Board of Directors/2012 Election

Board of Directors

The 2012 election was the second ever Board of Directors election, and the first to use the formal election process as enacted by the first Board in the Constitution. There were 16 candidates from 7 chapters, and 408 members voted in the election.

Here you can see the Winners at a glance, and then below the original declaration from all candidates.

Winners

Listed Alphabetically by last name.

Member's Name	Specific Position	Chapter of Membership	House Coat
Brandon Boatright	No specific position	Sic City Ogres
Brenda Cothern	Editor-in-Chief	Tampa Bay Ogres	Forthcoming
Graham Griffin	Inquisitor	Quilt City Ogres	Forthcoming
Hooper	Director of Communications	Quilt City Ogres
Steve Johnson	No specific position	Ultra City Ogres
Walter Pfeifer-Thompson	Supreme Game Master	Quilt City Ogres
Bridget Reed	No specific position	Quilt City Ogres	Forthcoming
Dominick Trascritti	No specific position	Tampa Bay Ogres	Forthcoming
Michael VonHasseln	No specific position	River City Ogres	Forthcoming
Lacey Wilson		Quilt City Ogres

Candidates

Listed alphabetically by last name.

Boatright, Brandon

Picture	Name	Chapter	Age	Contact Method	Organizational History	Position Intent
	Brandon Boatright	Sic City Ogres	21	jimzo_41 AT hotmail DOTcom	Chapter Coordinator, Sic City Ogres Current Board Member, OGREs Inc.	None stated

Hello, My name is Brandon Boatright. I am From the SiC City OGREs, in Harrisburg Illinois. I am 21 years old. In 2010 in April, Hooper found me on Facebook, and added me. He invited me and some friends out to Egypt Wars in Carbondale, Illinois. We formed out chapter shortly after. We have since had a lot of fun, and plan to have a lot of more fun, within the OGREs. Later that year, there was a board vacancy. I got an e-mail from Hooper saying I had been selected as a preferred candidate as a very active chapter coordinator, and was asking if I wanted the spot. I of course said yes, and here I am today. I have been to several Con's with the OGREs, including doing a panel with Steve Johnson at GenCon, and just meeting up with the OGREs at OMGcon. I began playing D&D in 2008. I played a pre-rolled Cleric, and destroyed mass amounts of undead. Thats how I was introduced into D&D, and found my love for it. I have been a gamer since I was 6, Playing Diablo, and haven't looked back since. I love gaming, and it is something I will never give up. Regrettably, I have never had the chance to work with any other organization, besides the OGREs. In Five years we will be a much larger organization, and much more broader.

Bottoms, Chasity

Picture	Name	Chapter	Age	Contact Method	Organizational History	Position Intent
	Chasity Bottoms	Quilt City Ogres	27	purelysapphires13 ATyahooDOTcom	Regent, Amtgard chapter	None stated

Hello there! I'm Chass. My name is actually, Chasity Bottoms, but you can just worry about calling me Chass. Someday I'll have it changed for real. I'm 27 years old, and have been gaming with the Quilt City Ogres for over two years now. I grew up with some of the veteran members of the group, but never gamed with them at that time. Years passed, I lost touch with most of them... until Facebook and mutual friends brought us back together, and thus my current involvement in the Ogres was begun.

I must admit that I am not the greatest fan of tabeltop roleplaying games. I have done it, I have enjoyed it, but it's not my preference. Board games however, I love to pieces. Whether classics like Monopoly, or unique German-style games, I'll try any of them at least once, and so far have found very few that I don't enjoy playing. Cooperative board games are also quickly becoming my favorites. I am currently on a mission to beat Pandemic, and if anyone wishes to help me achieve that goal, please contact me and we can arrange it!

My participation and association with the Ogres has been growing by leaps and bounds in the last year, and especially in the last six months. As of January 2012, I began serving as Regent (Officer of Arts & Sciences) in the local Amtgard freehold, a position which I intend to hold and strive at. I am declaring for Board of Directors because I love gaming with the Ogres, and want to do everything I can to help the organization grow and succeed. I currently co-host gaming nights in my home twice-weekly. I feel that my preference for more casual games helps lend a friendly, encouraging atmosphere toward new gamers who might be intimidated by full-scale roleplaying or complicated strategy games.

My hours of availability vary from day to day, but I will always get back to you sooner rather than later. I have an addiction to the internet. It's not pretty, but it serves me well. For the quickest response, text me (two seven zero-three six six-five zero two three). Your second best bet to get a hold of me is through a Facebook message. Find me at facebook.com/sapphires13. Lastly, should you prefer to email me, I can be reached at purelysapphires13[AT]yahoo[DOT]com.

Cothern, Brenda

Picture	Name	Chapter	Age	Contact Method	Organizational History	Position Intent
	Brenda Cothern	Tampa Bay Ogres	??	tampabay.ogre ATgmailDOTcom	Chapter Coordinator, Tampa Bay Ogres

You find yourself standing on a pristinely white sand beach. The sand is finer and softer than you ever have seen or felt before and when you scoop up a handful to look closely, you can see rainbow colors reflecting off each of the miniscule grains. The waves are lapping serenely at your bare feet and the water is just warm enough to be refreshing. The tide is neither high nor low as the sun is set high in the cloud sprinkled sky. There is not a ship or boat to be seen as you look out over the vast, crystal blue green ocean before you. A balmy breeze caresses your skin and brings with it the smells of citrus. As you take in your surroundings, you notice that just down the beach, nestled between two long palms that look like fingers reaching for the sky, is a woman lying in a hammock. Even from this distance, you can see her long, auburn braided hair. She wears a purple cloth with some sort of designs on it that you can not make out. She does not appear to have seen you yet. What are you going to do?*

We have all started out our gaming adventures 'finding' ourselves or waking up somewhere. The story has to start somewhere, right? My story started over thirty years ago when I started gaming and my love for D&D, especially the Forgotten Reams, began.

Last year, after attending GenCon Indy, was the first time I heard of the O.G.R.E.s. I immediately knew that this organization had finally achieved what I, myself, have been trying to achieve in the Tampa Bay area since 1999 when I started my website, MsKina's D&D Site (seen here). I attempted to network all the D&D gamers and for the longest time, (since there were no sites like Meet-Up) my site was the only D&D networking site for the Tampa Bay area. When I returned from GenCon, I immediately opened Florida's first O.G.R.E. chapter and within the first two months, had 75 members.

Fast forward to the last ten years. For six of those years, I was the Director of Operations for a marketing company and sat on the board as parliamentarian, secretary, & treasurer (these were one year terms). Currently, I am also a member of another non-profit organization, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and being encouraged by other members to run for their board in November. I am also the mother of three grown daughters and have been with my loving, gaming- geek-like-me, husband for fifteen years. I have turned my love for weaving a tale into a profession and am now a full time author of fantasy and paranormal erotica (seen here).

Even though I did not nominate myself for the O.G.R.E.s, I feel that my past experience with corporate boards and non-profit organizations, as well as my long time gaming history will make a great addition to the O.G.R.E. Board. Thank you in advance for your vote!

Dossett, Jeffrey

Bio Not Provided

Griffin, Graham

Picture	Name	Chapter	Age	Contact Method	Organizational History	Position Intent
	Graham Griffin	Quilt City Ogres	30	altren AT quiltcityogres DOTcom	Community Manager, Quilt City Ogres	Inquisitor

Evening (or Morning, perhaps) ladies and gentlemen. My name is Graham Griffin (Age 30) , current Community Manager, a fancy way of saying moderator, of the Quilt City Ogres online presence. I've been GAMING my entire life though I've only been tabletop gaming for since perhaps 1998.

I recall my first game of DND very well, though it clearly wasn't DND. I just made up some entirely too detailed maps and a handful of neat NPCs and ran a game totally sans rules because I had no concept of them. I'd never broken open one of those massive tomes of rules that were so alluring to me when I used to visit the comic shop with my dad. At this point in my life I didn't even know the two were related.

In the years since then and once I finally took an active role in tabletop gaming the hobby itself has become very important to me. I don't really have time to play.I never do, and that's a shame, but I still intensely advocate for those that do and am always trying to guide people to the right game for them. For a lot of people, even those outside the Ogres, I've become the person they go to to learn about new systems and new games. Gaming "matters" to me in a way that very few things do and I truly can't imagine that ever changing.

I'll freely admit that I do not have a terribly large amount of experience being involved in something like this behind the scenes, at least not officially. Though I am quite organized with regards to the things I love, IE gaming, kids, food, gaming. Generally, I always seem to get roped into unofficially officially helping out with projects and groups. Case in point, I've sought out and maintained occasional contact with the group of people who produced Cards Against Humanity and have recently secured an avenue for promotional and free game books from Evil Hat Productions. Why? I wasn't asked to. I did it because The Ogres are important to me and even if I'm currently unable to settle down time to play I still want to help and contribute in any way I can. Is there another member who pays dues but does not play?

It's simple really, The Ogres are a force for good in the tabletop gaming world. We have tons of contacts (including the Gygax estate, for which I am the director of an officially sanctioned Ogres released movie project), tons of people, and more importantly, the sheer force of will to make a difference and get people excited about this amazing hobby? 5 years from now I can't even imagine where we'll be, we'll be 2 beyond an actual honest to god Ogres movie and have released at least one officially licensed Ogres game supplement. We're already making a name for ourselves and it will only become more prominent. In five years we'll be focus testing new Wizards of the Coast and Paizo products. I will have shaken Monte Cooks hand. (Probably awkwardly. I'm a bit of a fan.) 5 years from now we'll be a common name amongst the community. We're going places.

As an addendum, I want to reiterate beyond of the subject bar, that I am running for the specific office of Inquisitor though I would be thrilled to serve in any regard. Mediating has been something I've my entire life. It's even the role I serve, as I mentioned, in my local chapter's online presence. It's what I do, and I don't mind saying that I'm damn good at it. Little makes me happier than everyone working together as a finely oiled machine and I've always viewed it as my role in life. I believe the board would have no difficulty finding examples of people willing to speak on my behalf regarding my ability to mediate a difficult problem.

If you have any concerns or questions feel perfectly free to reach me either at my ogres email address, altrenATquiltcityogresDOTcom, or my personal one, grahamcgriffinATgmailDOTcom. In addition, you may freely reach me any time at Two Seven Zero-Five Five Nine-Five Three Three Nine. Full disclosure: I can be cranky if I'm woken up in the middle of the night. I'm a father, sleep is something of a commodity to me.

Griffin, Michael

Bio Not Provided

Hooper

Picture	Name	Chapter	Age	Contact Method	Organizational History	Position Intent
	Hooper	Quilt City Ogres	27	hooper AT ogrelair DOTorg	Vice Director, Director of Communications, and Chariman, New Chapter Recruitment Committee for OGREs, Inc '09-'12 Founding Five Chapter Coordinator, Quilt City Ogres '06-'12 Chancellor, local Amtgard park Chairman, Paducah Head Start Policy Council '10-'12 Tabletop Coordinator, OMGcon	Director of Communications

These past three years have been a fun roller coaster of meeting new gamers and spreading the OGREs brand into new territories. I hope to assist in the next few years as we begin to better define our boundaries and goals and strengthen our internal networking so that each chapter can be a cohesive functioning arm of the whole. I believe OGREs, Inc. is an exciting new approach to communal gaming due to our lack of exclusion-ism on the basis of specific game systems, companies, or the the like. Our rapid growth is a testament to that fact.

For the past few years, within the scope of my roles on the board I have focused specifically with reaching out and helping start new chapters. Coupled with this continual goal, I hope to assist in providing more immediate bonuses and assistance to our existing chapters and to help them prevent high turnover or stagnation. On an organizational standpoint, I have served and currently serve on numerous boards and committees from the local Head Start policy council, the labor day committee, the Kentucky Modern Whig Party, Advance! Impact!, National Eagle Scout Association; to being an active officer in numerous gaming and/or geek culture clubs such as the North American Scrabble Players Association, STARFLEET Inc, Amtgard Inc, the Society for Creative Anachronism, and more. I'm also in the final stages of being a project lead with other members of OGREs and Hex Games on a forthcoming All-Stars supplemental release.

As one of the members of the current board, I look forward to serving in any capacity the membership at large deem fit. Feel free to contact me via email or text (two seven zero-eight one six-zero zero one two) at any time between 8am and 10pm central standard time and you'll get an extremely rapid response!

Hughes, Jarrett

Bio Not Provided

Johnson, Steve

Picture	Name	Chapter	Age	Contact Method	Organizational History	Position Intent
	Steve Johnson	Ultra City Ogres	39	sjohnson AT hexgames DOTcom	Board Member for OGREs, Inc 2009-2012 Co-Founder/Officer of Transylvania Gamers' Guild (Transylvania University) Member of the Game Publishers' Association	None Stated

I've been a gamer (mostly RPGs) since the 1980s. I've also worked at all three tiers of the gaming industry (publishing, distribution, and retail) and currently serve as Operations Director for Hex Games. I'm the co-creator of the QAGS RPG and have written numerous game supplements, including Spooky: The Definitive Guide to Horror Gaming, Roller Girls Vs, and All-Stars: A Game of Low Budge Super-Heroes.

I'd like to see the OGREs holding events/meetups at the major gaming conventions and possibly running a regular convention. Also, since the OGREs are not tied to a particular game, company, or system, I think we're in a unique position to set up programs that can benefit both OGRE members and the industry as a whole--for example, an advocacy "hotline," or a program that helps game designers find playtesters.

Kubitschek, Jake

Bio Not Provided

Price, Robert

Bio Not Provided

Pfeifer-Thompson, Walter

Picture	Name	Chapter	Age	Contact Method	Organizational History	Position Intent
	Walter Pfeifer-Thompson	Quilt City Ogres	30	neodymium AT quiltcityogres DOTcom	Supreme Game Master for OGREs, Inc 2009-2012 Owner, The Ogre Lair, LLC.	Supreme Game Master

I've been a gamer (mostly RPGs) since AD&D 2nd edition, played and read all sorts of games since then. In five years, I'd like to see OGREs on its way to being the foremost gaming community in the world. A sleek game-enabling machine.

Reed, Bridget

Picture	Name	Chapter	Age	Contact Method	Organizational History	Position Intent
	Bridget Reed	Quilt City Ogres	??	bridgetftw ATgmailDOTcom	Counselor, Camp Ondessonk

Trascritti, Dominick

Picture	Name	Chapter	Age	Contact Method	Organizational History	Position Intent
	Dominick Trascritti	Tampa Bay Ogres	49	Dominicktrascritti ATyahoo DOTcom	President of an Amateur Radio Club Grand Knight of a Knight of Columbus Chapter Served on non profit boards and committees	None

I have served as an full time employee for a nonprofit document and translation organization, worked for PBS television and radio stations. I also was a supernumerary of an Opera company. Professionally, I am an engineering manager, and a program manager. I have run large defense projects involving more than two dozen people, and coordinated groups across disciplines. I have also been responsible for customer briefings, white papers and proposals. I have been on process boards, and I am pursuing PMP certification. Within our hobby, I have assisted at conventions in Florida since the 1980s. I switched over from open gaming to volunteer at organized play events since 2003, organized smaller conventions since 2008, run the RPG room for various Florida events, and since 2009 I have run the RPG floor at Megacon in Orlando, FL. For Megacon 2013 I will serve as overall gaming director. I have served as founder and chair of Tampa Area Gamers, and as a proud OGRE member.

I have been playing strategic games since elementary school, when a teacher brough a game called Gettysburg from Avalon Hill. We made rules for plastic soldiers, and for risk pieces. As I grew I played other games, among them GEV and OGRE, until my Mother bought me my first D&D basic set by accident, at the hobby store where I bought my model rockets. My friends and I went crazy goin from level 1 to level 3, until I got the rules to go higher.

I have been playing D&D ever since then, from about 1977. I have taken forays into Traveller, Gamma World, Morrow Project, Twilight 2000, and various RPGs. I keep always going back to D&D in some form.

Other miniatures including Battletech, Car Wars, Spacehulk and WH40K. I am a retired Magic player.

After a break from D&D in second edition, when 3rd came out, I came back. In 2002 a friend showed me his organized play D&D, using Living Greyhawk. I was hooked!

I have been playing Paizo Pathfinder Society organized play, and home games since the PF RPG came out. I also enjoy the occaisional 4e D&D game as well. We have been playing more GEV and OGRE lately, in anticipation of the OGRE kickstarter box set!

I think gaming faces some challenges. We are no longer the guys hiding in the basement playing a game nobody understands. On the other hand, console and PC gaming and CCG competing pressures offers stiff competition for attention. Gaming at conventions and game stores is changing little by little.

The trick for the vendors and fans is to show the value in face to face tabletop gaming. Every gaming style and group is different, but we all have many things in common. We work better together than apart.

OGRE provides value to the members and to the gaming community; by doing what it does now. Making connections across the organization, we can help players find play opportunities; conventions find judges or players; and provide a voice to the gaming community as a whole. In five years this is accomplished by internal education and external outreach.

The most successful clubs I have been involved with have provided information on how to reach out, build up members personal skill inventories in this area, and apply professional and personal expertise from members to to goals of the organization.

Von Hasseln, Michael

Bio Forthcoming

Wilson, Lacey

Picture	Name	Chapter	Age	Contact Method	Organizational History	Position Intent
	Lacey Wilson]]	Quilt City Ogres	27	raccooncityangel AT gmailDOTcom	Chairman, Committee on Gaming Advocacy for OGREs, Inc 2009-2012 Sheriff, Local Amtgard Chapter Chapter Coordinator, Quilt City Ogres	None Stated

Ive been playing D&D since 3rd came out, since then ive taken up any game i can find. I enjoy table top, Magic: The Gathering, LARPing with One World By Night, Amtgard, and i've been involved with OmgCon, a video game and anime convention since 2008 in both gaming and organization. I also host weekly board game nights at my home.

I love that the old myths about the dangers of roleplaying are dying off. Gaming is a productive learning experience as well as a lot of fun. Where do you see the Ogres in five years?: I hope to see it grow with the same success as the last few years. To be a nonprofit of good reputation and standing within many communities.

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