Greetings! I wanted to take this opportunity to thank, profusely, the folks at
Operation Gathering for their tireless (and usually thankless!) work on behalf
of the Gathering of the Fellowship, 2006 (GotF 2006). 

Along with Ted Nasmith, I was artist guest of honor at GotF 2006. I contributed
the GotF logo as well as numerous illustrations for GotF events and publications.
And during the Gathering, I was very grateful for the support of so many Tolkien
fans, who purchased dozens of my prints from Robbie at the sales tables. But,
after returning to Atlanta, none of the proceeds of those sales, which were my
only "payment" for my contributions to GotF, were ever forwarded to me. 

As a result of my predicament and that of many others, Operation Gathering (OG)
took it upon themselves to try to "make things right" for all of the participants. In
this spirit, and with a "no shame, no blame" attitude, they were able to pay me all
that was owed, and much more quickly than I had anticipated given the scope of
the task they set themselves to. 

I fully believe that the Operation Gathering folk are what they say they are; a
tireless group of folks who just want to clear things with the greater Tolkien
community, even to the point of taking on responsibilities that are not really
theirs. This all with the intent of showing their appreciation and love for all
things Tolkien, and to hopefully pave the way for more wonderful events like
GoTF 2006 in the future. 

To all of the Operation Gathering folk and to all who aid them in their ongoing
good work, I can only say "Nai Eru laitalyë (may God bless you)"

             Jef Murray 
         www.JefMurray.com