~ Dick & Sherry Betker

The one person that had a huge influence on me was my friend, Tom Mordini. It was 1997 that we, I should say I, got very serious about the glass. Instead of looking at the $40 to $90 dollar pieces, all of a sudden, I was checking out the $1,000 to $1,500 dollar pieces.

It was at our convention, the Lincoln-Land convention that year, when I went to Tom's room and talked with him about color, patterns, damage, rarities, etc. I will never forget what he said. He said, "Dick, buy the best colored glass that you can possibly afford and stay away from damage and the very most common patterns and you will do good."

So, that's just what we have done and I don't regret a minute of it. Tom has been over to our home several times and says, "Dick, you took my advice to the max, didn't ya!" We have the collection we have today because of his advice. Thank you Tom.

Always your friend,

Dick Betker