Acknowledgments

Thanks to my talented coauthor, Dennis Scheil, whose brilliant mind and vast experience has made this book possible. His suggestions and kindly criticisms were much appreciated. I'd like to thank several of my co-workers : Jonathon Elcomb for helping me get started and keeping me on track, Ryan Johanneson and Brad Hryhoruk for being a source of knowledge (and laughter ), and Martial Marcoux and Marielle Dyck for being a source of encouragement. Finally, thanks to all those who offered me their support during the past few months; you are all greatly appreciated!

”Diana Huggins

There are so many people who have helped me, directly and indirectly, in the preparation of this book. I know I will miss someone, so my apologies in advance if I have forgotten to mention you.

First, a big thank-you to Tom Lamoureux and Bart Reed for their patience and understanding in dealing with a first-time author. Their thoughtful editing suggestions were invaluable, and I often found myself wondering how they managed to decipher some particularly tortured bit of my English syntax, so that they could suggest more understandable sentence structure.

Words cannot express my gratitude to my coauthor, Diana Huggins, who really is responsible for making this book happen. She always was willing to take on a little more and somehow always managed to get everything done by the deadline. No one has ever done more to earn a dinner and Broadway show! Thanks, Diana!

There are certain people who have helped me over the past 20 years who deserve more than just a mention here, but if I wrote about everyone and everything they have done to help and guide me, these acknowledgements would be become Chapter 12. So, hoping not to offend at such a brief mention, thanks (chronologically) to Jimmy Cryer, Joel Sobo, Dean Livingston, Ray Warrick, Walt Kapica, Lowell Higgins, and Tom Prisk. Yes, there are many more, but the rest of you will get your turn with the next book.

I really need to thank my sanity crew. Without their help, friendship, and support, I would have self-destructed during that most interesting period in my life when this book was written. The ESG bunch, Alison, Cindy, and Jenn, kept me relatively sane while everything conspired to drive me nuts. Thanks for absolutely , positively everything to Chris and crew, and Marie et al! And, I would not be writing these acknowledgements at all if it weren't for Carol Small-McGrath, whose words of encouragement came at just the right time.

Finally, any mention of people who have helped my career would be incomplete without a thank-you to my parents, who taught me that anything is possible.

”Dennis Scheil