SHPC Elects A New President.... (continued from main page)

The person to fill this station needs to be someone with a passion for pipes and tobacco. Someone with a positive attitude and an outgoing personality who can represent us proudly wherever they go. But more importantly we need someone who loves this club, someone that can take us into the future and has the dedication and perseverance to make it thrive in this anti-smoking world of ours. I decided to poll the gathering of 14 in the off chance that one of them may be interested in "assuming the position" but then a thought crossed my mind..... "Who here has a big enough ego to think they could even begin to attempt to fill Don's shoes?" Nonetheless, I shrugged off the thought and presented the question to the members before me and to my surprise a hand went up. I smote my forehead with my palm and thought to myself again, "How could I have ever overlooked this guy, he has all the ego maniacal qualities we're looking for in a President?" All heads turned to the back of the table to see the lone hand of Dock Perry raised high in the air. I hesitated a moment for any additional interest but none was revealed. I hadn't really expected this to happen tonight but since the core group was present I saw no reason I shouldn't make a motion to elect Dock Perry as our new President. And so I did... "All if favor of Dock Perry as our new president, say aye." A table full of supporting hands shot into the air with a hearty "AYE!" and we had our new president.
All joking aside. Dock Perry is and excellent candidate for this job. First of all, there's no denying that Dock loves this club; who else would travel over two hours each way on a work night to attend a meeting every month (and even longer when we were meeting in N.H.). And anyone who knows Dock knows he has an undeniable passion for pipes, tobacco, ephemera and anything even remotely related. He has a collection of over 300 pipes and has cellared over 350 tins of tobacco. His knowledge on the subject is expansive and his memory for facts is unbelievable. Not only is he a lover of all things pipe and tobacco but he's also a huge Sherlock Holmes enthusiast and in this club that definitely holds some weight.
Dock has been an active member of ASP for a number of years where he has made many friends and is never shy when it comes to sharing his thoughts, knowledge or opinions with the other members of ASP or while trying to cleanse the board of the evil anti-smoking trolls. Like most of us, Dock is also a very strong supporter of an American's right to smoke freely and has even used his car's rear window as a billboard to promote our freedom to smoke. He attends as many pipe shows and events as his schedule will allow and it's been through these pipe shows, events and ASP that he has built numerous relationships with people who make their living in the industry of pipes and tobacco.
But one thing separates Dock from other possible candidates. Being the youngest member of the club and without the current responsibilities of raising a family, he will have more time to devote to the nurturing of this club therefore ensuring it's existence well into the future.
So on behalf of the entire club we congratulate and welcome you to the position of President of the Sherlock Holmes Pipe Club of Boston. While in this position we hope you will always act in the club's best interest, ensuring that it will always be an organization of which we are proud to belong.

A word from Dock Perry...
I'd like to take a moment to thank all of you who elected me to the President's position of the Sherlock Holmes Pipe Club. I fully realize the size of the shoes I step into when I accept your nomination. Don Powers is a man I respect and who's friendship I value. If I can be half the President he's been, I'll consider this a job well done. I'd also like to acknowledge the time Nelson Pidgeon has put into making this a great club during his time as acting President. Even with an active home and work life Nelson's kept us on track and continues to write the newsletters which are both entertaining and informative.
There are some things I'd personally like to accomplish during my term. The first is to continue with the yearly making of club pipes for all who wish to order one. This year's pipe by Mark Tinsky was well received and I'll bet next years pipe by our own Tim Hynick will be even better. Secondly, I'd like to have more vendors come to our monthly meetings and display their wares. I recently spoke with Peretti's and they're setting up a date for James Norman to come up to see us again. I'll keep everyone posted. Thirdly, I'll be personally adding more to our newsletters each month and plan to cover a wide scope of topics, so stay tuned.
Pipe smoking and this club are two of the more important things in my life and I've set my goals quite high to make this the premier pipe clubs in the country. I thank you all again for the opportunity to do so.

Sincerely, Dock J. Perry