Friend a Day – Jeremy Stomberg

Before Jeremy and I signed on to help create a new convention over fifteen years ago, we’d never met.

At one of the first meetings for the new convention, we needed to decide what the name was going to be.  We’d been calling it Macrocon but many of us didn’t like that name.  In a brainstorming/debate session that took most of an evening, we eventually settled on the name CONvergence.

In the brainstorming and debate that went on, Jeremy first felt that we should keep the name Macrocon and then voted against CONvergence again and again.

Thing is, the moment the name was decided, he was completely on board.  He recognized that he’d been given the opportunity to make his argument and the rest of us weren’t convinced.

Jeremy disagreed with the rest of us a lot.  But he never took it personally when a decision didn’t go his way.

I give him credit for that because I know when the situation was reversed, I did have a tendency to take it personally.

There’s something about the way Jeremy communicates that is nothing short of masterful.  I’ve seen someone try to provoke him in a room full of people and he has always deflected the provocation with grace and style.  He knows when it is time to argue and when it is time to defuse the situation.

He’s been an announcer with the Minnesota Rollergirls for some time now and you can tell he is really enjoying that gig.  He’s naturally comfortable as an emcee and has a great sense of humor.

If Jeremy approaches me with a wry smile and starts to talk very quietly and earnestly, I know that what he is about to say is probably going to make me laugh.  He knows how to tell a joke.

He also knows how to take a joke.  When he is the target, he is always graceful and never takes it personally.

He has a cheerful nature and can laugh at just about anything.  That’s probably why arguments don’t get to him.  He just laughs it off.

The other thing Jeremy has in abundance is confidence.  When he chooses to do something, he takes responsibility to do it right and he has the belief that he will do it right.

I never would have known Jeremy had CONvergence not brought us together.  He’s not the only person who came into my life through the convention but he’s one of best.