We'll Miss You, Dave

Lots of people will ask you how you've been when they haven't seen you in a while. The difference between Dave Meredith and most other people is that he truly cared about the answer. And it didn't much matter who you were. If you were acquainted with Dave, you were a friend, and he genuinely valued what you had to say.

My time spent with Dave Meredith was all at meetings of the Southeastern Outdoor Press Association and the Georgia Outdoor Writers Association, and he epitomized what I would like to be to everyone else at such a gathering. When most of us walk into a big room for a conference meal, we scan the room for friends to join. Dave looked for the people he didn't know -- who almost had to be newcomers to the organization for him to not know them -- and by the end of the meal they'd have a new friend and feel a little more welcome.

Our industry lost a good friend today. I'm going to miss his big smile at future conferences -- and I'm going to try to seek those newcomers Dave won't get welcome and to do my best make them feel at home.