By Jenn Bartlett
Hey Everyone! I meant to do this before my term ended as President of GameRT, so I’m sorry this is late!
We have four board members who retired from service to GameRT, and I think it’s important to honor their work and dedication to this roundtable. Several of them are some of our original founders, and newbs like me owe a lot to them and they foundation they laid for everyone to follow.
Diane Robson was the face of one of our best initiatives, International Games Week for many, many years. Diane helped expand IGW across the globe to Norway, the UK, and Australia. Her work and her efforts making collaborations has helped to define our amazing IGW. Diane served a number of positions beyond chair of the IGW Committee: Editor of our Games In Libraries Blog, and President of GameRT from 2013-2015.
Brian Michael Mayer has been our ALAPlay and ALA Gaming Grove guru for years, helping to make these events grow each and every year. 2019’s ALAPlay was a huge success, including DC designer Elizabeth Hargrave stopping by to show off Wingspan. Brian has also help bridge connections with designers and publishers, and helped lead our Programming Committee for many years. Like Diane, he served in a variety of functions, including our President trifecta.
Teresa Slobuski, along with Diane, did a lot of great work for IGW, including notably, when IGW was on all 7 continents in 2013 with the Global Gossip Game. (I had no idea about this, and this is so cool!) Another highlight for her was working with donors, especially Konami, a childhood favorite. She served as a member at large for several terms.
And finally, Sara Rizzo, our most recent Past President. Sara helped restructure our committees back in 2017-2018, helping to breathe new life and energy into them. Sara is proud of the membership growth we have seen, especially with new members and those taking on leadership roles.
Let’s all give them a virtual round of applause for their hard work, leadership, and efforts. Many thanks and deep appreciation to you all.
I have already cited their works in my thesis, but didn’t know some of these facts you mentioned here.
Thank you.