I was first licensed in 1992 when I was about 50.  I first got involved 
with SAR communications, running nets, and interested in repeaters, but 
didn't really get serious about this until I retired in 2005.  D-STAR 
was just being introduced and I thought it had a lot of potential.  I 
managed to get a repeater running, the first in New Mexico, and have 
managed to keep it going since then.  Watching the growth and changes in 
the D-STAR environment has been fascinating and it seems there are 
always intriguing new developments.  I just hope I can get this message 
across.  Ed's slides provide a visual tour of both the history and 
future for D-STAR.