2006 GM of the Year
Oct. 25, 2006

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 2006 to Don Chappell with a score of 77, based on two 1sts, a 2nd, two 3rds, two 4ths and a 9th. Overall, scores ranged from Don’s 77 to a low of 28. Every nominee scored at least as high as 5th 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.

Don won the award as the longtime GM of We The People, which has been a steady favorite anchoring the Saturday CDW schedule. The Arlington, TX native stood out in a field of fine GMs, in part, by hosting a novice division in a Class C event for new players and helping them along in the competition while limiting his own play largely to that of eliminator or facilitator. Only after having gained the experience of playing amongst themselves were the newbies ushered into the shark pool. Don also added to his event by offering numerous supplementary prizes of period books out of his own pocket.

The Board’s eight 1st votes were split among the top five nominees. Finishing second in the voting was Tom McCorry who garnered a score of 67 for hosting WBC’s largest tournament, Ticket To Ride, as well as one of its most impressive new offerings, Caylus. Tom also impressed the voters with a classy Table ID and seating system which helped him administer his large heats quickly.

Finishing in a tie for third with 61 points each were a pair of relative newcomers to WBC’s GM ranks, suggesting that experience may be over-rated. Ivan Lawson (Lost Cities) in his second year and Barry Shutt (Air Baron) in his first, both brought well-honed skills of preparation and attention to detail to tame large events quickly and efficiently—proving that GMing is not rocket science and can be handled in stride by well organized preparation.

Rounding out the top half of our nominees were Vince Meconi (War At Sea & Gettysburg) who also chaired one of our GM 101 seminars with a score of 58 and Keith Wixson (Wilderness War) coming off not only winning his own event but the Service Award presentation with a score of 57. Well done all. Our sincere thanks to you and all others like you who try to make WBC a little more special every year.

Boardgame Players Association Last updated 10/28/06 by kae.
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