As we are in the home stretch of the 2013 Hot Products World Finals, the IJSBA would like to take some time to acknowledge the staff who has worked so hard to make this year’s event happen.  This year, very special recognition needs to be given to the extreme amount of effort and overtime every staff member has put into the World Finals.

Those of you who have been following the news of the 2013 Hot Products World Finals know that we started off the event with brutal winds which destroyed most of the setup… set up that took more than a week to put in place.  Within a couple of days, the crew had everything back in place without falling behind on the continued work that needed to be done to get all of the infrastructure in place.  This meant some long days that started as early as 4:00 AM and ended well past 8:30 PM.  We are not talking one or two days, we are talking EVERY day since the winds.  If you walk by just about any IJSBA Staff member’s vehicle, you will see half consumed cups of coffee, fast food bags crumpled on the floor, and general signs of being on a non-stop rush.

The IJSBA Staff comes to work here because they love Personal Watercraft Racing and because they love Lake Havasu City.  Working this event is not an easy job.  In fact, the work is downright intense and stressful.  They all put their best foot forward through any challenge and I have not seen one they didn’t meet.   While the staff are all the best human beings on the planet, we are all human beings.  We get short with each other, we sometimes stumble on our interpersonal communication, we occasionally argue, and let out some steam when it all builds up.  Still, this staff never waivers on marching ahead on getting the job done.  As the Executive Director, I have a lot of obligations to racers and sponsors of the event.  I have obligations to the staff to deliver an event that represents their hard work and rewards them with the pay promised at the end of the event.  Sometimes, I can be tough to talk with (even when I am not meaning to be) in my efforts to move the team forward to meeting the event’s needs.  The staff seems to accept (begrudgingly, at times)  this personality trait in me and carry on, even when we view priorities and methods quite differently.

I have always considered myself very lucky to work with, and learn from, the IJSBA Staff.  This year, the staff appreciation dinners, evening pats on the back, and cheers of “good job team” just are not enough to represent my respect and gratitude for the amazing job they have done this year.  The group has delivered you an amazing event which is no surprise because they all are very amazing people.