The Board of Directors met Nov. 7 at the Bob Evans at I-71 and US 35. Present were Matt Davidson (president), Ray Garbee (chairman), Scott Savory (treasurer), and Darryl Smith (secretary). Absent was Ferkin Doyle. Numerous topics were discussed at this meeting.

Savory presented a final report on the financial end of Advance The Colors'98, which is listed elsewhere in this issue. As was projected, ATC '98 did lose a little money, mainly due to the increased rental cost of the Holiday Inn. However, as attendance was up over 33% and membership dues reached an all-time high, the loss was minimal. The Board believes that the success of this year's show should be measured in the enjoyable time that was seemingly had by all and this success will translate into even better attendance for ATC'99.

Smith presented a compilation of the e-mail survey that was sent out to members with internet access. The responses that were received were favorable, for the most part. The convention staff will look over the comments and suggestions that were made and will try to use them to improve ATC'99. You can find those responses in the next issue.

Garbee brought up the topic of the Great Lakes website. This website is presented to us at no cost by Great Lakes member Bob French. Garbee has discussed with Bob the idea of expanding and enhancing the site. Bob has graciously allowed us to make changes that will give both the members and visitors to the site an experience that captures the essence of Great Lakes: Communication. We will seek to add pages to the site that will cover the following'. regional gaming group listings (with the addresses, including e-mail, of contact points) - a listing of the current "Friends of HMGS Great Lakes" - links to historical attractions across the region; an events calendar that will list regional conventions and HMGS Game Days; a page dedicated to Advance The Colors; select articles from previous issues of "The Herald" - and a page that will discuss other upcoming Great Lakes conventions. The board also realizes the need for updated information and will make a conscious effort to keep the website current. Look for these changes and improvements over the next few months.

Davidson brought up the topic of the National Board of Directors. It seems as though Maj. Bill Harting of the Midsouth chapter has discussed the topic of disbanding the NBOD. We discussed at some length whether Great Lakes should allow the current NBOD to continue to run amuck, or it we should support the disbandment of the NBOD. After much hashing it over, the board members present voted unanimously to vote to disband the NBOD if such a measure should be deemed necessary. We have taken the stance that the current NBOD has failed miserably to perform some basic tasks that are a must for that organization to exist. Many promises have been made, but very, very few have been kept. For example, a national insurance policy for HMGS conventions has been talked about for years, but nothing has been accomplished.

We also do not agree with the NBOD's decision to throw out their own requirements for chapter accreditation and make an allowance for "Gamers International" to be recognized as a provisional chapter. We believe that if Great Lakes had to jump through the NBOD's hoops, so should every other group who seeks to become an HMGS chapter. GI has only a handful of members, nowhere near the 100 required. If such exceptions are going to be made, then the NBOD needs to step in and help those gamers in the Rocky Mountain area who -- due to lack of interest or sparsity of population -- had their chapter go defunct a few years ago.

Also, the NBOD has failed to coordinate efforts between chapters. The East chapter decided that they were going to hold a third convention in the Autumn (Fall-In), although there were already two existing conventions (Border Wars and Advance The Colors) that are held during that season. We felt that hosting Fall-In does not promote historical gaming, and surely affects the potential growth of the aforementioned conventions. The East chapter already had in place two very large conventions that other chapters had to work around. Then, simply to fill its bulging coffers even more, decided to hold another show. How many non-gamers are attending Fall-In? Few or none, I think. So much for bringing in "new blood" to the hobby.

The NBOD has also failed to establish regional boundaries between chapters. We do not seek to recruit members from areas we consider to be a part of another chapter. If we receive an inquiry from a gamer who lives in another region, we try to direct them to the appropriate chapter in their area. This does not mean we believe a gamer can't be a member of any chapter they choose (hey, I was a member of East for a couple of years), but the chapters should have distinct areas that they can actively solicit gamers from. When the editor of the Heart of America newsletter moved to Indianapolis (between the Mid-West and Great Lakes chapters), do you think he recruited for us? No, he worked to get members into Heart of America, which is centered in Kansas City. Hey, I don't blame him, but it Isn't in the best interest of the gamers.

Based on these issues, as well as a few others, Great Lakes believes the current NBOD be disbanded and another, more proactive organization take it's place. This new group would function as an informational body, seeking to improve coordination between chapters, produce a national newsletter and/or mailing list, and be responsible for promotion materials to recruit nongamers into the hobby -- not just HMGS. This body would be funded by the chapters, but at a smaller rate, perhaps 50 cents per member (currently the NBOD annually takes $1 per member in every chapter). The current treasury (nearly $10,000) should be partially redistributed back to the chapters who have better control on how to manage their monies. We suggest that the new organization keep half of that treasury to be able to enact on the above suggestions. What the composition of this body would entail is undecided at this point, but each chapter should have an equal say.

Smith discussed the status of the second Great Lakes convention, originally titled War Party, to be held in greater Toledo in the spring of 2000. At this point, a site has not been selected, but a few have been looked at. Once a site and date has been locked down expect to hear more details.

Smith and Garbee also discussed the idea of having a one-day minicon in the Cincinnati area, possibly in the winter of 1999-2000. Smith presented some literature on some potential sites that are a part of the Hamilton County park system. Initial costs for Great Lakes would be minimal, and this mini-con should be able to pay for itself. We want to pull gamers from Lexington, Louisville, Indianapolis, Dayton, and of course Cincinnati, for a day of what we do best -- great gaming. More details on this as we obtain more information.