When I was eighteen years old in 1993 I purchased a 2400 baud modem and dialed into the TSR Online Roundtable on the GEnie online service. I leaped into the community with such enthusiasm that I went from being a relatively new members of the Role Playing Game Association (RPGA) to being elected president of a new online gaming club. At that time, Jean Rabe was the Director of the RPGA. I had more access to her thanks to the online forum so she patiently answered questions and helped me learn what the hell I was doing. Despite being a literal teenager with zero experience, Jean welcomed my input and offered me opportunities to help at conventions. This let me sit in as the RPGA later crafted two new "Living" Campaigns for convention play to follow up the incredibly successful "Living City." (These were the first organized play events that allowed you to bring your own continuous character and level up--your own unique campaign.) So I got to toss a few ideas into the Living Jungle and (especially) the Living Death. I also got quickly identified as "the Dragonlance guy" and in 1996 I was the GenCon coordinator for all RPGA events at the show. These were all baby steps that later let me build a real career in the tabletop games industry, and very much because Jean was welcoming, encouraging, and generous.
Years later I was working on official Dragonlance game products, Jean was the foundational author of the Fifth Age novels, and I was privileged to have her available to consult and contribute. She remained the wonderful lady I first knew as a skinny kid, and talking to her never failed to make me smile.
Jamie Chambers
P.S. Shout-out to Dave Gross and Kevin Melka for also being incredibly awesome and encouraging in my early RPGA days.
