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Dear BEN,
The outpouring of love and support from the darts community, over the past few months, has been a
source of great strength for me. I am most grateful for the hundreds of cards, phone calls, e-mail messages, floral tributes, memorial donations, etc. from
throughout this country and the world. The fact that so many players wanted to thank Tom (and me) for touching their lives, is most comforting. Hearing from
people, some of whom I had not seen/heard from in years, has helped me through many long and lonely night!
It has been 36 years since Tom first picked up a dart. Under the 6 years, he
served on their Board, the Southern California Darts Association quadrupled in size. When he co-founded the American Darts Organization, there were 1,000 members. Less than two decades later, he left the ADO with a membership of 70,000. During his 28-year tenure as Treasurer of the World Darts Federation, he saw that organization double in size. Under his leadership, Triple Crown Productions events achieved great success, attracting thousands of players from across this nation and around the world. There is little doubt that Tom Fleetwood left his mark on our sport!
Tom treasured the friendships he made among his fellow organizers. He always
referred to darters as “special,” and was constantly amazed at your generous support of our tournaments and our efforts to prevent child abuse. Tom would have been honored to know that so many of you remembered him and his contributions --- and I will be forever grateful.
Thank you again. I look forward to the opportunity to thank many of you at next
year’s Las Vegas Open --- January 28-30, 2005.
With Love and Respect,
—Della Fleetwood
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