I had seen posts about this fun little experiment called the STEEM Torch a while ago, but it had been off my radar as I hadn't seen too much about it recently. Lo and behold, my pal @nickyhavey received this honor (or honour since he is from the UK) yesterday from the awesome @paulag. No surprise to me as I know Nicky is a stand-up dude.

I somehow had a sneaky suspicion that I might be on Nicky's radar as a possible next bearer in line for the Torch. Still, there is always something gratifying in knowing that you are deemed trustworthy enough to carry forward such a large bounty that has been building month after month. Kudos to @geekgirl for starting this project and having faith that it would have success. There's still a ways to go before it hits the goal of 1,337 touches, but I hope it gets there and the pot goes to a worthy cause at the end!

Since I was pretty clueless to all the rules, here's the basics from the original post for anyone else curious:

Steem Torch Rules:

1. Add 1 Steem or lower amount or nothing at all to the amount received in Steem Torch transfer.
2. Do not decrease the amount received.
3. Use the original memo: Steem Torch Experiment! Count: 1. Please read the Steem Torch Rules at https://steemit.com/steem/@geekgirl/steem-torch before passing it to the next user. and change the count number by adding 1. For example, if the ​received memo is Count: 20, your sending memo will be Count: 21.
4. Choose a Steemian who you would like to pass the Steem Torch to. Preferably someone you trust will follow the Steem Torch rules, is active, and you believe will pass the Steem Torch to the next user.
5. Not required, but recommended to inform the next Torch Keeper of the transfer and follow up after the transfer.
6. Send the Steem Torch with the new amount and memo to the next Torch Keeper as soon as possible.
7. Try not to send it back to the previous Torch Keeper or someone you know already was a Torch Keeper.
8. When Count reaches to 1337 the experiment ends with success. 1337th Torch Keeper can donate the total amount to Steem based charities, Steem projects, distribute to minnows, burn it by sending to @null, or ask the community what to do with it.
9. 1337th Torch Keeper must not keep the funds or use for personal projects.

As an add-on, we are encouraged to do a post and give a shout as to why we're passing the torch on to the next person and also put it out on Twitter if you have an account. Though I consider myself super lucky to know quite a few really rad folks on here that I could easily pass this off to, I settled on my pal @traciyork as lucky number #244.

In case you haven't met Traci's acquaintance, she's one of the most wickedly awesome folks I've met through Steemit. Besides her sharp sense of humor and ridiculously strong gif game, she's one of the biggest cheerleaders for the blockchain. There's only so many people who have gotten popped by Twitter for sharing too many Steem links, and she's one of them. I have no doubt she will bear the Torch with her usual gusto and everyone on Twitter, Facebook, Wordpress and Steemit will know about it. 😜

Also big thanks to my beloved @dksart for pimping out my thumbnail image for the occasion. Gotta love having an artist in the house to help a girl out when she needs it. Can't wait to see what Traci comes up with to add to the digital swag...

You're up @traciyork!

Banners by @woman-onthe-wing, @dksart and @bearone for @steemusa

#sbi-skip