Rick Northey separated himself from the rest of the field this year by being the only nominee finishing n the top 4 on all ballots. Rick accumulated three first, two second, two third, and two fourth place votes to become the 2024 GM of the Year.

Rick managed one of the grognard events for the length of the convention and has been promoting Panzerblitz and developing ways to get new members to try this classic. Rick promotes his event well running a demo, providing varying length scenarios, swag, and beautiful dioramas for the winners.

Rick was nominated by 2 different members. Some of the comments from those who nominated him were:

• ”His dedication, preparation and adaptability are well known”
• ”He tirelessly promotes his Panzerblitz/Panzer Leader event”
• ”Provides great dioramas for his top four winners”
• ”Rick has supported the BPA beyond just the typical contribution”
• ”His organized efforts and loyal followers attest to his status as deserving GM of the Year”
• ”Rick crafts new game scenarios each year”
• ”This year. the 50th anniversary of Panzer Leader, Rick had cups, mugs, T-shirts and beer steins with Panzer Leader artwork. He gave these away to ALL players who played a Panzer Leader game”
• ”He crafted scenario 'packets' with all the pieces required to play the various scenario so you don't have to spend time searching for pieces - as a casual player this is great - we can begin playing right away.”,/li>
• Rick also is always there for support and rules questions and if no player is available for a drop in player he will jump in. I have never been turned away even if I only have a few hours to play and come up to Winterberry on off hours.”,/li>
• The whole experience for a causal gamer has been great allowing me to get in a game or two with no intimidation as some of the 'large, old and out of print' games.”
• ”Rick offers actual dioramas for the top scoring players in both Panzer Leader/Panzer Blitz.”
• ”Friendliness, and a welcoming format, deep Knowledge of rules, plenty of "Swag" and just a fun, exciting and well run tournament that creates a situation that makes me want to come back next year. "

Finishing behind Rick in second place was Gareth Williams with one second, one third, and five fourth place votes. Gareth has more than doubled the attendance of The Napoleonic Wars since becoming GM including using coached Games to invite new players.

Mark Yoshikawa finished third with two first, two seconds and one third in the voting. Mark puts an incredible amount of preparation for his B-17 event which is a highlight for many of the WBC attendees. His after-action meeting in Foggy Brews highlights the end of the event each year.

Finishing Fourth was Chad Weaver with two seconds and four thirds in the voting. In Ark Nova, Chad is known for his efficiency and proficiency in managing different boards and making sure rules are clear. In 2024, he also stepped up at the last minute to run Terraforming Mars when the schedule GM could not make the WBC due to Covid.

Chris Kizer again finished in the top six with two firsts and one second. Chris is very knowledgeable about his events, working with the formats year after year to try and tweak it perfectly and is very receptive to advice from his players. He puts incredible effort into documenting and reporting on his events, and his event reports are always a delight to read for our members. He provides this for two events: Star Wars: Queen’s Gambit and Star War: Rebellion.