Some History of NASAGA:
The North American Simulation and Gaming Association (NASAGA) dates back to 1962. Originally founded as the East Coast War Games Council, the original organization was devoted to war games. The name of the organization was changed to the National Gaming Council in 1968 as the emphasis of the organization had shifted toward business and economic gaming. The name was changed again in 1975 to the North American Simulation and Gaming Association and the organization continues to meet under this name today. The 2012 NASAGA conference, held in Columbus Ohio, was billed as its 50th anniversary meeting which dates back to the organization beginnings in 1962.
Check out an article in Simulation & Gaming about the early years of NASAGA by Tom Nichols, who was Secretary-Treasurer for its first 10 years and wrote its first constitution. An excerpt:
Perhaps my greatest impact was in the way I took minutes of the annual
business meeting and of the several meetings of the board between conferences.
These minutes are different from anything written before, or since.
“When Dick McGinty smiled, his smile perfectly matched his bowtie like the
equal sign.” “When Cathy Greenblat flashed those hauntingly beautiful dark
brown eyes NOBODY could argue with her.” At a board meeting, I forget
where, when Barbara Steinwachs brought in a rhubarb coffee cake filled with
nuts and spices, I put the recipe in the minutes. Every spring for nearly 20
years I have made the Barbara Steinwachs coffee cake when the rhubarb in
my garden grows to be bright red and tender.
Past NASAGA Conferences
Year | City | Place | Organizer |
1962 | ?? | ||
1963 | ?? | ||
1964 | Miami Beach, FL | ||
1965 | McLean, VA | ||
1966 | Miami Beach, FL | ||
1967 | ?? | ||
1968 | Monterey, CA | Esitoma Park | |
1969 | Washington, DC | Peter House | |
1970 | Baltimore, MD | Johns Hopkins Univ | |
1971 | Ann Arbor, MI | Univ of Mich. | Richard Duke & Al Feldt |
1972 | Baltimore, MD | Johns Hopkins Univ | Steven J. Kidder |
1973 | Gaithersburg, MD | Bureau of Standards | Peter House & Cathy Greenblat |
1974 | Pittsburgh, PA | Carnegie-Mellon Univ | Clark Rozen |
1975 | Los Angeles, CA | Univ of Southern Cal | Richard McGinty |
1976 | Raleigh, NC | NC Central Univ | Lawrence D. Kornreigh |
1977 | Boston, MA | Park Plaza Hotel | Barry R. Lawson |
1978 | Louisville, KY | Univ of Louisville | Don Ifill |
1979 | Austin, TX | Univ of Texas | Ralph Gohring & Pam Clark |
1980 | Asheville, NC | UNC – Asheville | Bahram Farzanegan |
1981 | Washington, DC | George Washington Univ | Barbara Steinwachs |
1982 | Ann Arbor, MI | Univ of Michigan | Fred Goodman |
1983 | New Brunswick, NJ | Rutgers University | Shirley Smoyak |
1984 | Iowa City, IA | Univ of Iowa | John McLure |
1985 | Bloomington, IN | Indiana University | S. Thiagarajan & Mike Molenda |
1986 | Ann Arbor, MI | Univ of Michigan | Allan Feldt |
1987 | Lennoxville, Que | Champlain College | Tom Cavanagh |
1988 | Asheville, NC | UNC – Asheville | Barbara Farzanegan |
1989 | Indianapolis, IN | Beech Grove Center | Mary Gilfeather & John del Regato |
1990 | Durham, NH | Univ of New Hampshire | Dennis Meadows |
1991 | Spokane, WA | Inn at the Park | Kuon Hunt |
1992 | Ann Arbor, MI | Univ of Michigan | Fred Goodman |
1993 | Bloomington, IN | Indiana University | S. Thiagarajan |
1994 | Princeton, NJ | Trent State College | Joao Neves & Rahib N. Sanyal |
1995 | St. Louis, MO | Frontenac Hilton Hotel | S. Thiagarajan |
1996 | Ottawa, Ontario | Delta Hotel | France-Marie Trepanier |
1997 | Portland, OR | Portland Marriott | Leslie Brunker |
1998 | Atlanta, GA | Ramada Plaza Hotel | Kevin Eikenberry |
1999 | San Francisco | Holiday Inn Gateway | Andy Kimball |
2000 | Minneapolis, MN | Univ of St. Thomas | Diane Stoy |
2001 | Bloomington, IN | Indiana University | S. Thiagarajan |
2002 | San Diego, CA | DoubleTree Mission Valley | Matthew Richter |
2003 | Montreal, Canada | Crown Plaza – Montreal | Sonia Ribaux |
2004 | Washington, DC | Georgetown Marriott | Chris and Becky Saeger |
2005 | Manchester, NH | Radisson Hotel Manchester | Brian Remer |
2006 | Vancouver, BC | Pacific Palisades Hotel | Dave Matte |
2007 | Atlanta, GA | Crown Plaza Ravinia | Deborah Thomas |
2008 | Indianapolis, IN | Downtown Marriott | S. Thiagarajan |
2009 | Arlington, VA | DoubleTree Crystal City | Chuck Needlman & Judee Blohm |
2010 | Vancouver, BC | Metropolitan Hotel | Dave Matte |
2011 | Valley Forge, PA | Valley Forge Radison | Dave Piltz |
2012 | Columbus, OH | Crown Plaza Columbus | Jen McCann & Nikki Boeshansz |
2013 | Sarasota, FL | Hyatt Regency | Kate Koski |
2014 | Baltimore, MD | Baltimore Harbor Hotel | Anastasia Salter |
2015 | Seattle, WA | Hilton Conference Center | John Chen |
2016 | Bloomington, IN | Indiana University | Christy Cavanaugh |
2017 | Reno, NV | Sparks Nugget Hotel | Melissa Peterson & Jeannette Davidson |
2018 | Rochester, NY | Hilton Garden Inn | JS Bragg |
2019 | Chicago, IL | Conference Chicago | Matt Richter |