Final update regarding Dave of Dave's Garden

IB and I were not able to come to an acceptable agreement regarding the role they wanted for me at Dave's Garden. Accordingly, my affiliation with Dave's Garden ended on Friday evening.

I do have a continued obligation to NameMedia to ensure that the technical transition of Dave's Garden to IB's servers is successfully concluded. I will be working with IB's technical staff during the next 5 to 6 weeks to provide whatever technical assistance they need during that time. I am doing this as an employee of NameMedia and it will be my final act as an employee with them.

I plan to maintain my membership at Dave's Garden for now, but I am in no way affiliated or associated with the site, other than as a regular member like everyone else, and I'm not being compensated in any way by IB. Any continued presence on the site by me is neither a rejection nor an endorsement of IB.

I'm moving on to another project, one that will perhaps be larger and more challenging than DG ever was. It won't replace DG and never will. It's not in my nature to sit still and not do anything challenging and productive. Although I have no agreement with IB not to compete with DG, and while my project may be used by some people to provide gardening-related services similar to DG, it is not intended to compete with this site and I do not want to pull anybody away from DG. I conceived of the idea a month ago, when I was originally told that I would not be invited to stay with DG. I think the idea is fresh and brimming with excitement and energy. So that's where I'm headed now, and I'm not selling this next one. I'm planning on growing it big and enabling hundreds of people to, in effect, go into business with me.

It has been a distinct pleasure being the Dave of Dave's Garden for 9 and a half years. Each of you have had an impact on me personally, some in a small way and others in a huge way. You are all valuable and important people and I appreciate you and your being on this fun journey with me. It's been a real honor to have been followed through this adventure for all this time.

I want to briefly mention NameMedia. They brought DG in 3 years ago at a time when we were at a critical moment. We were able to pay our salaries but not more than that, and we were being challenged by legal problems. Our growth was being hampered and the stress level was way too high. NameMedia solved all that for us, and treated us better than I ever expected they would.

Jeff Bennett (NameMedia founder) and Ted McNulty (Director of Sales) are the two finest men I have ever worked with. They are professionals with integrity, skill and intellect. Jeff and Ted always shared my concern to make sure that every decision made for DG was done with the members' concerns first and foremost. They understood DG just as well as I do, and they turned down countless revenue opportunities because the community came first. They gave me complete and absolute authority over the site because they trusted that I would always do what's right for the community and for the company. I always appreciated that trust and latitude. I said it elsewhere, and I'll say it again: you can never know how much NameMedia did to benefit DG. I wish they didn't have to sell it, but I understand and accept why they did. There are dozens of similar people at NameMedia I could also mention, but I'm trying to make this brief (too late for that, I know).

Lastly, and most importantly, I want to thank my wife Trish for being there with me from Day One, staying up late working alongside me in the early days of the site and being my partner through this all the way until the end. She spent countless thousands of hours working with me, listening to me discuss problems and helping me find solutions. Nobody but me can know what an impact she's had on this site but I promise you that there would be no Dave's Garden if it wasn't for her loyalty to me, her patience with me and her tireless efforts.

With that, I bid all of you a very fond farewell.

Dave

Thank you Dave, I can't express how your post made me, and I am sure all the members here, feel; upset, sad but with new hope for future exciting ventures and interests. One door closed and another one opens. A new chapter. Wish your run here had ended differently. Wish we had that group hug emotion smiley here. :-)

This is a very impressive site. I've learned a lot and hope the work you started will continue to serve the gardening community.
That being said I also am excited to watch your new project develop.Where it will go, who knows, but I for one have every hope that it will grow to be a great community like this one.
Thank you Dave and Trish.

Dave, that's a very gracious farewell speech and I hope everyone takes it to heart. Maybe now the conjecture and clamor will calm down. I hope so. I must say that I think you've created a molehill destined to be a volcano. It is an incredibly interesting concept and I suspect it will be astonishingly successful. I've become a member of just a few and must confess I'm afraid to join many more! Best of luck to you and your family. See you 'over there'!

I wanted to add more to my post above, but I was getting long winded enough... I could talk and talk for hours about my feelings and the people I have come to know through this site. If I start naming names and telling stories, I'd be writing for hours and I'd need to find a publisher to just print it for everyone. :)

There comes a point where you have to lay down the keyboard and just say goodbye, but that doesn't mean that there isn't a whole world of happy words that can be said.

Dave & Trish....It has been such a pleasure knowing you...sometimes I feel that I have been a pain ..in your side... but I hope you will still put up with me...Jo

Jo, I don't remember you ever being a pain in our side! (Maybe you were, but I certainly don't remember it!!)

LOL Glad you have a short memory!!! I am always emailing, Dmailing..and Cmailing ya'll to ask questions that I didn't want anyone to know how dumb I am....but I love this place too much to leave.

Thank you Dave and Trish for creating this Garden. You can be proud of what you have done here.
I wish you as much and more success on your next venture.

A class act.

Wow! I'm sorry it ended this way. Thanks for all you and your team did for this site.
Laura

Thank you Dave and Trish for the many many years. Thankyou for creating Dg and expanding my world of knowledge and friendships.

A real builder never stops building just one home if he loves his craft and wants to keep his skill sharpened. You built a great home here. May the new home contain as much love as this one does.

Okay, I have tears.

Well said, Star.
Thank you, Trish and Dave.

I admire you greatly and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for creating & maintaining this shining star of a website. There is no other place like it.

I think of what Ethel said to Norman in "On Golden Pond" but I do picture you, Dave, already seated and giving Trish a hand up onto that horse:
"Listen to me, mister. You're my knight in shining armor. Don't forget it. You're going to get back on that horse and I'm going to be right behind you, holding on tight and away we're going to go, go, go!"

Cheering for you Dave & Trish. Hip Hip Hoorah

Dave and Trish and you team of special people..... you will never know how much this site has meant to many of us, especially me. Thank you so much for all the friends DG has blessed me with over the last 8 years. These years have been truly memorable. Thank you too for the new port in the storm where we can find refuge, fun and new friends.
Joy

Thank you Dave and Trish for this amazing site!

I've always been a gardener. When I came here almost 4 years ago, I was a regular gardener. Now after being with all the wonderful enablers here I have am now an obsessive gardener like so many of the others.............and for that I must Thank You, because I have loved every minute of it! I'm sorry your stay at DG has ended the way it has, but your new site is getting better by the day and I know you'll make it just as great if not even better!

Steven

::sniff, sniff:: Dave, I am grateful to have stumbled across this great website built by you, and honored to have met you. Good luck in all your endeavors. I know you'll be a success in whatever you do. See you in the next plane.

Harper

I have been here since 2003 and it has been an amazing journey. Thank you Dave and Trish for making this site the most phenomenal website anywhere.

Thanks also to Trish!!! I'm excited to see where things will go in the future.

I am feeling so sad. To see your name without all of the embellishments just tears me up. (That was tears, pronounced tares, but the tears, pronounced teers, are here too.)

I remember when I had trouble signing up, and a guy named Dave helped me. I thought it was a coincidence. Then there was the Dave, administrator, but I still didn't realize that it was one and the same. I was blown away when I found out that this person talking to us, helping us, working with us, was THE Dave of Dave's Garden. Then I met Dave at a roundup - just a very nice young man, with a very nice young wife - a gardener. Not at all what I expected.

I have continued to be impressed by the personal attention and the integrity you have brought to this web site. Your gentle looks and demeanor belies your strength. And that made this site a safe place to play in. Thank you for that.

I pray the Lord will continue to bless you and Trish, and your children.

An era has passed, and I'm just glad I was a part of it. It will never be the same.

I've been a member of DG for only about a month now and guess I joined at a turning point. I have followed the situation from the beginning and admire how both you and Trish have handled it. You are a very classy couple with so much love for each other and it shows in everything you do. Thank you. Its going to be another great adventure. What a novel idea you have come up with and its successful already. I'm so glad to be on the ground floor of your new creation and will enjoy being a part of its growth.

Thank you for being you................Jan

Must be amazing to start with a bunch of software code and see it morph into a place where strangers are not only welcomed, but where they become family before your very eyes. It's truly a gift that will keep giving for many, many years. Thank you, Dave & Trish.

I had an experience very similar to ceejaytown and I feel very much the same way. Couldn't have said it better myself.

My gratitude Dave and Trish for this wonderful site.
Here I've learnt to cultivate beautiful flora and along the way, nurture priceless friendships.

God bless you both!

Dave and Trish, I wish you both the best. I'm saddened to hear the news and hope we at least see you on the forums.

Maybe we'll meet... somewhere else on the 'net. Best of luck in your new venture. You will be missed in your old position here because you did it so well.

Karen

Thank you so much for all the joy I have found on this site. It renewed my faith in people at a time when I truly needed it. I'm so sorry DG ended this way but I look forward to many more years on your new venture.
Thank you again.

Ceejay said it all and more.
Having been here just like her, getting help and making suggestions that materialize into actual changes, all of us gardeners have had a hand in seeing you succeed with DG. This world wide site will go on, not because of IB but because of the foundation that you have released to them. I will remain on this site and enjoy the plantfiles, bugfiles, and so much more that I have relied on in years past. But also, I am excited to join a new and different site with you to see what transpires there.

Thanks Dave and Trish ((hugs!)) ...I too wish the group hug smiley was available!
Sheila

Dave, you and Trish will both make a new beginning, it may take time, but we all have the greatest faith in both of you!It has been a great ride. We are all like an extended family that is losing an uncle......Uncle Dave.....? well skip that part...:-)

Good luck and keep us posted.

Kyle :-)

Iowa

Dave and Trish, it is sad that you won't be in charge of DG any longer, but I think you are going to do just great in your new venture.
Have fun and keep up the good work.
Josephine.

Dave: I am not a frequent poster, but just had to express my gratitude to you and Trish for this awesome site you created. It has been my favorite and most frequented website since finding it a few years ago. I am thrilled to have been a small part of this, and am grateful for the friends I have made here, and the knowledge I have gained.
My best wishes to you and Trish on your future endeavors, and thank you again for making DG the wonderful, friendly site that is is today. Your presence will be missed here.

Ditto to what everyone has already said. Dave & Trish, you are indeed a class act! My thanks and gratitude to you both for being a part of all of our lives and sharing this wonderful creation of Dave's Garden. I know you will have great success with your new endeavors. Wishing all the best to you and your family.

Lin

Very and consistently gracious.

I'm still looking forward with great enthusiasm to the new project. Going to be fun!

Don't look back.

Best wishes (to everyone!)
Susie

Thank you Dave and Trish without you my life would have been very miserable during my husbands illness. One day my daughter suggested to me to buy a computer because it would afford me a bit of a respite. I thought, how silly what do I know about computers, don't even know how to type. One day she arrived with one and said, she will show me how it works and about things I might be interested in. I was not interested in anything at all except taken care of her Dad. She came right back saying how much I enjoyed gardening and about that I was quite a cook. She found DG for me and though I did not join right away, was to much of afraid till I felt more secure a year later, I am still thanking her for introducing me to your site without it the last years would have been a lot worse I have made so many wonderful friends who helped through with their comforting posts.

I will miss you as our great leader, no one but no one will ever take your place.
Maria

Sending ((((( Hugs ))))) out to everyone! ^_^

Good luck Dave and Trish in your new endeavor.

Margaret

Dave and Trish...I think unless you are the first to reply, there isn't much to say that hasn't already been said in so many ways and so very well. So, ditto to all the above.

A heartfelt thank you so much for all you've both done and sacrificed to create the child you gave the Gardening World. It has been a pleasure being part of its growth. Now we still get to enjoy your creation, while being a part of your newest endeavor. I wish you both only the very best...and lots of fun while you're doing it!

I have a yellowed piece of paper I've kept on my wall wherever I've lived for at least 35-40 years. No idea where I got it or who the author is, but I share it with special people. You, Trish and the rest of the DG ladies are very special. It says:

The Universe Is In Perfect Order: The stars, the moon, and the sun are all operating in perfect divine right order. There is an order, a rhythm and a purpose to their pathways. I am part of the Universe; therefore, I know that there is an order, a rhythm and a purpose to my life. Sometimes my life may seem to be in chaos and yet in back of the chaos I know there is a divine order. As I put my mind in order and learn my lessons, the chaos disappears and then order comes back. I trust that my life is really in perfect divine right order. All is well in my world.

Barbara

"Instead, what I've learned in managing situations like this is that I (we / Internet Brands) have to perform. We have to listen to what people are saying, we have to set bars high and we have to continue to prove ourselves so that we can build your respect. It's not something that happens over night, instead it is a constant challenge."

Hmmm... they were listening, but Dave's Garden is no longer run by Dave. Listening and hearing obviously are not one and the same.

Karen

I wasn't going to have my say but as usual I can't keep my mouth shut.
I'm trying not to look at this as an end but a beginning. I have joined the other site (can't figure out how to get around it but...) but I still love DG.
When you have built something, like Dave and Trish built DG, you always leave a piece of your self no matter what happens in the real world of business.
I truly think that DG will be fine with out Dave, because of all that he has done. I have learned So much here that I have been able to turn a hobby into a business. This could not have happen with out ALL of your contributions. Which I really don't want to loss.
I think the new site will also do great, I don't want to sound phony but over the years I have learned that things happen for a reason. If Dave developed a winner with DG then his expertise will be well used developing the new site too.
I realize that DG will no longer be run by Dave but once a business is sold, unless there are contractual stipulations, you give up some or all of the control, just like when anything else is sold.
You cant have it both ways. So now on to bigger and better things
Lisa

This message was edited Feb 7, 2010 8:15 PM

Usually the second product a company develops does better than the first.

I'm optimistic and my glass is FULL!