The Expo Crew

The International Custom Rod Building Exposition is a lot of work. I start on it each year around the middle of May and finish up 10 months later, just a few hours before the doors open for the event.

However, for all I’m able to do during the many months preceding the Expo, there is no way I could pull off the Expo itself with having many more “feet on the floor” than just my own. For that, I turn to several good and trusted friends whom many of you have probably met in passing, but know little about.

From Left to Right:

Jim George is a retired NC Highway Patrol Trooper. Always looking for extra work these days, he’s happy to help out at the Expo. He’s in charge of the money. I can’t think of anyone better to handle it. You couldn’t slip a bum nickel past him in the dark.

Wayne McGinnis is another retired Highway Patrol Trooper. We became fishing buddies way back in the early 1980’s.  He handles the ticket gathering and hand stamping and refuses to allow me to pay him for his services because that would mean he has a job – something he swore off when he retired.

Rodney Powell is a big wheel in the Food Lion Grocery Corp. He oversees a good portion of their renowned energy department. We fish together quite a bit. He’s my right hand man during the Expo, taking care of anything that comes up that I’m not around to deal with.

Christine Farley has been our regular waitress for our Monday lunches at the Liberty Steakhouse & Brewery for 5 or 6 years now. It’s a natural that she’s on hand at the Expo each year to sell tickets. Guys seem to like her. It’s also funny to note how much longer her ticket line always is compared to George’s.

None of these folks are custom rod builders, but without their help the Expo wouldn’t run as smoothly as it does. They are a big part of the pleasant Expo experience that so many of you have come to expect each year.

Tom Kirkman

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