of the most moving experiences of my life.
Not a single person took a picture or made a noise.
The hardest part for me (other than driving by myself of 800+ miles round trip), was loading the trailer up after the Meet. I did Gene's duty and coordinated loading it. In the 7 years I've been helping at Meets, loading and unloading that trailer, it felt amazingly empty without him in there directing what was to be loaded next.
Ame has asked me to take on a more involved position with RPS, and Ill be traveling a bit more now.