I just posted this as a sysem wide announcement but I know the most of don't read that stuff, so I thought I would post it here and in the FS 2004 forum just in case....The AVSIM staff consists of members from around the globe. We are made of all manner of cultures, religions, both genders, all ages, and from many countries around the world – I don’t think that there are too many “categories” that are not represented within the AVSIM family. And that is as it should be. Our flight sim community’s diversity is wide and that is reflected in our staff of over 40 volunteers.As of today, Wednesday, the 22^nd of December, we have over 62,000 members in the AVSIM forums and thousands of more that are not members, but read the forums every day. I cite that number because it reflects on the quality and maturity of our membership and your contributions to the community each and every day. It is those qualities that generate interest in our hobby and which allow our community to grow. That number and our forum quality deservedly reflect on YOU.Those three things; the quality and maturity of our community, the diversity of that community and our volunteers, are things that we at AVSIM are very proud of. There are others, of course, but these three are the most important and they form the foundation for all other things that we do.Over the last 18 months or so, AVSIM has had its challenges. With community driven contributions and your support, we overcame the darkest time in our history. The speed and degree to which you rallied around AVSIM was truly impressive and put us in awe. Without you, the probability of us being here today would be just about zero.The bottom line is that we thank you for all the above and for your participation and your support of AVSIM throughout the year. Thank you for helping to make AVSIM a home for many thousands of your fellow hobbyists and encouraging many more to join. And thank you especially for your contributions and participation here – it would not be AVSIM if it weren’t for you.Finally, I would like to thank our staff and volunteers. You can find a list of them on our front page - I encourage you to read that list. They work hard each and every day to bring you AVSIM. The time and energy that they put into your AVSIM is truly amazing. The challenges faced by the Library Management Team, the Forum Administrators, the Front Page Editorial Team, the Reviews Team, and our Technical Team, are many. But they overcome and AVSIM continues after nearly 14 years of existence. So, from all of the staff at AVSIM, we wish you a wonderful conclusion to 2010, and prosperity and well being throughout 2011. For those of you who celebrate Christmas; please accept our best wishes to you and yours for the holidays. Be safe. We look forward to seeing you here in the new year.

And the best of the holiday season to you and all at AVSIM, Tom. I can still recall the period when AVSIM was created, in a world of list servers and CompuServe, the idea sounded somewhat strange. As we have come to expect, AVSIM quickly became a "second home" to many of us, one where we usually never see our cohabitants and neighbors, but still share in the communal and common interest of flight and simming.Thanks for all that you all do for us, Bruce.

And the very same to you Tom, 62,000 members as of today huh? (today being my wedding anniversary incidentally!).Avsim has indeed had a tough time over the past 18 months, but I think it is testament to your own resilience that it has rode through the storms with its wings still intact, so from me personally, a big thank you to you and I hope you have a very happy Christmas, you deserve it, because there are at least 62,000 thousand people around the globe whose Christmas would be a little less bright were it not for you and your efforts Tom. :( Al

As one of the 62,000 I'd like to say thanks Tom and all at AVSIM - best site on the web!Merry Christmas to everyone here. :( Ian

Merry Christmas to everyone at AVSIM and thanks for another great year!Best regards,Jim Young

Have a great Christmas and safe travels to all!

Merry Christmas to AVSIM and thank you for the great site. :(

Thank you, Tom. Merry Christmas to you and yours, and to the entire staff at AVSIM!Don Moser

My thanks to Tom and everyone one here at AVSIM for making this such a great site. Happy Holidays to all. :(

Very best wishes for a joyful Christmas season and happy and prosperous New Year to you, Tom, with grateful thanks to all who give their time and effort to make Avsim work. Very best wishes to all the members and readers of Avsim.Best regards.Luis

And the best wishes to you, and the other 61,999 of the forum members. Best hopes for a large expansion in the future! Dave.

Tom as long member of AVSIM, I wanted to join others in wishing you and the AVSIM staff the very best this holiday season. Today is Christmas here in Detroit Michigan and a "White Christmas". You have been an inspiration to me and the way you worked at the AVSIM Socials, I treasure our friendship. Again, Merry Christmas to you and yours and the best in the upcomming New Year.RegardsBob Johnson

Tom as long member of AVSIM, I wanted to join others in wishing you and the AVSIM staff the very best this holiday season. Today is Christmas here in Detroit Michigan and a "White Christmas". You have been an inspiration to me and the way you worked at the AVSIM Socials, I treasure our friendship. Again, Merry Christmas to you and yours and the best in the upcomming New Year.RegardsBob Johnson

BOBBY!!! It is really nice to see you are still a part of the family here. Flown in any B-25's lately? And... more importantly, do you still have those famous yellow shoes of yours?I hope your Christmas was a great one.

Happy Holidays to everyone at AVSIM & thank you AVSIM for what you gave and give to the flightsim community!Wolfgang