Very sad news indeed. Eric and I were fairly close. I recall the very first convention and its auction, which almost didn't happen because the Las Vegas authorities were concerned about recent fraudulent auctions at hotels.
Eric and I went downtown and negotiated with the Las Vegas people, finally convincing them that our auction would be purely up-and-up. We got them to approve the auction provided that it was open to members only.
To this day, that's how the auction has been run.
Eric incorporated the Club and obtained its 501(C)(3) tax exemption as well. He gave generously of his time to benefit the Club.
He'll be missed by those of us who knew him.