CAGs very own hole..

Maybe I'll get some dings now...

I firmly believe we need our own brick and mortar. We need a strong location viable for all and a commitment to maturity to make this work. I have several players speak to me with a bit of excitement, but want to get a real vibe from the whole community on this topic.

What I dont want to hear...

"SciFi/UU&A is close to me so just use that dude."

"ACME is da bomb, wtf dude."

Having to rely on others without our intrests in mind is bogus. LGS are not exactly "non profit" organizations. We would have the space for tournaments without additional expense. We would have game nights and game days that are executed on our hours of operation. We would even have the licensure for whole sale appeal. Location is key and most liklely the hottest debate.


Thoughts?

It would make setting up times and place to meet easier and allow things like campaigns to be set up a lot easier as well

Well, the most obvious is the space where World of Hobbies and Games USED to be.

Tons of potential table space. Seems central-ish (unless you do live on the east side or NKy. Bathrooms. I dunno.

They have Bathrooms. And in decent shape. I've been plugging this spot for awhile. And it always has been a central location for all of us. I agree with Marc. we need a real home. A home were we all can get together. Not hear nor there. But one spot.

I'd love one spot to get my ass kicked at.

One option is to make a non profit group. Then you would have access to areas like lions clubs to host events for free on certain nights of the week. One of our game clubs did this in alaska. It would also host regular events as well as an annual convention.

I gave this some thought as well Carl. We would have to have the official "board members" and reach out to the community and such. Not impossible..

If I were to rank the needs of the communty via grumblings...

1. Location
2. Hours of Operation
3. Space
4. Staff Courtesy
5. Willingness to bar Orks

We can provide a better gaming experience with a CAG clubhouse.

It is doable, but there are other consoderations. Even non-profits have expenses, where will the money come from? The last time I checked into it, you still have to buy GW stuff through a distributor, but if you can get a commitment from the club, you can get some income from that. I would buy local if I could get a 20% discount and you would still make about 5% more or less.
That is still not enough to support a brick and mortar. I still hang with Tom once in a while, the hobby side of WHG sold poorly locally, he made money on they internet until GW found out and stopped selling to him. The store stayed open as long as it did because of the racing side.
The last thing to consider is security. As hard as it may seem to believe, our hobby seems to attract thieves. Dave complained sometimes of it and Tom said a lot of things went missing in the hobby isles. The idea of a Brick and Mortar sounds great, but unless one of us (not I), is independantly wealthy, I thing it is out.
Now as a non-profit, or a not-for-profit (two different things), it opens up a lot of options. We would have to write a charter and mission statement, set up a board and apply for a sales exempt status. We would have to put a lot of thought into our charter and mission statement or they would disallow the tax exempt status and we would not be able to buy at wholesale prices.
Just my two cents and some food for thought.

Thing is that if you have a non profit, you wont need to sell anything. you can get space to play for free. My two cents here (I've given 20$ worth to marc already ) Is that the CAG should become nonprofit. Matt and Sean officers with a couple others on the board to be treasurer and the like.
They would then be able to get support easier from stores because it becomes a write off to donate to them.
As far as a regular brick and mortar... well that cat stays in the bag for now. But I will say that I have plans.

Well, I found the bylaws for the AMGC (Anchorage Miniature Gaming Club), the group I belonged to in Alaska. I thought I would post it here os that those interested would have an example to work with and change to meet our needs.

1. ARTICLE I: MISSION STATEMENT
1.1. The Anchorage Miniatures Gaming Club (AMGC) shall provide a safe and enjoyable place for gamers to meet on a regular basis to pursue their hobby, actively promote the growth of the hobby in the local area, and act as a focal point for miniature gaming activities in the Anchorage area.
2. ARTICLE II: OFFICERS
2.1. Officers will be elected yearly at the AMGC annual general meeting (AGM).
2.2. Officers of the AMGC shall be:
2.2.1. President,
2.2.2. Vice-President,
2.2.3. Secretary/Treasurer,
2.2.4. Webmaster,
2.2.5. Newsletter Editor.
2.3. The President shall preside at monthly Club Business meetings and shall act as the club’s spokesman with any outside contacts.
2.4. The Vice-President shall preside at all official club functions at which the President is unable to attend or which are delegated to him, shall maintain the membership list, and shall maintain the Club contact list.
2.5. The Secretary/Treasurer shall maintain club funds, shall provide financial reports to the membership and shall control / report against the club budget.
2.6. The Webmaster shall maintain the club web site, with at least monthly updates.
2.7. The Editor shall produce a Club newsletter on at least a bi-monthly basis (six issues a year).
3. ARTICLE III: ELECTIONS
3.1. Nominations for club officers will be at the AMGC annual meeting, or in writing to the Secretary / Treasurer before the meeting.
3.2. Nominations do not have to be seconded, but must be accepted by the nominee.
3.3. In the event of a single nominee for a club officer position, that individual may be elected by acclamation, provided there is no objection.
3.4. Otherwise, officers shall be elected by open vote (show of hands). There will be a run off between the two highest vote getters, if no single candidate has 50% of the vote, or if there is a tie.
4. ARTICLE IV: MEMBERSHIP
4.1. Persons aged 18 or older will be considered to have full membership; Juniors 11 – 17 may join, but must have full member present as sponsor.
4.2. Officers must be at least 21 years old.
4.3. Yearly dues payable no later than the annual general meeting.
4.4. Active members are those persons who have paid dues for the current year, who have attended or have excused absences from, at least 2/3 of the business meetings in the last calendar year, and who have attended at least 1 club business meeting in the last 3.
4.5. Active members may be either Full or Junior members.
4.6. All members who are not Active are considered Inactive until they either meet the requirements of Active Membership, or until their dues run out at the next annual meeting.
4.7. Non-paid participants in club meetings are to be considered guests and must be sponsored by an active member.
4.8. Members will act in a responsible and considerate manner to other members and guests. Failure to do so can result in loss of membership privileges and expulsion from the club meeting.
4.9. Members can only be expelled from the club by at least a 2/3 majority vote of the active club membership at a regular Club business meeting.
4.10. Expulsion from the club cannot be voted on without a prior WRITTEN warning by a Club Officer.
4.11. The Anchorage Miniatures Gaming Club does not discriminate against race, creed, religion or color. Anyone who meets the membership requirements described above is eligible to join the Club.
4.12. The Club membership may, by majority vote, extend Honorary Memberships to individuals they deem worthy.
4.13. Honorary Memberships are valid for the remainder of the Club Membership year, but may be extended by majority vote of the Active Membership at the Annual General Meeting.
5. ARTICLE V: QUORUM
5.1. 50% of the active membership is a quorum.
5.2. Quorum is required to vote on:
5.2.1. Changes to the by-laws
5.2.2. Changes to the officers
5.2.3. Changes to the budget
5.2.4. Changes to the club dues
5.3. All other club business that the President of the club deems warrant membership support
6. ARTICLE VI: FINANCES
6.1. Secretary / Treasurer will prepare a financial report for each club business meeting.
6.2. The Secretary / Treasurer and 2 others will propose the Club budget for the coming year at the Annual General Meeting
6.3. Proposed budget will be voted on at the annual meeting or at the first club business meeting following the annual meeting.
6.4. The Club will establish and maintain a non-profit status.
6.5. A bank account will be maintained in the club’s name.
6.6. The bank account signatories will be the President, the Vice-President and the Secretary / Treasurer.
6.7. Signatures of two of the three signatories will be required on all Club checks.
6.8. Dues will be $20 per year, pro-rated by quarters, payable to the Secretary / Treasurer.
6.9. Members who leave the club, or become inactive before the completion of the club year will not be eligible for a refund.
6.10. Claims for expenses against club funds must be for approved purchases and must be accompanied by receipts as appropriate. Approval will be by the President and reported at the next business meeting by the Secretary / Treasurer.
7. ARTICLE VII: MEETINGS & LOCATION
7.1. Club business meetings will be on the 1st Saturday of each calendar month.
7.2. The President will run the Club business meetings (including the annual meeting) in accordance with standard parliamentary procedures.
7.3. The Secretary/Treasurer or his/her designee shall provide minutes of the monthly business meeting to the membership within 1 calendar week of the meeting.
7.4. The order of business at club business meetings shall be as follows:
7.4.1. Quorum Determination
7.4.2. Reading of Minutes
7.4.3. President's Report
7.4.4. Secretary/Treasurer’s Report:
7.4.5. Standing Committee Reports
7.4.6. Temporary Committee Reports
7.4.7. Correspondence
7.4.8. Old Business
7.4.9. New Business (to include resolution of Procedural Issues)
7.4.10. Elections (if scheduled)
7.4.11. Adjournment
7.5. The Club will meet every Friday and Saturday of the month for recreational purposes (including the week of the monthly Club business meeting)
7.6. The senior officer present at each meeting shall act as “Sergeant-At-Arms” for that meeting.
7.7. The Sergeant-At-Arms will be responsible for maintaining decorum at club meetings, up to and including asking unruly individuals to leave the premises. Individuals, who are asked to leave, may be liable for club disciplinary action up to and including revocation of membership (expulsion from the Club).
7.8. The club meets at the Spenard Lions Club.
8. ARTICLE VIII: CONVENTIONS
8.1. The Club will sponsor at least 1 convention per year.
8.2. The AMGC Annual convention’s name shall be “BRIMFROST” followed by the calendar year (e.g. BRIMFROST 2008)
8.3. Club sponsored conventions will be organized by a Convention Chairman, elected by the active membership.
8.4. The Convention chairman shall assemble a Convention committee and will present reports to the membership at the club business meetings.
8.5. The Convention Committee will submit a budget / balance sheet to the Secretary / Treasurer for presentation at the next club business meeting for approval.
8.6. Convention planning meetings will happen outside, but not instead of, the regular Club business meetings.
9. ARTICLE IX: CLUB ID CARDS
9.1. Each member will receive a Club ID card annually after dues are paid.
9.2. These Club cards can be used to gain discounts at participating merchants. These cards are not transferable and the merchants have complete control of the discounts offered.

umm....summed it up for me.....


Hows tha hands there Carl?? LOL

I would be important to know how much having a space will cost us as a group, even if we aren't a store per se.

Even as a non-profit we'll still have to cover rent and utilities. I don't really know what a "commercial" type space goes for.

If possible it would be pretty awesome to have a clubhouse of sorts. Clean, lots of space. Cheaper tournaments and a place to hang. Plus crowd control is always key, no massive BO allowed for instance.

JMarv wrote:

Even as a non-profit we'll still have to cover rent and utilities. I don't really know what a "commercial" type space goes for.

Well, as long as its done right a non profit would only have to pay when using larger facilities for holding conventions/ events. The rest of the time we would have access to places for free. The group in Alaska held smaller events and built up funds to hold the conventions. The officers of the group would just have to make sure how much the org would be allowed to make in profit and how the money earned could be used.

I like the idea of our own brick and mortar store.. lupus and i discussed it but came up short on the "independently wealthy" part... lol wonder if we can get funding from someone?lol

BATTLE BUNKER!!!

The biggest and baddest one out there!!!

I know that several people have talked about opening a store...
A battle bunker type seems like the way to go...

I also know that there have been talks of stores expanding to other areas...

I'm sure most of us have connections to people that can help with one aspect or another in this matter.

Btw did anyone here know that a non profit organization by definition just has to "Donate" 5% each year. Think NFL.

This is a very doable thing for us to undertake.

SO now that the questions are public now its time to meet and discuss these ideas and get somewhere with it.

GW has a nice little page concerning real estate and what they expect from 'games workshop' stores.. ones that they open and BATTLE BUNKERS especially... to those of us who want to open up a store, this is an interesting read...
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/article.jsp?community=true&catId=&categoryId=800003&aId=3500005

i am definetly willing to help/work at/run in anyway i can, especially if we have a brick and mortar hee in west chester/union center/tri county..

the strip malls right off of the highway on cincinnati dayton road and off of UC are renting out.. i can check on prices/rent if wanted..

NOT GW!!! that would be cool but I think that would tie the hands too much.
So I meant Battle Bunker like.

The World of Hobbies location is a good spot if its a good price and allows for the options we need mainly because it is in the middle of west and east side. Its for sure closer than the places I go to now.
I would actually prefer the place to be a place that is free standing...
if cost wasn't in issue.

the problem with WOHG, if i remmeber someone telling mefriday night, was that they have to foillow micro center mall hours.. so closing the store at 9.. etc which isnt bad because you can always allow people to come in and out of the store when its closed and just do gaming..

I played WFB @WoHG until 3a with Darren and the boys many times.