For those of you who did not notice the brief announcement in the News, I am pleased to announce the appointment of a co-moderator for the Repair Forum.

Ron Zorn, accomplished and respected repair guru of Main Street Pens fame was asked by Admin to help out poor overwhelmed little me here with the moderation of the forum, and fortunately for us all, he accepted. I look forward to working with Ron, whom all should be familiar with from his many helpful posts here on the FPN, particularly in the repair section itself.

I would like to invite Ron to please introduce himself and give us a little of his background.

Everyone - I give you Dr. Z....

(Exiting to thundering applause, whistles and swooning young ladies.... )

Gerry

Congratulations to us all to have The Great Ronzorni at our service!

Thanks Ron!

-Tom

And here I am - a late on the uptake..... :doh:

I am honored to be asked to work with Gerry as a moderator here. The folks here on FPN are a great bunch. The bio on my web page tells you a little about me if you're interested in taking a peek.

The start of it all was when a friend gave me a Parkette Deluxe and an Esterbrook SJ. Both needed repair, and both were sent off to a shop down in Philadelphia (now long gone). Granted, it needed a nib, but the $120 bill for the Parkette was a bit of a shock (I still have the receipt). Inspite of that, I decided to start collecting. A Duofold Jr and a Wahl Rosewood followed, along with the bills. Then came the trips to antique shows and garage sales. (sound familiar?) I quickly realised that I would have to learn how to repair pens if I wanted to collect. And brother, did I want to collect!

So I read everything that I could including articles in Pen World, and repair manuals printed by Cliff Lawrence; heard about the Pen Sac Co., ordered sacs and started repairing any pens I could get my hands on. Over the years I've developed an extensive collection, all of which I've repaired myself, learning and refining my skills along the way. I paid in broken pens on occasion, but it's been a lot of fun, and really rewarding.

I've had a lot of help along the way from folks who pointed me in the right direction for materials, or answered my multitude of questions. I try to do the same for others here and at pen shows.

My full time job is as Chief Engineer for the Mars Hill Network. That means that just about anything technical gets thrown at me - audio equipment, transmitters, PC and IT stuff (still learning there!) FCC/legal, satellite uplink systems, station and translator construction. I've been there nearly 25 years, and it's an interesting job, but I like working on pens better!

Married to Robyn (couldn't ask for a better wife), with two boys Aaron and Tyler; active in our church as a deacon/custodian/choir director. Busy life but rewarding. But for fun? Pens, pen repair, reading the pen baords, and FPN in particular.

Thanks for letting me be a part!

Welcome aboard! I know it a big job but it will be rewarding.....
Your story is the same as mine except I have been in the stationary business for over 25 years now so I get submersed in office supplies daily. I started my first purchase 20 years ago and have not stopped since. Now it's collect and repair.
have fun and I look forward to the board with you.