Saturday, 27th April 2002

1.30pm

Minutes

• Apologies from Pam Lindsay, Andy Richier and Andrew Bourne.

• Present - Gerald Udowiczenko, Peter Murray, Mark Moores, Steve Beer, Rob Hallett, Phil Benson, Sean Hamill, Rainier W. Madruga, (Gabriel Figueira and Pam Lindsay - late)

• The Club has £433.61 in the bank as of 31 March 2002, however the last bill (January - March) is still outstanding.
  Actions
  Chase the Community Centre for the bill.

• It was decided that GMs and Committee Members would still pay the weekly table charges. However as recognition of their work, it was decided that Committee Members would not pay their renewal fee for the duration they hold a position.
  Actions
  Constitution to be amended.

• It was agreed to purchase a copy of Formula De (approx £30) and some tracks. As the club intends to hold regular tournaments. Getting a magazine subscription was also discussed. However the magazine should be as generic as possible to cover all gaming systems. The remainder of funds will be left in the bank to cover any shortages and expenditure over the coming year.
  Actions
  Look into a magazine subscription.
  Purchase Formula De & Tracks (find best prices).

• It was decided that some funds would be used for the 2002 Christmas Party to purchase drinks (alcoholic and soft). The amount will be decided upon closer to the date and depended on surplus fund available.
  Actions
  None at present.

• An extra slot (7 - 10pm) will be added to the clubs schedule. This slot can be used for either extending an existing game till 10pm, running short RPG games (7-10pm) or holding tournaments. For the extra slot, an addition sum of £1 will be paid by each member playing. This late slot will not have a fixed date and will be booked by members as required. At least 2 weeks notice will be required for booking or cancellation.
  The possibility of evening slots during the week and Sundays were disused, but this is dependant on the availability of Community Centre.
  Actions
  Find out which additional days the Community Centre is free.

• The general feedback was that running a Convention was a good idea. However we should start small. Run a few RPGs (Living environments etc) and some board games. The best day to run at the Community Centre would be a Sunday, as there are no parking restrictions. If the Community Centre is not available or too costly, we should perhaps look into alternative venues in the general area (Ealing).
  We have enough contacts that if Shadow Warriors was to run a Convention we would be able to call on help from others outside of the club as well as use the expertise of club members. The club would also be able to put some funds towards the venture.
  Actions
  Look into the cost and availability of hiring the Community Centre.
  Contact Denny about Shadow Warriors demonstration a game at his to be announced Convention (Chelsea Town Hall).
  Contact the organisers of Gen Con UK 2002, to see if Shadow Warriors could hire some tables to have a presence. Demo RPGs, board games etc.
  Look for alternative venues to hold a Convention.

• Mark Moores expressed an interest in running his AD&D game in the near future. As did Peter Murray for SLA and Unbound. No other games were mentioned. As we now have the extra session in the evenings, it was decided that Peter could run his SLA then.
  As to Marks AD&D and Peters Unbound, they will have to wait until we have another RPG review. It was decided that this review will be an annual event and be held in September.
  The Open Games Day got mixed reviews, as there would be too much disruption to the schedule. However it was suggested that perhaps something could be done on Sundays, availability permitting.
  It was decided to have a Formula De tournament and hold it in the late session. The general idea would be to have 12 races, of which the best 10 count (Grand Prix scoring). This tournament would be held once a month and a small trophy to be presented to the overall winner.
  Actions
  Look into the availability of Sundays at the Community Centre.
  Get costs for a small trophy.

• It was decided that the contact numbers of the Committee Members should not be made generally available. But instead an e-mail address "Committee Members" should be created so that all 3 members would get the e-mail, without 3 separate e-mail address having to be entered. It was mentioned that the Committee Members details are not very obvious. It was suggested to add the Committee Members name, position & e-mail addresses to the front page of the website.
  
  The following Officers were retained:
  Peter Murray - Treasurer
  Gerald Udowiczenko - Chairman
  
  Secretary - Andrew Bourne stood down and Phil Benson was elected in his place.
  Actions
  Update website with Committee Members details.
  Create an e-mail address for the Committee.
  Inform the Community Centre of the change of Secretary.

• Some suggestions for the website,
  Have a counter (or something similar) on the first page of the website to show how many members there are and how many of them are new (as this would show that the club is growing and actively getting new members).
  Elsewhere in the website have a list of the members showing if they are a GM, player etc (some of the newer members might know who is a whom).
  Add a Discussion List
  Actions
  Update wherever possible.

• The subject of advertising was brought up and it was decided to put some posters/flyers in the local libraries, colleges/universities local RPG shops. Basically anywhere that was free.
  A GM workshop was also discussed. Somewhere for GMs to exchange ideas and problems/solutions. A lot of the current membership are experienced GMs and it was thought that an open forum where tips of how to run campaigns, control situations and players would be beneficial.
  Actions
  Decide where we want to advertise and give those members closest flyers to put up on notice boards etc.
  Add a GM section to the website.
  Get an FAQ together for GMs