Proposal: US West Coast LAF members meetup (and Canada, too)

[FifteensAway]

Not sure how many LAF members here are from the West Coast of the United States to include, at least, the following states: California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, with long shots for Alaska and Hawaii.  And our British Columbia friends are welcome. List not meant to be restrictive, others further afield just as welcome.

Proposed first meeting to be at the convention in July in Clovis, CA, July 7th - 9th, 2023.  Here is the website: https://www.vetgamefest.org. It is a good 'compromise' location for much of the listed area - and already pulls from northern California, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Southern California, and - of course, the southern end of the Central Valley.  And decent range for Reno and Las Vegas and reachable from Arizona.

Do be aware that the organizers are new at running this convention - even though it is the second run of the convention after last year.  The veterans decided to run it rather than the convention company that started it - from an active Fresno veteran who proposed the idea originally.  But they were very active in that first run and have a wonderful facility that hosts lots of other events so they can be counted on to come through.  And that first run was a good event with lots of gaming and plenty of attendees despite the loosening COVID restrictions.

It is a non-profit venture benefiting the JROTC scholarship program. (JROTC = junior reserve officer training corps, a program to prepare young men and women thinking of pursuing a military career.). Being new at this, they may stumble here and there but they are very responsive to ideas.  And being run by veterans there is a strong historical presence - but other types of gaming are welcome. 

Many hotels nearby, lots of cool restaurants within walking distance and numerous boutique shopping establishments that non-gaming spouses might like to explore. 

Mad Guru, another west coaster, said: Maybe we could call it CLASH! -- "California Lead Adventure Shebang"   Other names could be proposed, perhaps more inclusive of the above listed geographical area.  But CLASH has a nice ring to it.

If enough interest generated, maybe we can come up with some sort of way to identify ourselves at the convention, perhaps a commonly available sticker to add to our badges, or just writing the group name on the badges - assuming one gets settled on.

Clovis is immediately adjacent to Fresno, CA.  There is Fresno Yosemite International Airport.  Not far from Yosemite National Park, a world class destination (1 hour, 20 minute drive per Google maps).  A bit farther out is the original Disneyland (4 hours, 15 minutes).  And even farther out is San Diego Zoo (5 hours, 41 minutes), closer but still out there is the San Diego Wild Animal Park (5 hours, 40 minutes).  Remember, California is a BIG state - one thousand miles north to south - for those unfamiliar.  Other National Parks not too far away.  I mention these as possible vacation destinations that could be combined with a visit to the Clovis convention. 

It is a three hour drive for me but within my range - and others I know are driving five hours to get there. 

So, let us know if you are interested and we'll see what happens.