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Shout out to my girl RitaB for hosting such a wonderful event. I have considered her a friend online for years, but now she is like a sister. She put on a fabulous lunch for us all and we just had a marvelous time hanging out. Love you Rita....you are the best. In case it does not get mentioned, Possi is the best joke teller of the group. She does accents and dialects for all her characters. Abby is not far behind, he is very fun. Abby is also brilliant and has a wonderful spouse. Margaret can cook! Catherine is sharp as a tack and competitive as all get out. Jack is just like he is online. Edsel is a soft spoken southern gentleman. Gail is very sweet and funny. The back forty has a lot of flowers in it. Seems to be well tended and fertilized. Seriously, the view from Rita's house never gets old. I just kept walking outside to look out over the back 40. Beautiful country to look at. And most important....BulldogTom and Catherine are the undefeated cornhole champions. Thanks again RitaB for hosting. Tom Modesto, CA

Just a couple of pics of the grand get together today. I have to s I will attempt to post a picture with name labels, so everyone will know who was here. It was a great time of putting faces and voices with names. (there will be pic of the back 40 in a different post for security reasons...)

Awwww, you all are the best! I enjoyed the day so much, and we were honored to host. Edsel and Posse, thank you for bragging on the kids! They and Donna (Posse) did as much as I did to make it happen. Here's two pictures from May: First one: David, Me, Karsyn & Allie, Daniel, and Erin. Daniel won the marriage lottery when he got Allie. Best daughter-in-law ever. Second picture is Karsyn modeling what you SHOULD wear to Walmart.

I swear we look almost like a group of tax nerds! Well, there was the occasional mention of tax, software, etc. but we did have a lot of fun getting to know each other in a very different way. Thanks, Rita, for making this happen (or allowing it, as the case may be ). We always knew you were a super person; now we know for certain!

I'm not overly satisfied with this video, but I've spent around 10 hours to get this far, so, be gentle. The video looks much better before I upload it to youtube, and I'm not sure how to get around that. So with no further ado:

Oh this is so great to see! I've been waiting all day. So glad you guys were able to do this, it makes this board come alive with all your smiling faces. Thank you for getting everyone together Rita, you are our Sweetheart Queen. Love you, Bill

Or stop processing such 'hot' stuff!

I'll be the next to chime in. Callie and I left before the pictures were taken, but maybe Catherine has more that she will share. Not that you're missing much with a shot of me. There were big 'uns and little 'uns. Smart 'uns and .... If anyone wonders what tax people are like, they should have been there. All of us reasonably engrained in the profession, all of us kinda kooky, and wonderfully human. It was great to meet everyone and put faces and voices with the membership. All of us love Rita - but I will take a minute of readers' time to reflect on something special. We had the pleasure of meeting her children. Two sons and a daughter. Tall, good-looking, cordial, and helpful. And appreciated here in the south is their God-fearing disposition. This should speak extra volumes about Rita. Women are amazing creatures - having to multi-task between professional duties, domestic duties, family duties. Additionally, most of us know something how difficult it is to raise children - raising great kids just doesn't "happen" all by itself. And in Rita's case, there is the small matter of tending to the "back 40." This doesn't happen by itself either. Unforgettable gathering, folks. Those of us in attendance feel closer to each other. If it happens again somewhere else, I highly recommend it.

I'm not that brave either, but it doesn't have to be at someone's house. We could meet at a local park with a pavillion and grill, or invade a BNB or inn. Central VA or anywhere in MD might be doable for me. We just need to pick a place and have someone coordinate. In the fall, somewhere along the blue ridge would be pretty, or maybe somewhere near the Chesapeake.

Sounds like this was a really great time and I am so sorry I missed it. I had to attend to issues with my mother who is in a skilled nursing facility. The last 14 months have been a roller coaster ride. However, I hope I can get meet the folks here at some other gathering.

Thank you so much, Rita! We had wonderful food and fellowship, and I was reminded once again how special a breed most tax professionals are! I would love to meet more of you, and see those I have met again. Unfortunately, I am not as brave as Rita to open up my house to an undetermined number of people showing up! You are the best, Rita!

Sorry I can't make it, but hoping everyone has a wonderful time. Looking forward to seeing some pictures, videos, newscasts, police reports - whatever.

I'm told this is the biggest attraction in Crossville.

Thank you, thank you, thank you Rita for hosting! It was SO wonderful to meet everyone and I had a blast. I do have at least one picture with Edsel once I get it off my camera. More to say, but of course I came back to about three crises... gotta deal, then I can gush about how marvelous it was. Those who missed it, missed a real treat. We need to do this again, for sure.

This is so amazing! I'm so sorry to have missed it. Very glad that you all had such a great time. I hope it will become an annual event!

And thank you Tom for your great humor and kindness. Tom is also a very fun guy. And Catherine is fun size, and very fun to be around too. Everyone was great, really. And it was super cool to meet you all... sorry, y'all. Personally, I had a blast! And I survived a Rita hug! Was also pleasantly surprised to find good coffee and sushi in little ole Crossville. And, man are the prices reasonable!

Ditto, ditto and ditto.

And I plan to drive from Virginia to Gatlinburg TN tomorrow, and then on to Rita's on Saturday! Back to to Gatlinburg Saturday night, and back to Virginia Monday. Don't know what I was thinking - I am still so far behind! But this will be fun! (Except for all the riding around, and even that won't be too bad - might make up for some of the time I didn't see my husband during tax season to be trapped in a car with him now!)

I'm from MD but I'm driving to TN today. I'm crazy like that.

What a terrific instructional video. Thanks very much for posting it. Your customized letters provide so much more detail. I'll look to play with this during the off season. Thank you again.

This is our family at the local 4H park in 2011. If Kim, my son Colin and I could be there, we would, I will be in Toronto... Have fun everyone! Post pictures!

I am just making my list to pack and looking at the (ridiculously long) list of chores I need to finish before I can leave. REALLY looking forward to seeing everyone, and hoping this northern girl (with the temporary high thyroid that makes me extra hot all the time) won't melt in the Tennessee heat! Here's a picture of Doug and me that Gwen took last year. But Doug can't come; it will just be me.

Everybody that is there please post some pic or a video. Umpiring all stars games this weekend.

I am jealous that people are meeting in the "Middle" of TN. Is there anyone in MD or VA that can accommodate a group gathering? You only need to have a few horses, a soccer field, a river and some livestock. If Kendall Jackson and Margarita with Jose Cuervo are invited, I can bring los limones. Joking aside, I believe gatherings are a good idea and I am wondering if it is possible to have one closer to the DMV area.