With all of the negative and political posts that appear here, I need to salute one of our friends, Gabe Vallido. I've never met Gabe personally but he is the type of chipper that makes the hobby fun and gratifying.

To be more specific, my wife is on the Board of Directors of Seattle's Wing Luke Asian Museum. The Museum has an annual dinner and auction as its major fund raiser. Several years ago, I bought a set of the Hollywood Park Chinese New Year chips from Gabe and mentioned that I wanted them to put in the auction. They are a very popular item in the silent auction portion of the fund raiser.

Every year since then, Gabe has contacted me to see if I need the chips for the auction this year. When I say I do, he sells them to me for a price well below the market.

Please join me in saluting Gabe for thinking of others above himself.