Past GMs of the Year | A GM’s Plea | How Are GMs Selected? | GM Guidelines

As is our custom, every year we select one GM to single out as WBC’s GM of the Year. This GM is awarded a free room for the five days of WBC. Using the current selection process, GMs may score a maximum of 96 points and a minimum of 12.

We are pleased to award the Best GM honor for 2007 to Ivan Lawson with a record score of 87 based on three1sts, two 2nds, two 3rds, and a 4th. Overall, scores ranged from Ivan's 87 to a low of 18. Ivan finished third in the voting last year in only his second year as a GM, impressing the Board with the degree of preparation and organization he brought to an event that is hard to administer due to its sheer size. The task was made more difficult by official MESE tie-breakers that were not intended for large two-player events, but he soldiered on without complaint. Lost Cities has nearly tripled its attendance since he implemented a four-heat format in 2005. As our GM of the Year, Ivan will receive free lodging at next year's WBC.

Every nominee scored at least as high as 6th and as low as 9th with the Board splitting its votes in a wide cross section based on the importance each member gave the various categories. The Board's eight 1st votes were split among the top three nominees. Finishing second in the voting with half of those 1st place votes was Ed Beach who garnered a score of 84 for hosting his design Here I Stand in addition to taking his usual turn in the Junior's room. Finishing in third with 75 points was Eric Brosius whose handling of the Princess of Florence event has always been top rate and accompanied by a well-crafted event report and convention review. Rounding out the top half of our nominees were Ellen Hoam (Mystery of the Abbey) with a score of 60 forged on the backs of her cleverly attired monks, Jim Jordan (Britannia) at 56, and Kathy Stroh whose annual turn in the Juniors room was augmented by one of our largest events (Power Grid) with a score of 49. Well done all. Our sincere thanks to you and all others like you who try to make WBC a little more special every year.