That’s the only feeling I can pull up. That and tremendous pride.

One of the most widely read online automotive sites is Jalopnik. It has about 17 million visits a month. Yesterday morning, I got notice that we’re ranked #11 out of 17 in “These are the Best Automotive Events Our Readers Have Ever Attended,” and I don’t know what to say…but I have a lot to say.

When I think back to our start fifteen years ago, I worked on this full-time, never getting a dime from it, always feeding it financially to this day, and always running the business side 95% of the time alone. It felt like such a huge milestone. I couldn’t have been more proud of our 35+ volunteers, all the participants and spectators, and Redmond Town Center, who make it possible. We knew we were a worldwide event and that we were big, but this puts us in the company of some famous annual events—and to think we do it weekly!

This goes beyond just E@RTC. For me, it’s a validation of a management style I’ve practiced for several decades and learned over the years about empowering other people. I manage very little and just set the guardrails around our objectives, brand, standards of conduct, and let people do their best work as they see it. I get out of their way, and they deserve the credit for this. I’m just there to support them. It’s the truly inverted management pyramid. I find out what they need, and I make it happen. They do the rest. Much of our whole philosophy of working with participants and spectators has been the same way. It’s been about getting the friction out of the system and refining what works and what doesn’t. Our ideas come from all directions. While I’m the managing partner and the face of the event, I’ll always put them first.

Here we are, #11, and we never raised a dime of outside money. We have no real sponsors outside of help from Redmond Town Center, who deserve a lot of credit for this, and Fairbourn Properties, who support us. We have about five key volunteers who are experts in their roles, and it all flows from there. We do more with fewer people than any similar-sized corporation, and we do it with fewer hours. We have thousands of participants, tens of thousands of spectators, and we only manage what matters and nothing else. I make sure our brand and our image remain on point, and I draw points of view from all sides, starting with our volunteers. I answer every email, phone call, and howler from someone who’s mad about something.

I’m the voice of our website and our blog, yet I never sign my name, and my credit is buried deep in the site where it belongs. I’ve always wanted our volunteers to get the main credit, the “thank yous” and the handshakes and occasional hugs. I’m happy making sure the trains run on time, and I take on all the politics and difficult moments while insulating all the others as much as possible.

There is absolutely no question that we produce more end product per volunteer and dollar spent than any other similar event in the world. Yet, here I sit, in the middle of nowhere in Missouri, and nobody has any idea how efficiently we run or for that matter much about what I do, except when I come up for air for a post like this. We’re like this invisible company hidden somewhere, yet people love our product and that delights us.

To everyone reading this who has been involved and supports us, thank you just isn’t enough. I feel tremendous gratitude.