"So If The Host Is Unavailable In The Future ..." Topic

as a location for HMGS (East) conventions, what do you prefer:

a) a second convention in Downtown Lancaster;
b) a second convention at Valley Forge;
c) Ocean City, MD;
d) a convention in _______ [insert your location here];
e) dropping a convention and returning to a two convention per year format;
f) none of the above.

Thanks in advance for your responses.

I would prefer E. It would allow some other regional conventions to grow.

Certainly not A or B. I think, to serve the entire membership better, the conventions should be geographically diverse. It may mean all the shows won't be more convenient to a particular member but at least one show will be more convenient for everyone.

My personal preference is to keep it in Pa. Getting to the Atlantic coast makes a two day drive from Chicago.

As Ploogak. A and B are useless. If they keep trying to move conventions closer to the coast, the answer is going to be "E" whether the Board means it to be or not.

So, 47, do you actually know anything, or is this all just wishful thinking on your part?

G, move it to the West Coast.

E.

D. Chicago, IL or Columbus OH, and finally become a true National Historical Miniature convention.

E.

Honestly, I'd probably go with E. But I'd drop Cold Wars and keep Fall In.

Ok- I will bite,

A or B or C or D (Host,FCC,or where ever)

But never E or F.

I have supported all 3 conventions since 2008, cause I am a young'in to this Hobby and you're Welcome HMGS.

A, B, D, maybe even F if it meant adding a Thursday to Fall In. I think Ocean City MD is absolutely the wrong choice, and the con attendance is going to pay a huge price for it. Even Fredericksburg, for all the attendance it lost would be a better location (although we know that is not a possibility from a price perspective).

I'm sure this is already a done deal, I just hope the BoD was smart enough to sign a contract that allows them to exit after 1 year.

If they go to just two cons then adjust the dates. Conventional wisdom held that when Hcon moved to the VFCC the weekend after the 4th was a bad date due to the heavy travel for the prior holiday.

I'll go with E, but the problem is which convention would you eliminate?

Historicon seems to be the biggest and most well attended of the three, so if for example you keep that in downtown Lancaster, then which of the other two do you drop and where do you put it?

I say keep Fall In at the VFCC, any thought to moving Historicon to June and then have Fall In in November to spread out the dates a bit?

I'd pass on Historicon but would attend Fall In at the VFCC for as long as the money was there, once that goes south, then adios muchachos…………..

Remember, A very very large % of the American population lives within 100 miles either side of the I-95 corridor between Boston and Richmond --- I mean a VERY, VERY large %.
The further you go from that there will be problems. Even the largest portion of dealers will be included in this demographic.
Old Glory no longer attends Little Wars in Chicago just because of the distance --even though that is my own personal favorite show to attend.

Regards
Russ Dunaway

Very interesting thread. We'll get ready for another bomb to be dropped. This obviously has already been discussed. If it has been the membership should be made aware of it. This way everyone knows BEFORE the convention meeting. As a wise man once told me "YOU CAN'T GO WRONG WITH TRUTH". To much going on behind the scenes for this guy. Just want to attend the shows and enjoy our great hobby. Just got a text from a good friend who stated "Nothing has changed in 20 years none of this is a surprise to me". I really hope I'm wrong with this insinuation.

Ed Miller

It would be interesting to see the last year's attendance numbers. Cold Wars used to be the cash cow for HMGS. Not sure that's true now or not.

Historygamer.

No need to be a cash cow. Remember we are not for profit. If the show breaks even after all the bills are paid who cares. There is too much $ in the kitty now.

To much of something can be a bad thing.

Except for Old Glory minis….

"Remember, A very very large % of the American population lives within 100 miles either side of the I-95 corridor between Boston and Richmond --- I mean a VERY, VERY large %."

A real shame they could not make things work in Fredericksburg, gross saleswise, those were some of my best Historicons, but net profitwise, not so much as I had to dedicate Tuesday and the following Monday to driving due to the distance, 6 nights of hotels, meals, 8 days of van rentals, it was a killer………still, considering the population base they had to work off of, I don't get why the numbers were not there…………

Not necessarily ranked in order of preference:
a) a second convention in Downtown Lancaster;
b) a second convention at Valley Forge; I would grit my teeth and go.
c) I would really have to be sold on this; right now I know nothing, nothing, nothing. (Sgt. Schultz)
d) a convention in York (curious why this never worked out)
e) no way
f) I'm not creative or well-informed enough to know even where to start with this one. I do know that "orangutans are skeptical of changes in their cages", and I rate myself as an old man of the jungle.

Why think so small, Wackmole? Hold the convention in Davos and finally have a World Historical Miniature Convention. I hope the 100 who attend will have a great time.

But just to meet you half way, I hereby decree that Little Wars be henceforth regarded as the National Historical Miniatures Convention.

Now could we get back to when and where to hold conventions for maximum attendance? Because if you figure a 500 mile radius--as much as anyone will drive in a day--the circle which contains the most American historical miniatures gamers is going to wind up centered in Pennsylvania.

Oh. Ran the mileage on Ocean City. It would mean an extra night on the road each way for me. At that point, I switch to Little Wars. What is it about HMGS that they keep trying for locations at water's edge? Are they expecting to evacuate by sea?

I think HMGS BOD should consider redefining the convention center search criteria… Many locations/sites were disqualified due to the fact that there was no attached hotel.

TRU

How about at the Old Glory factory 35 miles from Pittsburgh?

I despise VF. I would be happy to return to Fredericksburg. Having an HMGS East con on the west coast makes no sense. I will try to attend the cons but VFCC is my least favorite location.

I'm sure an "Old Glory Gameday" at the factory would be very popular.

I think Foundry did something similar in the UK.

How about at the Old Glory factory 35 miles from Pittsburgh?

Which direction? PA? OH? WV? MD (maybe more than 35 from P-burgh)?

I think E would be a very bad idea. That's not a sort of "next level" we should be considering.

I'm very much afraid if HMGS embraces a contracting profile, it won't be too long before we can fit back into the old Penn Harris.

Russ, I am game, but I get to stay at the Ranch!

D) Connecticut Convention Center. What a Palace. Attached Marriot and all the amenities. ctconventions.com.

"The Connecticut Convention Center and Front Street have proven over the years to be the crown jewels of Hartford by boasting excellent meeting facilities, a diverse cross-section of restaurants, entertainment venues, and relaxing nightlife."

link

Woody's quote from Toy Story could be modified for these discussions. "Every Cold Wars and Fall In we go through this"

F. Traveling convention. For example: odd numbered years move to a location x miles north of lancaster. Even years, x miles south of lancaster. Cold Wars is a very small convention, so moving it yearly may actually encourage others to participate.

Just a thought.

This issue has been beaten to death and over the years the general consensus is that, using the Washington DC area as ground zero, you can move roughly 2 hours north or 1 hour south, but within the I-95 corridor and still be in the sweet spot. The issue of dropping a convention does need to be resolved.

So has anything been officially stated as the issue with the Host? I am hearing rumors that they don't want us, but just rumors. Maybe one of the BODs could posted on the news Feed?

The fact that no one has come on here to deny it says it all. What the reasons are behind it, and whether a contract has already been signed are other matters.

Historygamer,or is this simply what some folks want to be perceive, HMGS has a long history of this.

The fact that no one has come on here to deny it says it all.

Demand answers Friday night at the members meeting?

"Demand answers Friday night at the members meeting?"

That meeting is going to be, shall we say, interesting.

If I were a betting man, my bet would be that either;

a.) The Host, formerly known as "that dump the Host", once renovated became too expensive.
b.) The Host has decided they no longer wish to host (as it were) Cold Wars.

I can't imagine they would toss HMGS out on the street on their collective ass, so it has to be a cost issue, I also can't imagine the BOD would just arbitrarily move the convention if the cost of having it at the host was still reasonable.

The fact that no one has come on here to deny it says it all.

You're assuming this forum is important enough to the HMGS crew.

IIRC when negotiations for Historicon were ongoing, the Host was quoting guest room rates $30 USD higher than prior years. I imagine function room costs also went up by a similar rate. Saying they kicked out HMGS may be better expressed as "they didn't want HMGS at the old rates" . And don't forget, as much as the Host in its past form was an utter dump they seemed to have no problem filling the space. It could be that other group have booked the space for the weeks HMGS was looking at.

+1 to Condottiere's comments, especially with the convention now only 2 weeks away.

FYI, in an organization of 2000+ paid members, fewer than 500 voted in the last HMGS (East) election.

The typical Membership Meeting at Cold Wars and/or Historicon is lucky if it draws more than 40 persons. That includes the 7 BOD members who are there along with other HMGS officials and convention staff.

The fact is that many people would rather spend time playing in their 2nd or 3rd Zombie game rather than spend an hour in an HMGS meeting. (Feel free to insert your favorite joke here about the connection between HMGS meetings and Zombies.) It's much easier to post "facts", opinions and rumors on TMP.

Hope to see you at Cold Wars, including the Membership Meeting.

@ Al S

Mayhaps the WyndHost offered us "the going rate." That being, the rate that made it obvious the WyndHost thought it was time that we were going.

E.

"There is too much $ in the kitty now"

All the more reason to bring costs down. I heard from a gentleman who told me he and his sons always enjoyed going to the cons while they were young (free admission) Now, they just can't afford to all come down together for the day/evening with the costs being what they are.

If it's "Non-Profit", what are the profits for? Give out less swag and give some people a break. The organization will make out better in the long haul.

47Ronin, let's not confuse the two. Voting for the BoD matters. The meeting is a waste of my time and theirs. Yes, I've gone in the past. But it has neither influence nor authority, and if the BoD ever wants to be informative, they have our e-mail addresses. I maxed out on meetings held because "it's Thursday afternoon, and we always hold meetings on Thursday afternoon" a very long time ago.

No mention of the move in the Membership Meeting Agenda:

Historical Miniatures Gaming Society, Inc.
Notice of General Membership Meeting

March 13th, 2020 at 7:00 PM
Hopewell Room, Wyndham Lancaster Resort

HMGS, lnc. will be holding a General Membership Meeting during Cold Wars 2020. This meeting will take place at 7:00 PM on Friday, March 13th 2020 in the Hopewell Room at the Wyndham Lancaster Resort & Convention Center (formerly known as the Lancaster Host).

Meeting Agenda

Call to Order and determination of quorum
Approval of the minutes from the 2019 Annual Membership Meeting (held at Historicon 2019 on July 12th).
New Business
Nomination of candidates for the Board of Directors election.
(Nominators MUST have nominee's email address, phone number and the correct spelling of the nominee's name, which must be provided to the Election Committee BEFORE leaving the Membership Meeting.)
Officer Reports
Treasurer
For the Good of the Order
Adjournment

Jim Stanton
Secretary, HMGS Inc.
secretary@hmgs.org

Let Us Know You Plan to Attend: in the Cold Wars 2020 Online Registration, the Membership Meeting is listed as an Event, so that you can select it to show that you plan on attending the meeting.

I got the same email, but why is it not posted on everyone's feed?