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Last updated April 16, 2023
 

VOTING IS OPEN THROUGH JUNE 15, 2023.

All current members of the BPA may vote regardless of membership level—including all paid pre-registrants of the 2023 World Boardgaming Championships—except those purchasing one-day Guest passes. Votes will be recorded in accordance with membership status as outlined on the membership page and are weighted appropriately by election officials. Those elected to the BPA Board will serve three-year terms through the 2026 convention season. The new Board will be introduced during the BPA Annual Meeting on Tuesday, July 25, at 3 p.m.  in the Grand Ballroom at Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Seven Springs, PA. All BPA members are invited to attend.

In order to vote, use our electronic ballot. The e-mail you supply with your vote must match the e-mail we have on file for you. Each member may cast only one ballot, and may vote for up to three (3) individual candidates on that ballot. Multiple ballots from the same e-mail address will be disqualified. The final day to vote is June 15, 2023. In order for your vote to count, you must cast your ballot on the website no later than midnight ET on June 15, 2023.

The last day to join the BPA in order to be eligible to vote is June 15, the "Record Date". In order for the Vote to count, a quorum of ten percent (10%) of all members who have joined the BPA as of the Record Date must cast valid ballots on or before the Final Voting Date. We anticipate the Quorum will be approximately 125 voters.

NOTE: Any member may run for election as a Director. Candidates must comply with the Board’s nomination rules in order to be placed on the ballot. The three candidates receiving the most votes will be elected.

[  ] Cliff Ackman - My contributions to the BPA are time, talent and dedication. From Avaloncon to the WBC I've attended for thirty years and GM'ed Acquire for fifteen. I'm retired as a statistican, so I don't have any time sinks detracting me from more important activities. I add anything the average gamer adds to the Board: thoughtfulness, reasonableness.

[  ] Bryan Collars - I have attended WBC for over twenty years and GM'd events for over ten years. My gaming tastes span a wide variety of genres - my favorites include Combat Commander, Terraforming Mars, Ark Nova, Dune Imperium, Here I Stand and Castles of Burgundy just to name a few. I have also been known to partake in open gaming until the wee hours.

I was fortunate enough to be elected to the Board for my first term and I feel there is still room to improve what is already my favorite convention of the year. I think there are two areas I would focus on . One would be modernizing the website to make it easier to navigate for newcomers . Even after so many years I still see potential newcomers ask questions that seem obvious to veterans, but the website could better address if overhauled. In conjunction with this I would like to streamline the GM process to not only ease the burden on our most important volunteers, but to increase the speed and efficiency of producing results for the membership to see once the convention is over.

Both of these initiatives would require some financial investment but after surviving two years of zero revenue the BPA is still in a stable enough financial position to invest in our long-term future. I would like to be part of the team that crafts that future and ask for your vote in order to make that happen .

[  ] Andrew Drummond - 2023 marks 9 years since my first WBC, and I know that I’ll be back forever. In those years I have GMd 23 times for different WBC games: trial events, century events, evening events like Can’t Stop, Juniors events, and almost all of those in full costume. I understand what GMs need and know what they do to make WBC successful.

I want to be re-elected to the board to ensure that we deploy the resources to keep WBC as great as it is. We can do more to bring new attendees by improving and regularly updating our website. We can improve the resources GMs have to efficiently run their events. We can ensure the Convention Director has the help needed to get event reports and previews published as quickly as possible. And we can make policies to protect all our members and ensure everyone is welcome in our community.

[  ] Ken Gutermuth - I have attended every Avaloncon (WBC Predecessor) and WBC playing in all genres of games. I have been on the Board of Directors since 2003 serving as Treasurer for several years and Chairman of the Board from 2004 until I became Convention Director in 2017 when Don Greenwood retired. As Convention Director, I have worked on improving year round processes used to run WBC.

My goals, if re-elected to another term, would be to 1) continue to make WBC a family friendly activity that is welcoming to all attendees, 2) continue to develop policies that will improve the WBC experience of attendees and volunteers, and 3) continue to support/lead projects that improve BPA systems and processes, including our website.

[  ] Hansen, Ty - My 16-year career has been primarily in event planning: 10 conferences per year, each with between 250-2500 attendees. Complete from Registration, banquet orders, signage, room sets, room allocations, hotel contracting and negotiations, attendee relations, attendee surveys – I have experience in every aspect of large event planning. I prepare and report on an annual $5m budget and have extensive website editing.Experience

The simple truth is - I love WBC and many of the people that attend. I want this convention to be thriving and sustainable when my kids attend. Please support me to improve the website, attendee/member outreach and more.

[  ] Nick Henning - Gaming is central to my life. I have been coming to this convention with my entire family since the 90s - before I was old enough to see a PG-13 movie. Last year, my nephew made his first appearance.

I believe we run the best board gaming convention in the US, and I have been to a lot of them. I also think things can be better. My goal as a board member would be towards modernizing some quality-of-life changes that would improve the entire WBC experience: an updated website, a code of conduct, and simplified processes for hardworking GMs.

In my professional life, I have been an educator, an assistant director, and a data analyst. The organizational skills from these walks of life would serve the BPA, and I look forward to bolstering our wonderful annual gathering.

[  ] Dan Hoffman - I have been a BPA member for decades, and its finally time for me to step up and run for the board, to help keep WBC going as the best week of the year. If you have ever attended WBC in the last twenty years, we have probably met. I am the primary Euro vendor (Canton Games), I have been helping to run the open game room for over a decade, and I run most of the late-night Werewolf games.

The board has been making great strides the last year towards the comfort and safety of attendees, and I would like to see that continue and grow. There are a huge number of players who come to WBC and never enter a tournament once. While WBC is tournament focused and should remain so, the open game room can be much more than a place to kill time between rounds.

I would also strive to make some advancements on the technological side of things. Our website is in desperate need of reform, and the app could be doing much more than it currently is. Times and technology are changing, we need to grow with them or be left in the dust.

[  ] Rob Kircher - I grew up playing Avalon Hill games with my dad -- games like War at Sea, Victory in the Pacific, and Squad Leader. When I read about Avaloncon in the General magazine, I knew that I wanted to attend. And after going once, I have been back every year since. Over the years, I have recruited many gaming buddies from back home to come and join in the fun.

In addition to attending gaming conventions for 27 years, I have volunteered as a GM at the World Boardgame Championship for 15 years. I have also served on the board for Total Confusion for 15 years. I have both experience playing board games in conventions, and experience organizing and running events.

I believe that the heart of the WBC is the people who attend. Many players return every year to see their extended family, enjoying the relationships they spent years building. For that reason, the WBC needs to be inviting for all gamers who attend. The WBC has the best-run tournaments anywhere, but we cannot take this for granted. We need to recruit more GMs and give them the tools and training they need to run events smoothly. GMs should not need to fight with the rules to run tournaments -- we should make the process of running games more usable. I have the experience to facilitate improvements in training and GM resources.

Finally, the BPA has a rich history with a lot of great resources. However, our website is out of date. Indeed, parts have not been updated in six years. Players and GMs should be able to access information in a timely way. I have the leadership and experience to guide the modernization of the website.

[  ] Jeff Lange - Having attended every WBC starting with Avaloncon, both the BPA and the WBC are important to me. Throughout the decades my children attended with me, and now my grandchildren attend and play the many events at Seven Springs.

My goal is to help ensure the future of the WBC and the BPA. As we look to the future, we must remain relevant to younger players. Relevancy starts with how we communicate electronically with the membership. Electronic Information about the WBC is outdated. A thorough upgrade of the website and the way information is disseminated to members will be a primary focus. My experience as a Senior IT Executive will greatly aid this venture. For example, providing live WBC data would help GMs with scheduling conflicts. Creating a public forum for collaboration on event schedules to reduce conflicts and to synchronize dynamic information relevant to GMs, players, and the BPA Board.

[  ] Tom McCorry - I am seeking to rejoin the Board of Directors to represent the diverse gamers who participate in BPA-sponsored activities to provide guidance/support to the BPA organization. One focus area for me is to improve BPA operations especially around member communications (e.g., website, newsletter). Another area is continuity of operations to ensure the BPA has appropriate succession, convention location, and contingency plans in place and maintained.

For those who I have not met yet, I am a Charter BPA member who is a Century Event GM and has been the GM for numerous tournaments over the years, recruiting and training new GMs along the way, and have received the WBC GM of the Year honors. I attend over 8 boardgame conventions a year around the world, have many friends in the gaming industry, and have real-world board of director experience which I can leverage for the benefit of the BPA members.

[  ] Eyal Mozes - A very important part, for many members, of what makes WBC great is playing so many different games within one week; including old games that we love and only get to play once a year at WBC, as well as learning exciting new games. As a board member I would work to enhance this aspect of the WBC experience.

The need for a player to make some scheduling choices is unavoidable; but to the extent possible, a sporting chance to advance in a tournament should not depend on playing multiple heats which might require not playing at all in some other games a player also loves. A specific goal I would work for is more liberal rules for a quarter-final round, making it easier for GMs who want to have such a round; this would make it possible for many more tournaments to advance all heat winners.

[  ] Kevin Wojtaszczyk - I have GM’d/Asst GM'd/attended 20+ WBCs, competing in Euro, Sports, Late Night, and War/2 Player categories. My gaming diversity provides me with a great cross-sectional view of multi-player and two player tournaments.

My work involves back-office IT functions and Linux administration with technical automation a key aspect. I hope to use my WBC and work experiences as a board member to:

  • Keep the WBC the premier tournament/open gaming convention
  • Ensure our website of rich gaming history is updated and accurately maintained for future generations
  • Add accountability and automation to the yearly BPA processes.

See more at https://kevinwojtasz.wixsite.com/wbc-boardplatform

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