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Wall of Fame
Harry Van Wingerden, Hofkens International partner
Gallery
of photos of Harry and his flower business
Ed Lorenz, "Best Restaurant Flyer in America"
Marty Ladin, Funniest Pigeon Flyer in America
Gurli and Flemming Christensen, Denmark
Flemming has doggedly followed me all over Denmark. As I have said many times before, grading pigeons is very difficult work, and frankly I doubt that many would have followed me every step of the way like Flemming did. Flemming catches on very quickly, and I am sure that he learned a lot on those trips. I must also give Flemming a great deal of credit for his continued attempts at English. Most people would be afraid to look stupid (that is why I don't try to answer Danish) but Flemming just keep plugging away. Sometimes, it provides some real comedy, but this always makes me look forward to his emails! Somehow, I always seem to know what he is trying to say. A Chauffeur's View of Bill "The Book" Richardson
Marcel Gortzen and Wal Zoontjens, Holland
In 2005, Wal attened one of my seminars in Holland and was very interested in what I had to say. Both he and Marcel have sent me many pictures of pigeons and their eyes for my opinion. They are both fine people and I have really enjoyed working with them.
Lisa and Rene Hansen, Denmark
Lisa and I share something of the same sense of humor, so to us everything was funny. Like Gurli, Lisa is a wonderful cook, so Rene, Lisa, and I spent several wonderful nights sitting around the dinner table discussing a variety of subjects. Rene was the driver on the 10 day road trip to Jutland, and because of this he was generally as tired as I was. I can't thank them enough for everything they did for me during this trip. Rene wrote a very nice article about the trip for the Racing Pigeon Digest here in the US, and I will post it here very soon.
The Richardsons at Jujitsu, July 2005 and April 2006
Soon there will be a separate Jujitsu page.
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When
you read my articles, you look at our bands and they say “Book,”
you come to this site, and there I am front and center, you start get
the impression that Hofkens International is a one man band. Very fortunately
for me this is not the case! There is another partner, and he is very
important to me and to the success of Hofkens International. His name
is Harry Van Wingerden, and he is an amazing individual! 
Ed
Lorenz and I first met in 1988 when I asked him to place an entry into
my loft for the UA race. However, it wasn’t until the last several
years that we have become good friends. I have met others with great
race records, and the majority of them have great airlines or send a
lot of pigeons to every race. Yet, when discussing breeding and racing
techniques with them, they rarely impress me with their knowledge. 
I
have many friends in the sport, and most of them are all pigeon. However,
there are a few that have pigeons but are friends for another reason.
Some guys simply bring something else to the table, and without them,
the sport would lose! My good friend Marty Ladin is certainly one of
these. 
I have been friends with Gurli and Flemming Christensen since my trip to Denmark in 2005. They are truly two of the nicest people that a person could ever meet. Gurli has made many wonderful meals during my visits, and because she knows that I love potatoes, she has found many different ways to cook them so that everyone else at the table don't get tired of them.
At one time, both Marcel Gortzen (to the left in the picture) and I wrote for Winning Magazine, and we have been friends ever sense. Marcel is a wonderful guy, and we have had many interesting email exchanges. Marcel is very close with the very well known fancier, Wal Zoontjens, and although Wal does not speak English, we have had several long conversations with the help of Marcel. 
As with Gurli and Flemming Chritensen, the second Danish trip would not have been possible without the help of Lisa and Rene. 
A
lot of my articles talk about the experience my sons and I have had
in Jujitsu. Here are some photos of Nick (the Ironman on the left)
and Jake Richardson in Jujitsu class.