5 star GM curiosity

[neferphras]

So i just helped Chris move to the Minni area. I think that makes 6, 5 star gms in the Minneapolis area. Is that the most out there. I would think Seattle area rules, but ... you know curious.

[BartonOliver]

Statewide IIRC correctly Indiana has a very high number, as far as metropolitan areas I think you may be correct, but would probably add Boston to the list. I vaguely remember something about this came up (circuitously once, so I could also be dead wrong)

[Belafon]

Atlanta had a lot, but we keep sending them to Seattle.

[Thea Peters]

Mr Doug Miles had a list going awhile back .. Find it here that detailed where the 5 stars were across the world

[Doug Miles]

I stopped tracking after pathfindersociety.net went up, but it looks like it hasn't been updated in 4 months. It doesn't track region either. If I have some spare time I'll work on updating my old thread.

[LackofFocus]

I know we have a few in the Boston area, but lost 2 to Paizo because they gave them jobs.

[zefig]

Michigan does have a fair few, with at least a few more coming through the pipelines.

[Zandari]

Birmingham would have at least one more if I only I could figure out how to fold time so that I get two weekends each week.

[Deussu]

What about outside US, and possibly outside UK? For example continental numbers, South America, Africa, Continental Europe, Australia.

[Woran]

The netherlands has one five star GM, but we imported him from Texas.

[GreySector]

Doug Miles wrote:

I stopped tracking after pathfindersociety.net went up, but it looks like it hasn't been updated in 4 months. It doesn't track region either. If I have some spare time I'll work on updating my old thread.

Doug,

I've been doing my best to keep up with five-star GMs on this list but I haven't tracked physical location.

[Doug Miles]

Thanks for the link! That makes things a lot simpler.

[GreySector]

Doug Miles wrote:

Thanks for the link! That makes things a lot simpler.

Happy to help!

[Andrew Christian]

I'm not sure we have 6 neferphras.

Ryan Blomquist
Andy Christian
Jon Lamkin
Jon Dehning
Chris Mortika

Ryan Bolduan I don't think ever got his 5th, although he's got to be close and Jack, Kitty, and J Michael are all at 4 stars and should get their 5th sometime in the next 18 months.

Gosh, I keep feeling like I'm missing someone, but I don't think I am.

[powell01]

Canberra, Australia has 2. The third qualified last weekend and is waiting for the process to happen. I believe Australia has another 3 or four, with possibly another 4 4 starGM's chasing special and exclusives to qualify.

[Leg o' Lamb]

Andrew Christian wrote:

I'm not sure we have 6 neferphras.

Ryan Blomquist
Andy Christian
Jon Lamkin
Jon Dehning
Chris Mortika

Ryan Bolduan I don't think ever got his 5th, although he's got to be close and Jack, Kitty, and J Michael are all at 4 stars and should get their 5th sometime in the next 18 months.

Gosh, I keep feeling like I'm missing someone, but I don't think I am.

Sveden, who if he ran a few more specials would qualify for 5 stars. Bolduan is aboot 5-10 or so sessions short.

[Leg o' Lamb]

So I guess one could say we have 7* Five Star GMs in Minneapolis / Saint Paul.

[Doug Miles]

Updated the list. I will work on identifying the city/state/territory of origin but accuracy will be spotty.

It's an interesting discussion. Look how many 5-Star GMs have moved to Seattle from other areas. Do we count them as part of the region where they earned their stars, or where they currently reside?

[Drogos]

While where they earned their stars is interesting, I think the list is better served as listing where they currently reside. That way the player base has a potential pool of people that are local-ish to approach for certain specials to be run or just advice in general. Obviously, this is not meant to encourage arm ringing from the player base as no one is entitled to have a scenario run for them by any one (and people who have already donated so much to the hobby should be given the appropriate respect that I feel they have earned), but I know I met two guys this weekend at a convention that I didn't know they were 5-star GMs until I read through this list. Some people may be sitting next to 5 star GMs and have no clue because they didn't think to ask. At least, that's my take on it.

::admires his shiny new second star::

[Leg o' Lamb]

Doug Miles wrote:

Updated the list. I will work on identifying the city/state/territory of origin but accuracy will be spotty.

It's an interesting discussion. Look how many 5-Star GMs have moved to Seattle from other areas. Do we count them as part of the region where they earned their stars, or where they currently reside?

Doug,

You have Jon Lamkin in the Great Lakes region when he should be a part of the plains' tribe. He is one of ours here in Minnesota.

Oh, and there is no 'h' in my first name.

[Doug Miles]

Thanks Jon, I've made the corrections on my spreadsheet.

The listed locations are the best information that is publicly available.

Stephen White 3-Feb-12 Australia Melbourne, Victoria
Wes Nicholson 23-Oct-12 Australia Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
Luke Parry 19-Apr-13 Australia Sydney, New South Wales
Steve Coling 15-Oct-14 Australia Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
Myron Pauls 16-Oct-12 Canada Winnipeg, Manitoba
Christopher Woldridge 18-Feb-14 Canada North Bay, Ontario
Diego Winterborg 26-Jun-14 Denmark Copenhagen?
Sebastian Schirrmeister 19-Feb-14 Germany Rhein-Main
Vincent Colon-Roine 13-Sep-14 Netherlands Amsterdam
Arthur Perkins 20-Dec-13 Online Aetherville, New Jersey
Steven Fresques 12-Mar-14 Online Somewhere In the Tubes
Terrence Lin 18-Jun-14 Southeast Asia Singapore
Benoît Gros 5-Dec-14 Switzerland Geneva
Jens Loesel 8-Feb-13 United Kingdom Parts Unknown
Rob Silk 12-Aug-13 United Kingdom London
Dave Harrison 27-Nov-13 United Kingdom Cambridge
Eric Brittain 17-Jul-12 USA-Far West San Diego, California
John Compton 19-Aug-12 USA-Far West Seattle, Washington
Michael Brock 19-Nov-12 USA-Far West Seattle, Washington
Bruce Higa 27-Nov-12 USA-Far West Unknown, California
Mark Seifter 21-May-13 USA-Far West Seattle, Washington
Michael Azzolino 12-Jun-13 USA-Far West San Fransico, California
Will Johnson 15-Jun-13 USA-Far West Fresno, California
Athurva Gore 19-Jul-13 USA-Far West San Diego, California
Kyle Pratt 19-Jul-13 USA-Far West Seattle, Washington
Nani Pratt 15-Aug-13 USA-Far West Seattle, Washington
Walter Sheppard 27-Aug-13 USA-Far West Eastern Washington
Katie Sommer 19-Feb-14 USA-Far West San Diego, California
Joanna Gore 26-Mar-14 USA-Far West San Diego, California
Joshua Archer 15-Apr-14 USA-Far West Unknown, California
Chris Fuller 28-Apr-14 USA-Far West San Diego, California
Brian Darnell 6-Jun-14 USA-Far West Hemet, California
Josh McIllwain 6-Jun-14 USA-Far West Fresno, California
Steven Huffstutler 10-Jun-14 USA-Far West Pullman, Washington
Steven Schopmeyer 23-Jul-14 USA-Far West Mesa, Arizona
Scott Yauger 14-Sep-14 USA-Far West Parts Unknown
Art Severance 15-Sep-14 USA-Far West Whittier, California
Preston Hudson 15-Oct-14 USA-Far West Spokane, Washington
Linda Zayas-Palmer 1-Nov-14 USA-Far West Seattle, Washington
Scott Kysh 11-Feb-15 USA-Far West Northern California
Doug Miles 22-Jun-10 USA-Great Lakes Detroit, Michigan
Kyle Baird 11-Jun-11 USA-Great Lakes Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Robert Jonquet 8-Aug-11 USA-Great Lakes Decatur, Illinois
Russ Akred 23-Aug-12 USA-Great Lakes Cincinnati, Ohio
Rene Duquesnoy 9-Feb-13 USA-Great Lakes Chicago, Illinois
Chris Bonnet 15-Apr-13 USA-Great Lakes Indianapolis, Indiana
Michael Costello 15-Jun-13 USA-Great Lakes Lafayette, Indiana
Eric Clingenpeel 16-Aug-13 USA-Great Lakes Alma, Michigan
Tracy Windeknecht 19-Aug-13 USA-Great Lakes Indianapolis, Indiana
Seth Gipson 27-Jan-14 USA-Great Lakes Carbondale, Illinois
Kristen Gipson 31-Mar-14 USA-Great Lakes Carbondale, Illinois
Matthew Starch 1-Apr-14 USA-Great Lakes Madison, Wisconsin
Michael Bramnik 16-Apr-14 USA-Great Lakes Bloomington, Illinois
Dick Gilbert 12-Jun-14 USA-Great Lakes Chicago, Illinois
Greg Hurst 25-Jul-14 USA-Great Lakes Indianapolis, Indiana
Tim Haberfield 2-Aug-14 USA-Great Lakes Indianapolis, Indiana
Kevin Ingle 3-Aug-14 USA-Great Lakes Lafayette, Indiana
Garrett Gottschalk 24-Sep-14 USA-Great Lakes Chicago, Illinois
William Jones 23-Oct-14 USA-Great Lakes Detroit, Michigan
Alex McGuire 27-Dec-14 USA-Great Lakes Detroit, Michigan
Patrick Harris 6-Jan-15 USA-Great Lakes Oxford, Ohio
Art Lobdell 16-Apr-12 USA-Mideast New York, New York
David Santana 15-Jul-12 USA-Mideast New York, New York
Dan Simons 12-Jun-13 USA-Mideast Washington DC
James McTeague 17-Jun-13 USA-Mideast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Michael Lazar 18-Nov-13 USA-Mideast New Jersey
Michael McKeown 9-Jan-14 USA-Mideast Baltimore, Maryland
Brian Lefebvre 22-Jan-14 USA-Mideast West Berlin, New Jersey
Rick Lighthiser 28-Apr-14 USA-Mideast At Peace in New Jersey
June Soler 21-Jul-14 USA-Mideast New Jersey
Billy Darios 6-Aug-14 USA-Mideast Long Island, New York
Rene Ayala Late 2014 USA-Mideast New York, New York
Don Walker 13-Nov-12 USA-New England Boston, Massachusetts
David Montgomery 16-Dec-13 USA-New England Boston, Massachusetts
Lucas Servido 15-Oct-14 USA-New England North Shore, Massachusetts
Jason Roeder 11-Jun-11 USA-Plains Columbia, Missouri
Todd Morgan 8-Aug-11 USA-Plains Omaha, Nebraska
Chris Mortika 19-Aug-12 USA-Plains Minneapolis, Minnesota
Nathan King   2-Aug-13 USA-Plains St. Louis, Missouri
Chris Hays   16-Aug-13 USA-Plains Monroe City, Missouri
Ryan Bloomquist 6-Dec-13 USA-Plains Minneapolis, Minnesota
Andrew Christian 30-Jan-14 USA-Plains Minneapolis, Minnesota
Derek Boobyer 2-May-14 USA-Plains Des Moines, Iowa
Jon Lamkin 12-May-14 USA-Plains Minneapolis, Minnesota
Rachel Hill 9-Dec-14 USA-Plains Omaha, Nebraska
Jon Dehning 24-Feb-15 USA-Plains Minneapolis, Minnesota
Jeff Kokx 3-Oct-13 USA-Rocky Mountain Denver, Colorado
Todd Lower 1-Feb-14 USA-Rocky Mountain Denver, Colorado
Brian Lickey 15-Sep-14 USA-Rocky Mountain Salt Lake City, Utah
Del Collins 23-Apr-12 USA-Southeast Columbia, South Carolina
JP Chapleau 30-Nov-12 USA-Southeast Louisville, Kentucky
Thea Peters   26-Jan-13 USA-Southeast Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Josh Foster 17-Mar-13 USA-Southeast Atlanta, Georgia
Paul Rees 25-May-13 USA-Southeast Virginia Beach, Virginia
Kristie Schweyer 28-Sep-13 USA-Southeast Clearwater, Florida
Michael Eshleman 2-Oct-13 USA-Southeast Raleigh, North Carolina
Steve Miller 29-Jan-14 USA-Southeast Raleigh, North Carolina
Myles Crocker 18-Feb-14 USA-Southeast Raleigh, North Carolina
Mike Seales 9-Mar-14 USA-Southeast Birmingham, Alabama
Joe Jungers 21-Mar-14 USA-Southeast Raleigh, North Carolina
Dominick Trascritti 9-Apr-14 USA-Southeast Tampa Bay, Florida
Carlos Robledo 1-May-14 USA-Southeast Atlanta, Georgia
Shane Murphy 5-Jun-14 USA-Southeast Orlando, Florida
Adam Swindler 6-Oct-14 USA-Southeast Roanoke, Virginia
Andrew Shumate 26-Nov-14 USA-Southeast Charleston, West Virginia
Jason Leonard 20-Jul-13 USA-Southwest Phoenix, Arizona
Steven Lau 21-Nov-13 USA-Southwest San Antonio, Texas
James MacKenzie 18-Feb-14 USA-Southwest Tucson, Arizona

[deusvult]

Is calling the Mid Atlantic region the "mideast" really a thing? Never mind in a global context.. I mean at all. I've lived in Alaska, Florida, and more than a few places in between (both inside and outside the I-95 corridor) and I've never heard that before.

[LackofFocus]

Hey Doug, my last name is spelled wrong it should be Servideo

[Andrew Christian]

Ryan Bloomquist should be Ryan Blomquist.

His last name only has 1 "O".

[Hawkwen Agricola]

Mike Bramnik is Bloomington, Indiana.

[Paz]

Doug Miles wrote:

Jens Loesel 8-Feb-13 United Kingdom Parts Unknown

Jens is in Deal, Kent.

[Doug Miles]

deusvult wrote:

Is calling the Mid Atlantic region the "mideast" really a thing? Never mind in a global context.. I mean at all. I've lived in Alaska, Florida, and more than a few places in between (both inside and outside the I-95 corridor) and I've never heard that before.

I used the Bureau of Economic Analysis regional map.

I've made those corrections on my spreadsheet so future posts will be more accurate. Thanks for the assistance all!

[Disturbed1]

Both Michael VonHasseln and Tim Statler from Cape Giarardeau, MO appear to be missing. I might just be overlooking them though.

[Doug Miles]

Neither one have been announced to my knowledge. Tim is still listed as a 4-Star, but Michael does indeed have 5 now. Does anyone know when he was bumped up?

[Doug Miles]

How about one of you numbers geeks make a scoring system? :)

Region/Population in millions/5-Star GMs
New England - 14.4m - 3 GMs
Mideast - 48.6m - 11 GMs
Great Lakes - 46.5m - 21 GMs
Plains - 20.5m - 12 GMs
Southeast - 79.9m - 19 GMs
Southwest - 37.3m - 3 GMs
Rocky Mountain - 10.9m - 3 GMs
Far West - 52.4m - 24 GMs
United Kingdom - 63.1m - 3 GMs
Australia - 21.5m - 4 GMs
Canada - 33.5m 2 GMs
Denmark - 5.6m - 1 GM
Germany - 80.2m - 1 GM
Netherlands - 16.9m - 1 GM
Singapore - 5.4m - 1 GM
Switzerland - 7.9m - 1 GM
Online - 3.1b - 2 GMs

Population numbers are from the last census (2010-2011) and are not estimates.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis defines regions for comparison of economic data:

New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont
Mideast: Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania
Great Lakes: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin
Plains: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota
Southeast: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia
Southwest: Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas
Rocky Mountain: Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming
Far West: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington

[TetsujinOni]

Ah the joy of New York, which geographically spans the Great Lakes, New England, and the Mid-Atlantic.... (Culturally, too...)

[BartonOliver]

Doug Miles wrote:

How about one of you numbers geeks make a scoring system? :)

Ok, simple math version, and when I wake up if someone hasn't done it yet I may break it down by state but in order of GMs/million ppl (rounded obviously), in order from most to least.

Plains 0.585
Far West 0.458
Great Lakes 0.452
Rocky Mountain 0.275
Southeast 0.238
Mideast 0.226
New England 0.208
Australia 0.186
Singapore 0.185
Denmark 0.179
Switzerland 0.127
Southwest 0.080
Canada 0.060
Netherland 0.059
UK 0.048
Germany 0.012
Online 0.000645

As a note (I hope I didn't miss any but taking out John, Mike, Linda, and Mark from the totals completely (I could redistibute them back to appropriate regions) but I'm tired) moves Far West down below the Great Lakes at 0.382 (20 GMs/52.4m)

Also, some system with bonus points either for Venture Officers/Employees (or for the rarer cases (I think) of not being one) could be set up pretty easily.

And sorry Online the total population of the world makes you look worse than it should.

[Disturbed1]

Doug Miles wrote:

Neither one have been announced to my knowledge. Tim is still listed as a 4-Star, but Michael does indeed have 5 now. Does anyone know when he was bumped up?

Mike was announced at Gencon last year. Tim got his in October, I believe, though the system hasnt officially given it to him, yet for some reason (CS?).

[Doug Miles]

After revisiting the thread, I noticed Josh McIllwain has been waiting on his since June. I'll add Tim to the roster, thanks for updating me!

[BartonOliver]

Ok, so for some sort of scoring system, that didn't involve too much cross-checking of who is a VO versus who isn't. I came up with the following. Every 5 star counts as 1 point, with a bonus point per year they've had 5 stars (i.e. 2015 = 0, 2014 = 1, etc.). As I know many (most or all) continue to GM and are likely to have far more games GMed than the stars reflect

Far West - 60 (California 32, Washington 26, Unknown 2)
Great Lakes - 58 (Indiana 17, Illinois 16, Michigan 13, Wisconsin 7, Ohio 5)
Southeast - 41 (North Carolina 9, Florida 7, Georgia 5, Virginia 5, South Carolina 4, Kentucky 4, Tennessee 3, Alabama 2, West Virginia 2)
Plains - 32 (Minnesota 12, Missouri 11, Nebraska 7, Iowa 2)
Mideast - 29 (New York 12, New Jersey 9, DC 3, Pennsylvania 3, Maryland 2)
Australia - 13 (Canberra 6, Victoria 4, New South Wales 3)
Southwest - 10 (Arizona 7, Texas 3)
New England - 9 (Massachusetts 9)
UK - 9 (London 3, Cambridge 3, Unknown 3)
Rocky Mountain - 7 (Colorado 5, Utah 2)
Canada - 6 (Manitoba 4, Ontario 2)
Online - 5
Denmark - 2
Germany - 2
Netherlands - 2
Singapore - 2
Switzerland - 2

(In this calculations I used the above post from Doug Miles and moved Steven Schopmeyer from Far West as I assumed Mesa Arizona would be with the rest of Arizona, possibly incorrectly, and I moved Mike Bramnik from Illinois to Indiana)

[Dan Cornett]

Atlanta has produced seven 5 star GMs... that means all games(with the exception of cons) were ran in Georgia. The current list is as follows:

Mike Brock-campaign coordinator, Venture-Captain(retired)
John Compton-developer, Venture-Lieutenant(retired)
Dan Cornett-Venture-Captain: Atlanta
Josh Foster-Venture-Lieutenant(Retired)
Kyle Pratt-Venture-Captain(Retired)
Nani Pratt-Venture-Captain(Retired)
Carlos Robledo-Venture-Lieutenant

While several have moved away to Seattle, all claimed their fifth star while in Georgia.

I am also proud to say I have TEN four star GMs in Georgia, with a few pretty close to 150 games.