Here it is, November already, and things have quieted down a bit since Advance the Colors. I would like to take this opportunity to mention some topics with which many of you might not be aware, and share with you our stance on these issues, so that you all know where we stand.

Firstly there has been a great deal of strife over one of the other chapters. HMGS Heart of America has had some serious internal problems, to the point of some taking steps toward forming another chapter, HMGS Great Plains, to replace it. Attempts have been made to drag Great Lakes into the fray on one side or the other. The position of the Board is to not take sides, and not to get involved with "political" disputes. That is what the National Board of Directors (NBOD) was established to handle. It is our primary goal to promote the hobby. Getting involved in such matters runs counter to that goal. Without going into a lot of detail, which some of those who have access to the internet newsgroups are all too aware, the squabbles have become very ugly, with name calling, threats and lawsuits.

I have been in contact recently with the coordinator of the NBOD, Bill Gray, and he gives me the impression that things appear are being resolved. My point in mentioning this is to demonstrate to our members, that the Great Lakes Board, while monitoring the situation, will not involve itself in these type of "political" disputes.

Secondly, there has been much discussion and debate over the role of the NBOD and whether or not they should disband. The National Board was established to act as a clearing house of all HMGS information and to set guidelines ior establishing new chapters. Currently, the NBOD takes $1 /year for each member of every chapter to fund its functions. The NBOD meets, on average, twice per year at various HMGS Conventions (most recently at ATC'98). It has a treasury reported to be nearly $10,000, and it seems they are reluctant to use it.

The NBOD has talked about establishing a National advertising campaign, which would get HMGS into the major historical magazines and perhaps TV coverage through a video. It has talked about this for years and no action has been taken. The NBOD has talked about national insurance coverage for the various HMGS conventions. They have again taken little (if any) action towards this goal either. The NBOD should have put together a nationwide data base of HMGS members, but no action on this project either. There has been talk of putting together intro-booklets or guides for newcomers to our hobby, helping them get acquainted with "what's what." Again, only talk and no action. A national newsletter was talked about, but (you guessed it!), no action.

Point these things out to supporters of the NBOD, and some refer you back to the New York lead ban scare and HMGS' role in stopping the threat to our hobby. Some have said the NBOD needs a big treasury to be ready if it happens again. In plain fact, the NBOD in its lasttwo orthree meetings has failed to even produce a quorum of voting members, so nothing gets done. That is well over a year of inactivity by a body we help fund. This is why the HMGS Great Lakes Board has become more and more vocal on examining what the NBOD does and the reasons we continue to fundsuchathing. We believe it wrong for the NBOD to take $1/ year per member from us and do absolutely nothing with it to promote the hobby.

Recently, we were informed that a vote was being taken, started by HMGS Mid-South, to determine the fate on the NBOD. Other chapters have also become increasingly vocal on the NBOD's inactivity, and even HMGS East has questioned the NBOD's existence. We decided earlier in the year to withhold our funds from the NBOD, until the situation is resolved. East, and at least one other chapter, are doing the same. So, in view of the vote begun by Mid-South , the Great Lakes Board took its own vote at our most recent meeting, Nov. 7th. Out of the four board members attending (Ferkin was not present), the vote was unanimous. We voted for the disbandment of the National Board of HMGS.

With that vote, was the understanding that something must take its place. We would work with the other chapters to establish a manner of fair and equal representation at the national level. As it currently stands, the NBOD takes money from each chapter and talks about things it needs to do without ever acting on any of them. Since it is your (the member's) money, we believe that money should be used to promote the hobby -- not sit around in some bank account somewhere.

I hope this was informative, The Great Lakes Board is made up of historical miniature gamers like yourselves, and doesn't want to be dragged into squabbles that don't promote the hobby. Equally, we are prepared to fight against well-funded inactivity which does not promote the hobby either Promoting the hobby is the only reason HMGS exists -- all else is nonsense. I will continue to monitor the national situation and keep you updated in this column. I hope that you have noticed that we have attempted to keep the "political" content in "The Herald" to an absolute minimum. The Herald is hereto promote historical miniature gaming, which it will continue to do. So, until next issue, have a great Thanksgiving and Holidays.