While at Essen, I got to see Udo Schmitz of Carcassonne-on-Tour (CoT) for a few minutes.
Udo has been the most positive driving force for Carcassonne over the last 6 years while has worked for Hans im Glueck to promote Carcassonne across the globe.
I was fortunate enough to meet Udo for the first time at the UKGE in 2015 where he described many of the wonderful events CoT had hosted in Germany.
Due to his wonderful hospitality and love of Carcassonne, we met again at the Carcassonne celebration at Essen 2016. He was without doubt the main reason Dan and I could even attend.
Though the majority of Udo's work has been based in Germany, he's often globe trotting visiting friends and always in the search of the greatest Carcassonne fans.
Even if you've not had the pleasure of meeting him in person, you'll have likely received his benefit; he's often a source of mini-expansions and other rarities, that we share here on the forum!
It's hard for me to express what a big impact Udo has had on my enjoyment of Carcassonne and of the boardgaming hobby.
For example, the First international Carcassonne meetup held in Ostriz in April was a phenomenal event unlike any other.
Unfortunately, Udo's time at Hans im Glueck will cease at the end of 2018.
This is a momentous blow to the Carcassonne Community, but we must will him the best of luck for his new adventure at Schmitz Spiel.
It's very hard to know how Carcassonne will feel without his presence, especially from outside of Germany.
If you're a forum member at Carcassonne-Forum, Udo has shared his goodbye message:
https://www.carcassonne-forum.de/viewtopic.php?f=155&t=4494&sid=dd17f37042e6509752c3a5e34927af64Please take a moment to share your kind words!
Linkback: https://www.carcassonnecentral.com/community/index.php?topic=4113.0