Advance the Colors `97 has been moved to a new location and date. The new location is the Holiday Inn and Suites Dayton South, 455 Dryden Road, Moraine, OH and the date is October 3rd, 4th, and 5th, 1997. For details on the move, please read "The Trials and Tribulations of Running a Convention" elsewhere in this issue.

Now that all of the details regarding Advance the Colors `97 have been worked out, it's time to call for GAMEMASTERS for Advance the Colors. In this issue of The Herald is a GM form, if you are interested in running an event, please fill out the form and return it as soon as possible. Board of Directors elections will be held in January of 1998. Those interested in running should submit a

short biography for the newsletter. The biographies will appear in the September/October (next issue) and November/December issues of the newsletter.

Great Lakes is in need of a new editor starting with the January/February '98 issue of the newsletter. I will continue as editor through the end of the year. Interested members should contact Dar yl Smith at 2251 Wayne Madison Rd., Trenton, OH 45067-9760 in writing,

I have been receiving a steady flow of newsletter stuff lately and would like to thank all of those who contributed. If your article isn't in this issue, it will be in future issues. Also, the BoD would like to thank Eric Adamaszek and all of the GMs for the steady supply of WAGS Gamedays events.

There is an item of some interest in the last HMGS-East newsletter, and I would like to discuss it briefly with respect to GL. It seems that HMGS-East had a flawed accounting system that failed to show that they have actually been losing ' money on their last few conventions. The main error was that East failed to break out the membership renewals taken at the convention desk from the admission receipts. Since renewals could total a few thousand dollars at East conventions, the gross earnings were misleading with respect to the financial success of the conventions. Additionally there have been some questions raised about convention directors and assistants getting room and board at the conventions. Some part of the staff from each convention got free rooms and meals for both conventions (Cold Wars and Historicon), and this adds up to a lot of expense for the conventions to cover. Please understand that nobody has been accused of any wrong doing, East is simply auditing their accounting system and practices.

Since I will inevitably be asked about how Great Lakes accounting and conventions are handled, let me answer that now. Earnings from each aspect of the convention are broken out of the gross dollars, allowing the convention directors to know what works and what doesn't. With our small bank account, we probably tend to be a little more paranoid than East. Membership dues are considered as a separate catagory from convention earnings and do not count in the profit or loss of the convention.

Since Rally Round the Flag `95, Great Lakes convention directors pay for there own hotel rooms and meals, and pay admission to get in to our conventions. Prior to 1995, 1 was not involved in GL conventions and don't know how any of this was handled.

Currently, Great Lakes convention directors are not reimbursed for long distance charges, mileage, nor most other incidental expenses. They have been reimbursed for most, but not all copying and postage expenses. The time and expenses incurred have been accepted as the cost of participating in an all volunteer organization.