One of the objectives of the 2023-24 BPA Board of Directors is to give the membership greater visibility into the deliberations of the board and to give insight into the things being discussed. To that end, we are publishing a quarterly “Tenth Chair” update so that everyone has a better sense of what’s going on with the board and the deliberations we are undertaking for the convention. This article details the BPA Annual Meeting 2024.

Boardgame Players Association Annual Meeting

July 23, 2024, at WBC

172 BPA Member including the Board

Meeting Topics

1. Treasurer’s report
   • Bruno presented the following updates from the 2023 financial year:
     • 9% drop in revenue in 2023, though trending better so far in 2024 (+$25,000 over this point in 2023).
     • Despite revenue drop, overall cash positive for 2023, adding $18,182 to BPA assets
     • Emphasis from the treasurer that there is no need to worry about the financial situation of the convention
   • Announced that Bruno will be stepping down as treasurer after the 2024 year with James
   • Denam voted in by the board as his replacement
2. Board of Directors election results
   • Congratulations to Laurie Wojtaszczyk, Andy Lewis, and Rebecca Roppolo on their election to the board for the 2024-2027 term
   • Final votes were:
     • Rebecca Roppolo 530
     • Andy Lewis 474
     • Laurie Wojtaszczyk 425
     • Randy Buehler 272
     • Robb Effinger 262
3. Awards
   • The following awards were given:
     • Michael Swanson won Praetor
     • Nick Henning won Consul
     • Allan Jiang won Caesar
     • The Terrafarmers won the team tournament
     • Tom Have won GM of the Year for his efforts in Diplomacy
     • Andrew Bichard won Sportsman of the Year
     • Ken Whitesell won the Hobby Service award
4. Convention Director Updates
   • Ken gave the following updates:
     • Many juniors room improvements this year including:
       • A junior-designed shirt given to all registered juniors
       • Proper printed badges from registration for juniors
       • A Tuesday movie night to add more to the juniors social events
       • An Ice Cream social as well to build better friendships in the juniors room
       • For 2024 and ongoing, there will be a junior sportsperson of the year award
     • Updates from the Tech Committee
       • Peggy Ng was introduced as the project manager for the website upgrade.
       • An RFP was sent to many companies with 9 responding to date.
       • Expectation that a company will be selected by September with work commencing shortly thereafter
     • Attendance looks to be slightly up year on year (about 40 people) with more details available at the After-Action Meeting Saturday
     • Members attended this year from 19 different countries and 38 states. Information was unavailable at the time of the meeting on how many Canadian provinces had members attending
     • Seven Springs provided temporary lighting for Winterberry and BPA plans after the convention to purchase semi-permanent lighting that Seven Springs will install before the convention and remove afterwards.
5. Questions from the membership
   • It was asked whether the board was considering fee increases in the immediate future. Answer was No increase is expected.
   • Additionally, Ken brought up that we have begun to negotiate with Seven Springs for contract renewal. He also indicated the board would other locations as well, but assured the membership that a proactive approach was being used to ensure it is resolved well before the current Seven Springs contract runs out.
   • It was asked whether there were any structural issues at the convention center beyond the awning outside of registration. Answer was that no other structural problems were identified to the BPA.
   • It was asked whether a GM can include more than one Sportsmanship nominee because the event form only implies one person. Ken responded Yes, though the Convention Director is responsible for reducing the number of names to 12 for the final ballot.