From Jonathan Masse...

Amazing Victory Lap

I have had the great honor to have known John over the past year in Toastmasters. I have a great amount of gratitude for the TM AM gang for voting John in as our president and for John’s guardian angel for keeping him in office until his 2008 term expired—as it was a true pleasure to watch/ interact/ observe John’s welcoming energy nearly every Tuesday for the past year. He would embrace fellow members with a comfortable ease that would make you feel like you were a lifelong friend, and also took great care and interest in the members in giving them thoughtful words of encouragement and generous feedback that were always delivered with the best intentions: to help you improve. This is how I will best remember John: as a goodhearted mentor.

Listening to his stories over the past 52 weeks, I have to say in hindsight that JT lived his life as if it was indeed his last year on earth: TM president, impacting many of us deeply, christening his boat, raising a family he was extremely proud of, still setting and achieving his goals, and the many other cheerful stories he shared and accomplishments he attained with our group. What an amazing final victory lap of life! I am so grateful he was able to share it with us. He is a true inspiration and outstanding reminder to us all as how to live. He is quite an role model. Should my son grow up to be ½ the man John was, I would consider myself to be twice as successful of a father as I would ever have hoped.

His leadership will be missed greatly, but his time spent will be treasured and serve as an inspiration.

Jonathan Masse