I am sorry to report that Wayne passed on December 6. I am honored to have known him glad I was able to spend some time with him. He was quite a guy.

I've met a lot of special people in the firearms industry but no one I respected more than Wayne Baker. He was a good friend!

I hope he has a kettle full near the gates cooking on the fire when I get there.

He certainly lived a long and productive life. As unassuming a man as you would ever meet, I am glad I spent a little time with him.

Jim, you likely do not remember this, but it was memorable to me! During my first Holiday, you and I were standing next to each other in the crowded Competitor Housing area one morning and looking at guns on a table near the door. My radar locked onto a gorgeous M83 Freedom Arms that was magnificently engraved in the European style... and I recognized it from pictures in JT's book. "Isn't that Wayne Baker's engraved M83?", I asked. You leaned forward, yelled "Wayne!", and the guy dressed in blue Dickies with his back to us, standing on my immediate left, turned around... "Wayne, this is John K., and he is asking about your M83".

That's how I met Wayne Baker.

John K.

and I am happy to be a part of it.

Oh my yes! I was so impressed that the president of the gun company would cook for us!!