Almost thirteen years have passed since my last trip to Las Vegas, and those memories focus on spending time at the Excalibur, playing the carnival games with my husband and son. March saw my return to the City of Lights. This time, I traveled the north Strip, with my days full of retailer presentations and working the Paizo booth at the GAMA Trade Show. Hail and well met to all the retailers I met! For those I didn't get the change to meet, drop me a line at pfsretailers@paizo.com if you have questions or comments about Pathfinder Society. Each evening offered opportunities to eat in some fine restaurants and chat with business partners and other attendees. I explored some gorgeous buildings, taking in the opulence and extravagance. The trip ended all too soon, but I wasn't filled with post-convention blues, as I traveled on to Florida for some vacation time with my family. I enjoyed myself and recharged my batteries in preparation for convention season.
Now that I'm back in the Paizo offices I'm busy at work on a myriad of tasks. The biggest ones involves pulling the edges together on Pathfinder Society projects for the upcoming convention season. John, Linda, Tanis, and I are spending quite a bit of time focused on PFS activities for the next few months. That and planning out the new Roleplaying Guild season and some new programs for ACG take up a lot of our time. If you want a sneak peak of our efforts, check out John and I on the Know Direction podcast this Wednesday, April 6th, at 5:30 Pacific.
While I've organized many conventions over my three years as Venture-Officer, now I'm learning how to juggle multiple shows at one time. At this time, the PaizoCon volunteer roster is complete, with the exception of cancellations. Speaking of cancellations, several Gen Con volunteer spaces opened up. I will be reviewing the signups and contacting peoples this week. I thank everyone for their patience as I work through the herculean task of setting up our biggest conventions. Ya think you know what goes on behind the scenes until you get there and find out you only saw the tip of the iceberg.
Speaking of travel and conventions. My schedule for the next few months includes attendance at:
- Emerald City Comic Con—April 8-10
- Quad Cities Gaming Convention—April 30-May 1
- PaizoCon—May 27-30
- Origins—June 15-19
- PaizoCon UK—July 22-24
- Gen Con—August 4-7
- PAX—September 2-5
But conventions are just one part of the job. Another large component involves volunteer oversight. My inbox overfloweth with new applications. Awesome news, so many volunteers expressing eagerness at organizing PFS activities. One of my goals for this week: activate status on all received applications. Will check in next Monday on reaching my goal.
Speaking (writing?) of volunteers. Over the past month, two GMs earned their five-star status. Jim Hazel and Landon Hatfield both ran their 150th game in March. We also identified a GM, Josh McIllwain, who qualified for his fifth star in July, but hadn't been announced. Please take a moment to congratulate our excellent GMs who achieved this recognition.
Some parting thoughts as we head into convention season: As a game system, Pathfinder embraces everyone, and so too does the Pathfinder Society. As you travel to conventions or meet up at your local game store, remember to treat each other with respect and understanding. We are a friendly and welcoming community of gamers—if you feel that another person at the table or event is acting against the spirit of the campaign, please contact your local Venture-Officer, who will bring it up the chain to where it can be resolved. Conversely, my door is always open!
Explore, Report, Cooperate!
Tonya Woldridge
Organized Play Coordinator
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 4, RPG Superstar 2011 Top 16
