by Maj. Bill Harting
The Mid-South Region of the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society is an organization of persons devoted to the promotion of the hobby of Military History and Wargaming. It was created in June of 1988 by wargaming groups from Nashville, Columbia and the Highland Rim of Middle Tennessee. The society is a non-profit organization incorporated in the State of Tennessee and serving members throughout the country but located primarily south of the Mason-Dixon and East of the Mississippi. Mid-South has, as of this writing, the second largest membership in the nation (only the East Region has more members). The Society functions as a contact point for wargamers by way of the Directory of Members it publishes. This listing, free to all members, contains the names, addresses and phone numbers. In short, most everything that you would need to meet a group of people interested in any given period and enjoy the activities of the society. The society also promotes the study of military history and conflict simulation both to the general public at large and at schools by using historical miniatures to help bring history `alive'. We also sponsor conventions and demonstration games open to the general public to further our goals. HMGS Mid-South is an accredited Region of the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society, one of ten such Regions currently recognized by the National Board of Directors of HMGS. Each Region is responsible for their own activities and membership in one Region is recognized by the others for benefits such as reduced admission to HMGS sponsored events. Normally, additional specific benefits (e.g: newsletters, discounts) accrue only to members of that Region. Essentially, each Region is a separate corporate entity, acting in concert more as a confederation rather than any stronger affiliation. HMGS NATIONAL BOARD: East: David Bonk 720 Bennington Dr. Raleigh, NC 27615 919-848-7835
HMGS Sections within the Region: Now that you have read all the P.R. just what really is HMGS Mid-South? As of this writing there are 32 active gaming groups are affiliated with us as HMGS Mid-South Sections where regular gaming takes place. If you wish for your group to be recognized as a Section within HMGS Mid-South and included in this listing, please contact Maj Bill Harting, 101 Taylor Rd., Estill Springs, TN 37330. The Sections are listed below: HARTSELLE-HUNTSVILLE, AL. POC: John Bili, 503 W. Broadway, Hartselle, AL 35640, 205-773-0323. FAYETTEVILLE AR - NORTHWEST ARKANSAS HISTORICALLY ORIENTED GAMING SECTION (HOGS). They meet the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of each month. Of particular interest is Chuck Blouin's 32'x22' game board, raised 4' off the floor. Commanders roll around under in on chairs and come up through holes in the table to move their units (shades of Brigadier Peter Young!) POC: Grady West, 13737 Viney Grove Rd., Prairie Grove, AR 72753, 501-846-3766 MONOCRACY GAMERS Monocracy, MD. Meets the 2nd Saturday (2pm) and last Tuesday (6pm) of each month at Roy Rogers Family Restaurant, Hwy 26 & Trading Lane, N of Frederick, MD. POC: Ken Carter - 301-834-6516, or Jim Butters - 301-696-1653. MIAMI, FL - SFGA. The South Florida Gamers Association is our main Section in the ares. POC: Andy Petry, 931 Lyons Rd., Coconut Creek, FL 33063, (W) 904-338-3430. ORLANDO, FL. POC: Jim Boyle, 755 Bernice Ct., Orlando, FL 32825, 407-281-6971. ATLANTA GA - ATLANTA MINIATURE WARGAMING SOCIETY. The oldest gaming group in the Atlanta area, formed by S. Craig Taylor (of Avalon Hill fame) on or before 1972. The group is arrogantly disorganized (their words, not ours), as evidenced that their president moved to Alabama about 10 years ago and has yet to be replaced. POC: Bill McGinnis, 2158 Superior Place, Decatur, GA 30033, 404-321-5826 ATLANTA, GA - ATLANTA SOUTHSIDE WARGAMERS ASSOCIATION. POC: Donald Jenkins 100 Grenoble Road Peachtree City, GA 30269 404-487-8781 or Fred Schaller, 1690 Old Rex Morrow Rd., Morrow, GA 30260, 404-961-9976. MARIETTA, GA-KENNESAW MOUNTAIN WARGAMERS. These Cobb County gamers meet monthly, usually on the 1st or 2nd Saturday for friendly, laid back games of almost any period. The group welcomes anyone who is interested. Meetings are held in Bill Amick's basement. POC: Bill Amick, 4068 Ophie Dr., Marietta, GA 30066, 770-565-8038. GAINESVILLE, GA - THE GAINESVILLE GRENADIERS. Formed in 1992 around stalwart Ed Thilenius and the gamers in the area. Ed states they are expanding their horizons as time goes by. Newcomers are welcome. POC: Ed Thilenius, 415 Adair St., Gainesville, GA 30501, 706-532-8740. AUGUSTA AND EAST GEORGIA. Jim Birdseye, the Napoleonics editor of the Courier is our main man. The Section holds monthly games at the ROTC building of Augusta College and Jim is the guiding hand behind the SIEGE OF AUGUSTA HMGS convention held each January. POC: Jim Birdseye, 2538 Yorkshire Dr., Augusta, GA 30909, 706-737-5735. COLUMBUS, GA - FT BENNING. Wargaming in and around Ft Benning is actively supported by our man Mike Graziano, who proudly espouses his ancestry to include `Old Electric Whiskers' of Western Desert fame (or is that infamy?). INFANTRYCON, an HMGS event is held at the Infantry School in December. POC: Mike Graziano, 514 46th St., Columbus, GA 31904, 706-322-3631. BOWLING GREEN, KY - THE BATTERY. Actually located in Rockville, KY south of Bowling Green, Spike Spikberg hosts games at his 2 1/2 acre spread on 3 4x8 tables with terrain and miniatures to match. Meetings are on Saturdays, and the only house rules are no drinking and no swearing as neophytes are welcome, nay encouraged and do not need to be corrupted by we grizzled veterans. Call ahead on Thursdays to find out what is playing on Saturday. POC: Spike Spikberg, POB 124, 10560 Russelville Rd., Rockville, KY 42274, 502-842-5585 ST LOUIS, MO - SAGA This is a unique Section due to their proximity to three HMGS regions and as such members can and do owe allegiance in all three directions under the auspices of SAGA (St Louis Area Gamers Association). POC: Kevin Fitzpatrick, C/O Games, Crafts, Hobbies and Stuff, 9220 Lackland Rd., Overland, MO 63114, 314-423-2199, email: KFitzgchs@aol.com OXFORD MS - N. MISSISSIPPI MILITARY GAMING SOCIETY. POC: Cowan Hunter, 801 Frontage Rd., Oxford, MS 38655, 601-236-2631 Amory, MS -TOMBIGBEE RANGERS Mike Farrar as their point of contact. You can reach Mike at 405 3rd St. S., Amory, MS 38821. They meet on the last Wednesday of the month at a member's home. HATTIESBURG, MS - HATTIESBURG KRIEGSPIELERS. POC: Wayne Trovinger, Box 1854, Laurel, MS 39441-1854 601-425-4374, email: BigTimeTC@aol.com HATTIESBURG, MS - HATTIESBURG FUSILIERS. Meets Tuesday evenings & occasional weekends. Vince Clyant, 41 Beverly Hills Loop, Petal, MS 39465, 601-584-8533. CHARLOTTE, NC The Section meets the last Saturday of the month and no experience is necessary to come and play. POC: Jim Brokaw, 3611 Quail Ridge Rd., Matthews, NC 28105, 704-846-1652. RALEIGH, NC - TRIANGLE SIMULATION SOCIETY. Meets one Saturday each month except for the months of Cold Wars and Historicon. Sponsors "Southern Front" wargames convention every Veterans Day. All periods and scales; newcomers are welcome. POC: Preston Buck, Rt 3 Box 129A, Angier, NC 27501, 919-639-4500. GREENVILLE, SC - UPSTATE SC WARGAMING SOCIETY. Meets monthly at the Greenville County Public Library, All historical periods and scales. This group publishes "The Objective", a free newsletter available to all members. POC: Tim Walker, 210 Reisling Way, Mauldin, SC 29662, 803-281-0488, email: WavemanWT@aol.com NASHVILLE, TN - THE NASHVILLE VANGUARD. The Vanguard was formed at the same time as the first organizational meetings for the Mid-South Region. The real catalyst was the opening in 1987 of Games Extraordinaire (since closed). Some people accuse Maj Bill of being the father of the Mid-South Region. If that's so, then Gavin Gosset and Stu Merrill are the midwives, and much of what this organization is, is due to their efforts and support. The group is the prime instigators of NASHCON, Mid-South's Flagship convention. POC is Buddy McPeak: 1011 Waters Edge Cle, Mt Juliet, TN 37122, (H) 615-754-6376. NASHVILLE, TN - NASHVILLE TRACK & HULL CLUB. An offshoot of the Vanguard, as their name implies they are interested is 20th Century warfare, Land, Naval and Air, thou other eras are gamed as well. They meet regularly on Tuesday evenings and have over 5000 vehicles plus ships and aircraft available for action. The POC is Dan Lewis, 542 Brooksboro Terr., Nashville, TN 37217, 366-1375. TULLAHOMA, TN - HIGHLAND RIM HISTORICAL GAMERS. Originally formed in 1980 by Bill Harting and Barry West plus anyone else who could be dragooned (usually from the Air Force base). The group has gamed continuously ever since. After Bill's retirement from the Air Force, the headquarters were moved to his home in Estill Springs. Games are held weekly, usually on Thursday evenings. Call ahead as space is limited, although new players can usually be squeezed in. Between Bill and Barry they have over 40,000 miniatures available. POC is Maj Bill Harting, USAF (Ret), 101 Taylor Rd., Estill Springs, TN 37330, 931-649-5366. COLUMBIA, TN - MAURY COUNTY LIGHT ARTILLERY. Formed around another `old grongard', this time Bob Duncan, this group has been in existence since 1983. The group is quite active, with monthly meetings held on Saturdays at a building that Bob owns with a 24' custom built gaming table. The group has over 30,000 miniatures available. Bob is also responsible for starting our, WARGAMER'S REUNION convention, held in October-November. POC Bob Duncan, 609 W. 7th St (business), Columbia, TN 38401, 931-388-4418. MEMPHIS, TN - PERKINS STREET IRREGULARS. A shop based group in the Memphis area. POC: Duane Leavesley, 3527 Blackberry Bush Rd. Apt 1, Memphis,TN 38115-8104 901-368-4661 email: RatOgre@aol.com KNOXVILLE, TN. A n active group in Knoxville, TN run by Mike Kennedy. POC: Mike Kennedy,10820 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37922, 423-524-0125. KNOXVILLE, TN East. The man to see is a guy who is very active in the gaming community there, Mark Spruiell, 6438 Norwood Dr., Knoxville, TN 37914, 423-637-7844. CHATTANOOGA, TN. They are always looking for a few good men, meeting Wednesday evenings 7pm to 10:30 or so at the Constitution Hall at Ft Oglethorpe, which is about a mile from the visitor center of the Chickamauga Battlefield park. The group is held together by two stalwarts, Tim Lee and Howard Whitehouse. Contact Tim at 903 Garden St., Rossville, GA 30741, 706-866-2898 or Howard at 706-638-8199. HOHENFELS, GERMANY: Meets monthly (or more often) as work schedules permit. All periods and scales; newcomers are welcome. AT LARGE HMGSGI MEMBERS Not as much a section within the Region as an idea, this service is for our Service members and others who move frequently or those who do not live in the South but wished they did. The POC is Cpt Pete Panzeri AUS, or Maj Bill Harting, USAF (Ret), 101 Taylor Rd., Estill Springs, TN 37330, 931-649-5366. The most recent international Club to become an HMGS affiliate under HMGS GI is the ARSM HMGS Club Roma in Rome Italy. HMGS-Club Roma: ARSM (Associazione Romana di Storia Militare : Military History Association of Roma) Club Location: Via Gaspare Gozzi 137 - Roma (Italy) Arturo Filippo Lorioli: Via Cipro 47; 00136 Roma, ITALY. e-Mail: lorioli@compuser ve.com Tel. ITALY-6-39733723 Fax. ITALY-6-38378229 FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN WARGAMERS Another idea more than a section, these folks meet on Sunday mornings at conventions for a Prayer Breakfast. POC: Dr Jim Birdseye, 2538 Yorkshire Dr., Augusta, GA 30909. 706-737-5735. MID-SOUTH DIRECTORS 1994-96
Dr Jim Birdseye, 2538 Yorkshire Dr., Augusta, GA 30909, 706-737-5735. Mid-South Operating Officers:
President: Maj Bill Harting, 101 Taylor Rd., Estill Springs, TN 37330,
931-649-5366. email: majorbill@united.net CONTACTS IN OTHER REGIONS: HMGS-East: President, Bob Giglio, 5732 Goldfinch Ct., Ellicott City, MD
21043, 410-465-7688 HMGS East NBoD David Bonk 720 Bennington Dr. Raleigh NC 27615 919-848-7835
East Newsletter: Ltc Bill Gray, 2727 Duke St., Apt 1106, Alexandria, VA
22314, 703-461-6723. email: ltcgray@ usa.pipeline.com Webpage
http://www.erinet.com/bp/hmgseast.html HMGS Mid-South NBoD: Maj Bill Harting, 101 Taylor Rd., Estill Springs, TN
37330, 931-649-5366. email: majorbill@united.net Newsletter same as above.
web:http://www.geocities.com/Times Square/Alley/5051/hmgs.html HMGS Midwest pres and Newsletter Editor
Randy Giesey 1775 Ashford Circle, Wheeling, IL 60102 Phone H 847-215-1042
or W 847-647-3673 Email at rgiesey@aol.com Webpage at
http://user.aol.com/littlewars/lwmain.htm HMGS Midwest NBoD: Harold Johnson, 315 Haskins, Lake Geneva, WI 53147 Phone H 414-248-2466 or W 414-248-3625 Great Lakes NBoD: Matt Davidson jmd@your-net.com GulfSouth Pres: open
GulfSouth News: Mike McClellan, POB 5393, Biloxi, MS 39534, 601-872-4517
email: 75757.2431@compuserve.com Tornado Alley: President: Orval Darrow
Greyeyeso@aol.com Pacific Northwest pres: Tim McNulty, 12518 Reservoir Rd.E. Puyallup, WA
98374, 206-770-0957 PNW Natl Rep John W. Fisher, Jr, 16520 North Road, B-208 Bothell, WA 98012 Phones 206-742-9569 or 206-314-2689 Email: dukejr1@aol.com or johnf@abs.com Pacific Southwest: Tim Daun, pres. POB 701, Norwalk, CA 90651-1646.
PSW news: John McKiernan & Chris Snell, 6520 West 84th Place, Los Angeles,
CA 90045 Phones 310-645-8541 (John) or 310-375-1854 (Chris) PSW'S Web site:
http://www.west.net/~howie /hmgspsw.html HMGS South (Tampa area) Newsletter Editor: Craig Martelle,1203 English
Bluffs Ct, Brandon, FL 33511 Phone 813-653-3676 Email at
CMartelle@oasistech.com HMGS West Newsletter Editor Don Hildreth, PO Box 7791, Auburn, CA 95604-7791 Ph: 916-887-9817 Back to Dispatch Nov. 98 Table of Contents Back to Dispatch List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1998 by HMGS Mid-South This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com |