Advance the Colors 2001 is now in the History Books. The members of Great Lakes should be proud of themselves for the hard work they put into it and the events they hosted. If you attended the convention, you know what I am talking about. If you were unable to attend, you missed a special event. This year, it was held at the Holiday Inn, Springfield, OH, and since we all had a good time, ATC 2002 will return to Springfield.

As convention director, I can't thank everyone enough for all the help and support my staff received during the convention. I would like to give a very special thank you to the following members: John and Erin Adkins; Joe Cairo; Jeff Chattin; Mike Demana; Bud Hunter; Jack Shaw.

This year, 27 members hosted a total of 45 events. Battles covered the Biblical, Ancient, Medieval, Revolutionary War, Civil War, World War II, and numerous other historical periods. All the event hosts put on some of the most eye catching and intriguing games that can be found in the Midwest. These games are why we have the conventions in the first place. Only three events did not go off as planned this year because of a lack of participants, which is really great, if you take into account September 11th happened only three days before the convention. Our attendance dropped from 181 in 2000 to 170 this year. I will say that the members of our chapter are setting the benchmark for HMGS events, There are always quality events with many choices for the attendees.

Lastly, I would like thank the following dealers for supporting the convention: The Soldiery, Imperialist Enterprises, Melees Glorious, Outland of, Ohio, Phoenix Rising, RLBPS, Star Books and Games, The Nafziger Collection, DPC, The Free Trader, Titan Games, Camelot Toys, Dealer Paul Olzanski and Ben Pope. Without them, our hobby would suffer tremendously. Some of the dealers are Great Lakes members, which speaks volumes about the chapter.

This year, we signed up 18 new members to Great Lakes and 47 members renewed. I even got to play in two games -- really I was not sitting at the desk the whole convention! When I was, though, Jeff was there with me. Friday night, I journeyed to the Dark Continent in the colonial Africa game put on by the Johnson brothers. Saturday evening, I tried out My Galley Sally in the Syracuse Sortie event hosted by Rich Smethurst of the Tri-state F.O.G. When I wasn't gaming or at the desk, I was walking around taking pictures. If you are interested in viewing the pictures, check them out at the www.yahoogroups.com/ HMGSGL site. You'll also find some very nice pictures that John Adkins took.

In summary, ATC 01 was a lot of fun to plan, and ajoy to manage, I have already started working on ATC 02 and you can find more information on it in this is;ue. Until next time, happy gaming and take care.