... of the CC>CC. In that regard, I offer the following thoughts:

Like most members of the club, I collect casino chips. I believe that the club is and should be, first and foremost, a club for collectors. As CC>CC president, I will have that belief firmly in mind and will act accordingly.

I also recognize that the club as we know it cannot exist in a viable form without the support of the collector-dealers who provide many of us with our primary source of chips and other casino collectibles. Generally speaking, what is good for dealers is good for the hobby and therefore good for collectors. I have frequently spoken publicly in support of our dealer friends. As CC>CC president, I will actively seek ways of promoting the mutual interests of dealers and collectors.

Casino chip collecting is a growing hobby. The continued success of the club is absolutely dependent upon our ability to grow with the hobby. As CC>CC president, I will actively seek ways of promoting growth of the hobby in general and the club in particular.

In support of the foregoing general principles, I offer the following specific considerations:

I oppose any change in the name of the club. Nevertheless, I support the widest possible inclusive approach to the hobby. We can and should encourage participation by all collectors of casino memorabilia, not just chips & tokens. Specifically, I support the creation of nation-wide club chapters for specialty collectors, similar to the highly successful Silver Strikers Chapter.

In that regard, I also support closer cooperation between the national club and the chapters, both regional and specialty, and will work to improve communication and mutual support between the club and its chapters. I have no firm opinion on the issue of whether chapter members should be required to be members of the national club, but believe that issue should be addressed and
resolved in the near future.

I support the more extensive use of club funds for advertising and promotional purposes designed to increase club membership.

The annual convention is, rightfully, the centerpiece of club activities. I support without reservation the manner in which Wayne Thompson, Belinda Hixon and other volunteers have conducted the convention.

On the other hand, I believe that the time is right to consider the establishment of a somewhat smaller, mid-year convention to be held at a location other than Las Vegas, perhaps moving the location from year to year. It appears to me that we have a sufficient membership base to support such alternative conventions in several places -- Atlantic City, California and the Mid-West are three obvious candidates.

I am active in, as Neal Silverman would say, "electronic chipping". I believe that it is imperative to the continued success of the club that we take maximum advantage of the burgeoning national electronic community. Specifically, I support expansion of the club website as a source of information about the hobby. I also support in principle the concept of making the club magazine
available online. Recognizing that there are practical difficulties that have to be addressed, it is nevertheless my belief that we should be considering ways of making this possible.

I also support the idea of treating membership proposals submitted by email the same as those submitted by regular mail.

A significant part of the allure of chip collecting is the history involved. For this reason, I support in principle the recent proposal by Jim Kruse to establish a permanent, physical home for the club. Such a facility could serve as a combined museum, library and Hall of Fame. Obviously, financing the acquisition and maintenance of property for this purpose would be a
major undertaking. I also support the follow up proposal by Neal Silverman to initiate a committee to study means of making this proposal a reality.

The club auction at the convention has helped raise money to support club activities. I believe that we can take advantage of the electronic auction opportunities, particularly eBay, to make this fund-raising activity a year-long process. I propose that the club become an eBay seller and that we enter into a cooperative effort with any interested collectors or dealers in using the eBay
venue to conduct an ongoing CC>CC auction.

The growth of our hobby is, unfortunately, also creating the kinds of problems that generally come with growth. The CC>CC is no longer a small community in which all of the members know each other. I believe it is time to re-evaluate the role of the club in establishing and enforcing standards of ethical conduct among members. I support the taking by the club of a more active role in this regard.

I support the development and publication of some form of official CC>CC standardized grading terms. Some time ago, I proposed a formal (albeit simple) grading system. I have since been convinced that it would be preferable to establish a set of grading definitions, rather than a formal grading system.

For those of you who do not know me personally, a little background information:

I am 54 years old and have been collecting chips since February 22, 1992 (yes, I know the exact date!). The first chips I collected were the $1, $2.50 and $5 Harrah's Reno-Tahoe PMSC chips. I became aware of the CC>CC while serving as one of the original Section Leaders of the Casino Chip section of the Collectibles Forum on CompuServe and joined the club in December 1994 (member # R1973). Subsequently, because of the illness of my wife, I dropped out of the
hobby for several years, then rejoined the club in December 1997 (member # R3606). I am also a member of the Northern California - Nevada Chapter (# NCN-040). In January 1999, I was appointed the CC>CC Claims Director, a post I have held since that time.

Since October 1998, I have been a writer for Chequers Magazine, on the Chequers website. Anyone interested in learning more about my thoughts on the chip collecting hobby can do so by reading my Chequers "ChipBox" columns.

I am a 1967 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. After graduation, I spent four years as an officer in the U. S. Navy (not a typo <g>), serving a year in Vietnam and leaving the service as a full Lieutenant.

Following military service, I attended Pepperdine University School of Law at night, while working full time in advertising and public relations, and graduated in 1975. Thereafter, I was a deputy district attorney in Orange County, California, for almost ten years. In 1985, I moved to Marin County in Northern California and established a private law practice. In that practice, I
handled primarily criminal defense and appeals, personal injury and constitutional law cases. I closed my private law office in 1996 so that I would have more time to spend with and care for my wife Sandy, who had breast cancer. Since then, I have worked primarily as house counsel (and in other capacities) for family owned businesses.

I am now a widower, Sandy having lost her battle with cancer last November. I have four children:

#1 son Douglas, 30, is a graduate of the University of California (Go Bears!) and the University of San Francisco School of Law. He is an intellectual property lawyer and house counsel for The Learning Company division of Mattel, Inc.

#2 son Matthew, 26, is a graduate of the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, and a gourmet pastry chef. Matt is a Korean orphan, adopted in 1975.

Daughter Larisa, 23, is a graduate of New York University (and National Merit Scholar). She is now in the Masters program at Dominican University in San Rafael, California, and plans to be a documentary film maker.

#3 son Sean, 21, is a student at Santa Rosa Junior College, studying automotive repairs. He is an associate member of the CC>CC.

I'm sure there are other issues of interest which I have not addressed here. Anyone who is interested in knowing what my position is on any other issue need only ask. I will respond to inquiries sent by regular mail or email, or which are posted on any of the chip collecting bulletin boards. (Mailing address is: PO Box 1338 Mill Valley CA 94942-1338)

It will simply not be practical for everyone in the club to get to know me personally. For this reason, I have asked others to endorse my candidacy. I will post separately tonight a message regarding those endorsements, which I hope will aid everyone in evaluating my potential as President of our club.

Thank you for taking the time to read this rather long post. I look forward to hearing from you all during the campaign. ----- jim o\-S