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Election
Results | Current Board | Officers | Previous Board
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Kaarin
Engelmann, WBC Assistant Convention
Director and BPA Webmaster
KAARIN is a freelance writer, editor, and business consultant in Springfield,
Virginia. In 1989, she and her husband formed Engelmann Military Simulations,
which published three games: Rise and Fall, Shattered States, and Crisis
Games: Colombia. Kaarin attended Ghengis Con and Atlanticon in the
early ’90s, but she became truly addicted to gaming after attending
the last AvalonCon, in 1998. Kaarin has attended every WBC, according to
Bruno Sinigaglio “played in more events than anyone else he knows,” and
has served as a GM for both adult and junior events. She received the WBC’s
Sportswoman of the Year award in 2002. She was appointed to the BPA Board
of Directors to fill out the remaining term of Stuart Tucker who resigned
after the 2004 WBC and won election in 2005. In 2005, she became Assistant
Convention Director and BPA Webmaster.
Favorite
Games: Here I Stand, Puerto Rico,
Twilight Struggle, Crisis Games:
Colombia, Robo Rally, Blue
Max, Attack Sub, British Rails,
Stock Car Championship Racing,
Battleline
Champion: Titan:
The Arena 1999; Slapshot 2001
Issue: Grow
the convention through recruiting
juniors and uninitiated gamers
while maintaining an enjoyable
and competitive atmosphere. |
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Don Greenwood, BPA President and WBC Convention Director
DON is a former VP of the Avalon
Hill Game Company in charge of boardgame
development between 1972 and 1998.
He started gaming in 1960 with the
purchase of TACTICS II. The
original founder of ORIGINS, he ran
four of them before and after its
acquisition by GAMA. Disenchanted
with the commercial aspects of the
major conventions, he originated
AVALONCON in 1991 under the premise
of a return to basics with the emphasis
on the players rather than on designers
or manufacturers.
Favorite
Games: Breakout Normandy,
Up Front, Settlers, Football
Strategy, Air Baron, Aladdins
Dragons, Napoleonic Wars
Champion: Breakout
Normandy 1998; Wrasslin’ 1996; Wrasslin’ Battle
Royal 1991; TV Wars 1993,
1994; Breakout Normandy PBeM
#4
Issue:
Preserve the traditions of AVALONCON
by maintaining the high degree
of camaraderie and competition
at the world’s best boardgaming
convention. |
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Ken Gutermuth, BPA Chairman of the Board
KEN
is
Division
VP & Controller,
Enterprise & Carrier
for CommScope in
Richardson, Texas. He
has been gaming since
1975 when he played his
first game of Panzer
Leader. Ken has attended
Avaloncon/WBC since its
inception and has been
a GM and Assistant GM
for many titles. His
achievements at Avaloncon
led to his election in
1997 to the Avaloncon
Hall of Fame and he’s
been chasing Bruce Reiff
in the victory column
ever since. Ken is Convention
Director for BPA’s
Enlightenment mini-con,
now in its tenth year.
Favorite
Games: Age of
Renaissance, Wilderness
War, Paths of Glory
Champion: Age
of Renaissance 2002; Auction 1994 & 1997, Baseball
Strategy 1996; Battle
Line 2003; Candidate 1996; March
Madness 1995, 2003; Pro
Golf (finally!) 2003; Stocks & Bonds 1994, Stock
Market Guru 1998; Title
Bout 1995 & 1996; Win,
Place & Show 2000,
2001
Issue:
Maintain the players atmosphere
of the convention while
promoting the hobby to
a future generation of
gamers. |
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Keith Levy
KEITH is a Center Director
for an educational facility
in Columbia, MD. He
is also the Founder and President
of Games Club of
Maryland (GCOM). Keith
discovered gaming with Risk, in
his junior high school days,
back in the 1970's. Axis
and Allies and Titan were
the other two
games that started
weekly gaming sessions in
the late 1980's and
eventually led to the
discovery of Avaloncon in
1993 and to the formation
of
GCOM in 1996. Keith
has been a GM for more than
10 years; running Risk,
History of the World,
Titan, El Grande, Power Grid, and
many WBC Juniors Events.
Disenchanted with not
being able to find opponents
to play games, Keith
wanted to ensure that no
one else would have the
same problem, while making
the hobby widely
available to the general
public, by forming GCOM.
Keith serves as Organizer
of the WBC Sampler Showcase
pre-con event.
Favorite
Games: Axis
and Allies, Power Grid,
Princes of Florence,
Medici, RA, Risk, Union
Pacific, and
many others.
Champion: History
of the World 1996, Formula
De 2000.
Issue: To act on
behalf of BPA members,
make gaming a mainstream
hobby, and increase
WBC attendance. |
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Andy Lewis
ANDY runs the day-to-day operations of a plastic wear and friction testing
and test equipment manufacturing company and is VP of GMT Games responsible
for Game Submissions and Development. His two jobs and growing family
keep him very busy. He started gaming
in 1971 with D-Day. He has attended Avaloncon/WBC for 15
years and been a GM for 13. He owes a lot to this convention since
it is directly responsible for bringing his wife into the hobby.
His position with GMT arose from his desire to help the hobby by
playtesting for AH, and then GMT which led to developing Saratoga, Paths
of Glory, and others.
Favorite
Games: We The
People, ASL, El Grande,
Stock Car Championship
Racing, Santa Fe Rails,
Replay Baseball, Combat
Commander
Champion: Down
In Flames 2002; Firepower: 1995; Mustangs:1997; Santa
Fe Rails 2003; Slapshot:1993, Stocks & Bonds:1996, We
The People: 1994;
Team Championship 1994
Issue: To
see some guidelines set
for the Century Group
to ensure it continues
to be a good mix of multi-player
and two-player games. |
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Bruce
Monnin
BRUCE is
a substitute math teacher
and a high school sportswriter
in Minster, Ohio. He
published the BOARDGAMER
magazine until recently
when he became editor
of MMP’s Operations magazine.
He has been gaming
since 1980 when he
discovered Battle
of the Bulge ’65.
He has attended every
Avaloncon/WBC, serving
as GM since 1995 in
seven different events
and was honored with
the Best GM award for
his shepherding of
the War At Sea tournament
in 1998. He was appointed
in 2000
by the BPA
Board of Directors
to fill out the remaining
term of Russ Gifford,
who retired for health
reasons, and elected
to a full three year
term in 2002.
Favorite
Games: War At
Sea, Wilderness War,
Across Five Aprils,
March Madness, Circus
Maximus
Champion: War
At Sea 1991,1993,
2004; Auction 1996. Circus
Maximus 1996, History
Of The World 1997, March
Madness 2000, Wrasslin’ Battle
Royal 2001
Issue: To
steadily grow the BPA
PBeM tournaments and
the WBC while maintaining
the focus on the play of
games. |
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Bruno Passacantando; BPA Treasurer
BRUNO is a CPA and owner
of a CPA practice in Marlborough,
CT. Prior to opening his
practice, he had worked for
Ernst & Young, an international
accounting firm, and had
been Controller for two Connecticut
corporations. Risk and Strat-O-Matic Baseball
and Football were the first
games played by Bruno in
the late 60s and early 70s.
In 1977, he purchased Gettysburg ’77 and
SPI’s Cobra,
which finally provided an
outlet for his lifelong interest
in the Civil War. More than
60% of his modest game collection
are Civil War titles. In
1993, the GENERAL ran
an indepth recap of AvalonCon,
and that article alone spurred
Bruno to attend the following
year and ever since. It still
amazes him that such close
kinship has been created
among gamers who meet only
once per year.
Favorite
Games: Great
Campaigns of the American
Civil War series, Axis & Allies,
World at War, March
Madness, A House Divided.
Champion: Stonewall
Jackson’s Way 1995 & 1998, Roads
to Gettysburg 1998, Great
Campaigns overall
champion 1995, Great
Campaigns 1863-64 2001, Title
Bout 2000, Breakout
Normandy PBeM 2004
Issue:
AvalonCon was successful
because of its focus—to
play specific games,
not to sell games—keep
the winning formula.
Second, integrate wargaming
into the teaching of
history as a tool for
learning as well as bringing
newcomers to the hobby. |
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Bruce Reiff
BRUCE is a surety bond underwriter from just outside Columbus, Ohio—home
of The Ohio State University (from whence he graduated). He’s married
to the lovely Rhonda and has two daughters, Nicole 9, and Victoria 5. Bruce’s
first strategy game was Strat-O-Matic Baseball. His first wargame
was France 1940 from the late Avalon Hill. Shortly thereafter he
discovered Diplomacy and his life has gone downhill ever since.
Bruce has been involved in GMing at Avaloncon/WBC since 1993 and has attended
all of them while racking up more wood than the rest of the Board combined
and leading to his election as the first occupant of the original AVALONCON
Hall of Fame. His gaming prowess has taken on Urban Legend status—having
claimed winner’s wood every year. A major domo with the Columbus
Area Boardgaming Society, and
if that isn’t enough, he is also our talented and entertaining head
auctioneer.
Favorite
Games: Diplomacy,
Win, Place & Show,
Football Strategy,
War at Sea, Battle
Cry, Battleline, and Formula
Motor Racing (Nicole’s
favorite) and Momma
Mia (Victoria’s
favorite).
Champion: More
than 30 times in more
than 13 different events.
Issue: Maintain
a convention which all
groups/types of boardgamers
can enjoy while keeping
it on solid financial
ground. |
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Ken Whitesell
KEN
is a “Lead
Advisory Analyst” for
an insurance
company in Baltimore. Ken started
gaming with RPGs in
1977, graduating to real games
the following year by
getting started with Squad Leader
and Third Reich. He started GMing
events at Origins '84, and has
been
helping out at various conventions
ever since. Ken has
attended every AvalonCon / WBC,
and has been a GM at most; having
GMed 11 different events. He
has been married
to Jeanne for 11 years, and has
a son John (10) and a
daughter Amy (8).
Favorite Games: Football Strategy,
Up Front, The Russian Campaign,
Puerto Rico, 1830, and the old
Avalon
Hill "Classics" (Afrika Korps,
etc)
Champion: (What, me
_win_ something?) Dinosaurs
of the Lost World (2000), Football
Strategy (2006)
Issue: Maintain the
focus and vision of the WBC—I want to avoid seeing it
become another GenCon / Origins.
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Officers
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F. Scott Pfeiffer; BPA Counsel
SCOTT is
a corporate lawyer from Greenville,
SC. Scott started wargaming
in 1978 with the purchase of TACTICS
II. He has attended AvalonCon/WBC
for the past eight years, and
has served as GM or assistant
GM for Britannia three
times. He was a member of the
1997 Team National Champions.
As our legal counsel and Incorporator,
he has been the person most
responsible for the creation
of the BPA.
Favorite
Games: Britannia,
Republic of Rome, Shanghai
Trader, Age of Renaissance,
Jean dArc
Champion: Britannia 1994,
1996 & 1999, Maharaja 1998
Issue:
Ensure the BPA is on solid
legal footing and that the
proprieties are observed
in all that we do. |
Previous
Board Members
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Alan
Applebaum, term ended in
2003
ALAN is
a corporate lawyer in Boston.
He traces his birth as
a gamer to 1961 with exposure
to Risk and D-Day.
He has attended every AVALONCON
and been a GM for six of
them, standing ready to
serve as an alternate when
needed in his areas of
expertise. He is the principal
contributor to the GM Guidelines
which serves as the BPA
bible on how to conduct
tournaments. Alan has also
contributed a number of
in-depth strategy articles
to the AH General and the
Boardgamer magazine.
Favorite
Games: Victory in
the Pacific, Breakout Normandy,
Up Front, Advanced Third
Reich, Titan.
Champion: Breakout
Normandy, 2002; Victory
in the Pacific 1993,
1999
Issue:
His major concern is to preserve
and promote serious competition
in two-player games (primarily,
but not exclusively, wargames)
in a format that rewards
skill while providing an
enjoyable experience for
all entrants. |
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John Emery, term ended in 2000
JOHN owns and operates
a small chain of game stores
in SC. He was first introduced
to AH-style games as a freshman
at the University of Nebraska
in 1973. He has led a very successful
contingent of Carolinians which
import large quantities of plaques
to the SC area annually for the
past eight years.
Favorite
Games: Up Front,
World in Flames, Backgammon,
Britannia, Bridge
Champion: Attack
Sub1996 & 97; Up
Front 1997, 1998, 2000,
2002, 2004; Origins
of World War II 1998
Issue:
Increase contact and involvement
with manufacturers of games
to encourage them to exhibit
and/or otherwise participate
in our conference. |
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Russ Gifford, term ended in 1999
RUSS is
a Regional Manager for TelePartners
Cable in Northeast Nebraska.
He is also a member of the
South Sioux City City Council,
various other boards and commissions,
including chair of local technology
commission that created local
FreeNet, a Distant Learning
center, and IT academy. On
the gaming side, he created
and ran free regional convention
for wargames that pulled 300
people per year for seven years—no
small feat in Nebraska—which
still continues today. His
gaming career began with chess, Stratego,
Risk and Broadsides,
but one of those old ads in Boys
Life for Gettysburg really
started the wargaming bug,
sealed when he purchased Anzio in
1972. He was the ASL GM
throughout AVALONCON and has
won five Best Six GM nominations
over that period. He also maintained
the ASL AREA ratings
in the wake of the Avalon Hill
decline until forced to give
it up by his work schedule.
Favorite
Games: ASL, Terrible
Swift Sword, The Russian
Campaign, Speed Circuit,
Diplomacy
Champion:
BEST GM 1992
Issue:
Continuance of wargaming
as a viable hobby, by fanning
the embers via exposure of
gaming to potential players,
young and old, especially
via highly publicized events
like conventions and tournaments. |
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Keith Hunsinger, term ended in 2006
Keith is the Senior Pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Defiance,
OH. He is also the volunteer chaplain for the city police and fire departments
and the county sheriff’s office. In addition he serves as adjunct
staff to Trinity Lutheran seminary as an Intern Supervisor. Keith’s
interest in gaming goes back to his earliest childhood with family games
and his first venture into wargaming was in the late 60’s when he
was introduced to Afrika Korps, D-Day, and Battle of the Bulge by
a history teacher and fellow student. His first games purchased were Waterloo and Blitzkrieg. He
has attended all but the first Avaloncon/BPA though his participation in
2002 was by phone and e-mail due to a family illness. He has GM’d
six different events and assisted at seven others.
Favorite
Games: Wooden Ships & Iron
Men, Atlantic Storm and ’64
Midway
Champion: B17 2005
Issue: To
maintain diversity within
the BPA family, to increase
exposure of the BPA, to continue
to provide the best tournaments
we can |
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Larry Lingle, term ended in 1999
LARRY is
a retired railroad conductor
for Conrail in Harrisburg,
PA. He has been gaming since
1959, when as a 10-year old,
he beat his dad, uncle and
two older brothers at Risk in
a game that ended at 2:30 AM
and began a lifelong addiction
to boardgames. A familiar face
at most gaming cons, he has
been active in AVALONCON since
the Camp Hill days, most notably
as the Waterloo GM.
Favorite
Games: Titan, Waterloo,
War in Europe, Risk, Shattered
States
Champion: Waterloo 1993, TV
Wars 2001, Queen’s
Gambit 2003
Issue:
To continue the spirit and
camaraderie of AVALONCON
in the BPA by continuing
to emphasize the gamer over
commercial interests. |
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Andrew Maly, term ended in 2001
ANDREW is an Environmental Engineer in Bel Air, MD. He learned to play
Chess at 5 and graduated to wargames in 1975 with the purchase of
SPI’s Normandy. Blessed with a photographic memory,
he has the ability to remain current with an inordinate number of
game systems…and even studied ASL at the foot of the
master, Bob Medrow, in his University days. He has GMed at every
convention, doing the honors for eight different games. Most recently,
he has gained renown among gamers for his stint as an undefeated
champion on tv’s JEOPARDY from 30 November—4 December,
1998.
Favorite
Games: Up Front,
We The People, Third World
War, The Russian Campaign,
Frederick the Great
Champion:
Clash of Giants, 2002; Fifth
Fleet: 1995, TV Wars: 1997, London’s
Burning: 2000
Issue:
Ensure that the enthusiasm
for the convention continues
without the need for corporate
sponsorship. |
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Greg Mayer, term ended in 1999
GREG is a
Technical Analyst for Anheuser-Busch
in St Louis. He has been gaming
since 1968 when he made the
crossover from Dogfight to D-Day.
A huge fan of Stalingrad,
Afrika Korps and Blitzkrieg in
his younger days, he has attended
AVALONCON since its inception
and been an active GM ever
since…most notably for Merchant
of Venus, one of our largest
tournaments for which he has
garnered Top Six GM status
three times. He is a former
Director of the Conflict Simulations
Game Club of Indianapolis (1984).
Favorite
Games: Merchant
of Venus, Empire Builder,
Eurorails, British Rails,
Manhattan
Champion: Merchant
of Venus 1995 & 1998, Naval
War 1995
Issue:
To maintain the focus of
the convention in the wake
of the Avalon Hill sale to
Hasbro. Maintaining the proper
mix of old favorites while
adding titles currently in
print to allow growth without
getting lost in a sea of
games will be a constant
challenge. |
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Glenn Petroski, term ended in 2001
GLENN is an electrical-mechanical
technician from Wisconsin. Glenn
started wargaming in 1965 with D-DAY.
He has attended all the Avaloncon/WBCs
and has served as the Victory
in the Pacific GM since the
outset. His work in that area
has earned him five Top Six GM
nominations and appointment to
the Avaloncon Hall of Fame as
a GM in 1997. A born-again Christian,
Glenn has been instrumental in
the creation and continuation
of the Interfaith Religious Services
held every Sunday at the convention.
His other hobby services include
hosting the Midwest Victory in
the Pacific Open and the continuation
of the AREA rating system originated
by Avalon Hill.
Favorite
Games: Victory in
the Pacific, Blitzkrieg,
Richtoffen’s War
Champion:
Best GM 1994
Issue:
Continuation of the conference
as a viable venue for wargamers
to measure their skills against
the best competition. |
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John
R. Pack, term ended in
2004
JOHN is a
database analyst/programmer
from Sandy, UT, who
can’t remember
a time when the latest
game wasn’t
his favorite addiction!
His business, GameAholics
(1993-98), helped
him learn the inside
of the game industry
and his monthly game
club, zeal for improvement
of his WBC tournaments,
and PBeM events keep
him in the center
of the action continuously!
Favorite
Games: Victory in
the Pacific, War at Sea,
Gangsters, Republic of
Rome, Advanced Third Reich,
Up Front, History of the
World, Medici, Tikal, Galaxy,
Slapshot, We the People,
Diplomacy, Axis & Allies:
Pacific
Champion: Gangsters 1995,
2002; Adel Verpflichtet 2001,
2002
Issue: Revitalizing
juniors events and securing
tournament status equitably
for all types of tournaments
by empowering volunteer GMs. |
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Kathy Stroh, term ended in 2004
Kathy is a database administrator from Bellefonte, PA who dates her gamer
birth to 1986 when she discovered both she and her husband-to-be
owned copies of the same game: Wizards Quest. Kathy made her
mark at AVALONCON as a GM for children’s events—a role
she has filled every year since 1992—in the process winning
election to the GM wing of the AVALONCON Hall of Fame. She served
as Secretary for the Board until completing her term in 2004.
Favorite
Games: History of
the World, Merchant of
Venus, Settlers of Catan,
Medici, Age of Renaissance,
Union Pacific
Champion: Merchant
of Venus 1992
Issue:
Maintain vibrancy by introducing
new games while maintaining
the enthusiasm for the old
standbys. |
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Heikki Thoen, term ended in 2000
HEIKKI is
Vice President of Education
at ICS Learning Systems in
Montreal (a division of Harcourt
Brace publishing) where he
has worked for the past 28
years. He started gaming with Blitzkrieg in
1968. He has attended every
Avaloncon and been the GM for Kingmaker for
the past 8. His mastery of Rail
Baron is evident, having
won three times in a popular
event that attracts a large
number of worthy competitors.
Favorite
Games: Kingmaker,
Rail Baron, ASL, Roborally,
Kremlin
Champion: Kingmaker 1991, Rail
Baron 1995, 1996, 1999
Issue:
To communicate to other GMs
the significant benefits
of the AREA rating system
in the hope of encouraging
more GMs to wholeheartedly
support this worthwhile endeavor. |
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Stuart Tucker, term ended in 2004
STUART is
a Print Coordinator/Editorial
Consultant, working primarily
for the World Bank Office of
the Publisher. He has been
gaming since 1972 when he first
encountered Waterloo and Blitzkrieg.
He has been a regular attendee
since 1994 and during that
time has GMed or assisted in
several events. Stuart resigned
his position on the Board due
to other commitments at the
conclusion of the 2004 WBC
but remains an active and valuable
resource to WBC as a veteran
and trusted GM and popular
Team event handicapper.
Favorite
Games: Hannibal, Viceroys,
Dune, Third Reich, Republic
of Rome
Champion: Win,
Place & Show 1994,
2002.
Issue:
Now that the convention has
been saved and put on a sound
footing, the next major task
is to find paths of growth
that do not compromise the
high quality of the gaming
experience. |
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