2024 Todd Fisher Award Recipients
The Prior Service Award Winner – Paul Dayton
Paul Dayton is a retired engineering professional who still enjoys the miniature gaming hobby. After participating in the hobby for a number of years, he sought to give time back to the organization. He successfully ran the treasurer role during his long tenure and during that service he helped transform HMGS Midwest’s financial annual performance from a deficit to a surplus. He was instrumental in leading the effort to set up the online convention registration tools through Tabletop Events. He also helped the Board of Directors add single day game conventions to slower periods in the year. Perhaps most importantly, Paul was our emotional rock and would take the lead in smoothing over friction that occurred both internally and externally at the Society.
The Active Service Award Winner – Steve Fratt
Steven Fratt started out as a gamer at a very young age and went on to become an effective and dedicated educator in his professional life as a college professor. Steve retired from his position at Trinity International University just a few years ago and he continues on to this day to bring games to others in one form or another. Steve has been President of the Society as well as Convention Director in past years. During the early years of HMGS Midwest, Steve would lead the efforts for almost every aspect of the Little Wars Convention: T-shirt sales, Program books, Food Service, Re-enactors, venue contract negotiations, etc. He reformulated the election procedures to pre-convention mail-in voting to reach more members. He was also a big part of the creation of our second multi day annual event, Autumn Wars. Steve established relations with “The Museum of the Sailor” which led to several special game days. .Steve ran the Society with an approachable style of leadership that accomplished the mission by seeking out “win-win” solutions. And he is not done yet! Steve launched Frattspiel Games several years ago through which he has published rule sets in the past and has a number of titles still to come!
