My day with Ronnie James Dio

By Thomas S. Orwat, Jr.

In May of 1998, I had the privilege of having Ronnie James Dio do an in-store signing at the record store that I was the store manager of. The store was called The Wall and located in the Walden Galleria Mall in Cheektowaga, NY.I spent over three hours with Ronnie and it was one of the most memorable events of my life. Ronnie was extremely kind, he signed Cd's for over 300 people on that day. I invited all my family and close friends and introduced them to Ronnie in our stock room before he went into the store to meet and sign CD for his fans. It was rather surreal seeing Ronnie and my father discussing the NHL playoffs together. That entire day was a dream come true for me. I consider myself very fortunate to of had this opportunity to work with the greatest vocalist in metal history. Job well done Mr. Dio, may you rest in peace.