January 16, 2001

RinkChat, NH - This morning marks the beginning of a long and glorious tradition that will be held dear in the hearts of RinkWorks fans for years to come: the RinkAwards, also known as, The Sammies. The first round of voting, which will determine the nominations for this year's awards, begins today and runs through February 19, 2000.

The suspense that will touch most of the world in the days leading up to the annual RinkAwards ceremonies has not always been characteristic of the famed awards program. Nonetheless, even in its present humble beginnings, legions of RinkWorks fanatics, numbering in the dozens, await the results with bated breath. The awards ceremony, during which the winners will be announced live, is expected to draw the largest RinkChat crowd ever seen in what will then be its long sixteen month history.

The RinkAwards ceremony will take place in March; the coordinators of the event have declined to give an exact date. As the ceremony will be the first of its kind, it is noteworthy for being the only RinkAwards proceeding in which the transcript of the previous year's RinkAwards ceremony will not be eligible for an award.

The RinkAwards were jointly conceived by Mr. Gremlinn and Darien K. Dreamweaver in a brainstorming session that took place on March 30, 2000. This session is preserved for posterity in the RinkChat Archive "The Red Button," which is eligible for a number of awards in the upcoming ceremonies. At that time, Dreamweaver coined the term "The Sammy Awards," taking the name from RinkWorks' administrator, Samuel Stoddard. The term later evolved into "The Sammies."

The ballot for the first round of voting is accessible to all registered users of RinkChat and may be viewed at http://www.rinkworks.com/rinkchat/awards/.