[BGB] Havoc

[Robert Geurden]

If I remember the figures correctly, we are anticipating that it will cost
us about $5,500.00 to sponsor Havoc this year (including rental of the hall,
rental of tables, supplies, etc.), up from about $5,200 last year.
Historically, Havoc has just barely broken even – in some years, we’ve lost
a few hundred dollars (and members of BGB have dug into their pockets to
meet the shortfall); at the best of times, we have cleared $100.00 or so.
BGBoston, Inc., the sponsor of Havoc, is a non-profit organization organized
under Section 501(c)(7) of the Tax Code, and by law cannot distribute
profits to its members, not that we have ever had any profits to distribute
in the first place.  If you can show us how to run a convention of the size
and caliber of Havoc without increasing the entrance fee as we have done and
without inviting “very high priced vendors”, feel free to let us know.

 

Compared to other regional conventions, including Total Confusion and
Carnage ($60 for the weekend), the entrance fee for Havoc is about ½ the
price, even after our recent price increase.  It is true that HMGS is able
to charge a rate that is lower yet, however, the HMGS conventions are large
enough and attract attendees from a wide enough geographical area that they
are able to guarantee that the rooms at the hotel will be filled, and
consequently are able to negotiate with the hotel to obtain the convention
site itself at no cost to the organization.  In other words, in the case of
the HMGS conventions, the price of the hotel rooms subsidizes the
convention, and it is no accident that the cost of hotel rooms in Lancaster,
PA goes up during the week that the HMGS conventions are run there.  The
economics are very simple:  regional conventions are going to be more
expensive to run than the large national conventions, such as HMGS,
especially in regions such as New England, where the cost of real estate is
high.  The answer is also simple:  people can either choose to support their
hobby (and I don’t think that asking someone to pay between $10 and $35 for
a weekends’ worth of entertainment is any great imposition); or they can
choose not to do so.  If people choose not to support the hobby, there will
be no Havoc or similar conventions since very few, if any, people are
willing to both donate their time before and during the convention to help
run it, and to underwrite it financially so that others may enjoy the
benefits -- the choice is up to you.

 

 

___________

From: MGluteus at aol.com [mailto:MGluteus at aol.com] 

Sent: Wednesday, January 16, 2008 9:29 PM

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Cc: bcarson at asgoth.com; bgb at battlegroupboston.org

Subject: HAVOC

 

 

I have discovered that HAVOC is charging an entrance fee to game masters who
are putting on games this year. It is obvious that people go to HAVOC to
play the games that are there, certainly not to support the very high priced
vendors and non-existant flea market! Now they are going to charge for
putting on the games that draw their clientele!

 

I have always been against this practice and part of the reason I was
involved in the creation of HMGS was because other conventions carried on
this practice.  HMGS does not and never will. I will not attend HAVOC for
the first time since its inception and I urge you to do the same.

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