Category Archives: Event Details

Brian “Motumbo” Augustine Joins Our Commentary Team

November 16, 2018 hunterburtonopen Leave a comment

We are so happy to announce our second member of the commentary team for the 2019 Hunter Burton Memorial Open. Returning for the second year, Brian “Motumbo” Augustine will join DeQuan Watson as our first official stream team.

Brian brings a new side to commentary for streaming Magic the Gathering. As demonstrated last year, he has plenty of competitive experience, a firm grasp of the “nuts & bolts” of Magic, and is a strong personality to work alongside DeQuan. He has an extensive history of competitive deck design and now utilizes his skills as a teacher of the game.

“Brian has been playing Magic the Gathering since Alpha and in a short amount of time made a name for himself as a popular card trader. At one point in his Magic the Gathering career Brian owned one-hundred sets of Power 9 and the stories of his epic trades have been shared for years. The story of trading from a phone book all the way up to a Moat is local legend at this point!”
– Erin Giddings

Although Brian has transitioned from playing the physical card game of Magic to the online medium, his passion for analyzing the game is still strong. He does streaming on his own Twitch channel which you can check out at https://www.twitch.tv/bamotumbo

“I am honored to be a part of the HMBO once again. I was lucky to know Hunter, to see him grow up as a curious kid who just wanted to be a part of a group of gamers, to then moving past them by leaps and bounds driven by his talent and determination.

This is a very special event to not only honor a very close friend, but to help bring to light a very serious issue. With so much diversity in regards to backgrounds and beliefs, the HBMO brings together such a wonderful community of individuals who all want to do their part to prevent this tragedy from continuing to happen.”
– Brian Augustine

We are excited to have Brian back as a part of the 2019 HBMO team! Be sure to check out Brian’s Twitch channel and tune in to the Hunter Burton Memorial Open on March 16th & 17th to hear him call all the action!

Twitch – https://www.twitch.tv/bamotumbo

Event Details, Social Media

What You Can Do To Help The HBMO

October 12, 2018 hunterburtonopen Leave a comment

Almost daily I get asked by people from all walks of life what they can do to be involved with the Hunter Burton Memorial Open. To be honest, it’s one of the most humbling things to me as the Director of Operations. To be involved with a community that wants to help our cause, a cause that is so important to me personally is amazing. I can’t put the feelings of gratitude into words because they are just too great. Our entire organization feels so humbled to have such passionate people giving their time and money to help positively touch the community.

With that said, without the help of these amazing volunteers we wouldn’t be able to make the annual Hunter Burton Memorial Open happen each year. With our 2019 event just around the corner we have so many things going on behind the scenes. Because of the level this event has grown to we now need your help more than ever! So, if you are interested in helping we have a few ways you can make a difference…

Help Us Tell The World!

As simple and cliche’ as it sounds, we need you to tell people about the Hunter Burton Memorial Open.

– Share on Facebook, especially in local gaming groups. As often as you can!

– Tell your local hobby store about our cause, our event, and our new outreach program. Encourage them to participate!

– Make sure all your gamer friends know about the HBMO (and encourage them to attend.)

– Post about the HBMO on Instagram, Snapchat, and every other social media outlet you use to talk about games.

Start A Conversation In Your Local Store…

One of the things we work to achieve is spreading awareness about the tragically growing number of deaths by suicide in the gaming community. While our new outreach program is designed to get our message into stores and their communities, we can’t be everywhere all the time. Here is what you can do to help:

– Ask your local store to sign up for our outreach program to host a special community event.

– Talk to the owners and managers about posting a sign in the store with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline phone number and web address in their store visible to their gamers and customers. (Located at the bottom of this page.)

– Be a person in your local community that lets other players know “It’s okay to talk about it!”

– Speak up and reach out to members of the community you feel may not feel as welcomed into the group or that shy away from group settings. Simple inclusion can be a powerful tool in saving a life!

– Don’t hesitate to ask others if they are doing okay. Just showing interest or care about another person can change their day.

Volunteer at our event!

Our 2019 event will be the largest ever and we will need a chunk of volunteers to help us on Friday the 15th, Saturday the 16th, and Sunday the 17th of March. If you are interested in being an official volunteer, we will have our volunteer registration up soon. In the meantime, here are some things we will be accepting volunteers for:

– Magic the Gathering floor judges.
– Registration Staff
– Floor Runners (assisting specific staff members.)
– Preparation team members (to help organize and distribute items.)
– Security Staff

Donate Gaming Products

Did you know that we accept donations other than just money? That’s right! We accept items that can be used for things like our outreach events, silent auctions, prize wall items, giveaways, volunteer rewards, and more! Here are just a few of the things we will need for our 2019 event:

Booster Boxes of any Magic the Gathering Set released in early 2019 (IMPORTANT)
Specialty Magic the Gathering Items like gift boxes or specialty releases
Products such as gift cards to national businesses, or gift baskets.
Magic the Gathering cards. Any or all cards including bulk!
… and so much more!

It means the world to us that people are willing to help us get our message out! With your help we can start making a positive impact at the local level and making the Hunter Burton Memorial Open THE premiere gaming event in the United States. I am looking forward to meeting and speaking with every one of you at our event in Hurst, in stores during an outreach event, or before through social media and email. Thank you for all you do by supporting us! Cheers to you all!

– Erin Giddings
Director of Operations
Hunter Burton Memorial Open

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
1-800-273-TALK (8255)

http://www.SuicidePreventionLifeline.org

Event Details, Social Media, Uncategorized

DeQuan Watson Announced As First Commentator For HBMO Live Stream!

October 8, 2018 hunterburtonopen Leave a comment

We are proud to announce that gaming industry guru DeQuan Watson is the first member of our live stream commentary team! “Q” as he’s known by many is a staple in the gaming community and most importantly a well known name in the Magic the Gathering world.

“I am honored that DeQuan has signed on to be our first full commentator for the 2019 Hunter Burton Memorial Open! Q has been a supporter of our cause for years and to have him on the team is an amazing addition. He will do an amazing job calling the action on camera for everyone watching at home.”
– Erin Giddings
Director of Operations for HBMI

DeQuan Watson is known industry wide for his many years as a game store owner in Waco, Texas. Over the years he has paved his way into the competitive gaming world most notably in Magic the Gathering as one of the highest ranked players in Texas. He recently worked for Wizards of the Coast helping in the marketing and WPN side of things. Now DeQuan efforts are focused on working for the Card Megastore, Card Kingdom based in Washington state.

You can catch DeQuan streaming MTG Arena on his Twitch Channel HERE.

Or you can visit his Twitch Channel at: https://www.twitch.tv/powrdragn

Event Details, Sponsor Spotlight, Uncategorized

Sponsorship Announcement: Retro 51

October 5, 2018 hunterburtonopen Leave a comment

We are excited to announce the addition of Retro 51 as the first official sponsor of the 2019 Hunter Burton Memorial Open. Just like last year, Retro 51 will be donating 8 of it’s iconic Tornado fine writing pens to the top 8 players of the Modern main event. In addition we are working close with the reps at Retro 51 to do something very special for this year’s players! Look forward to their sponsor spotlight early next year with all the information!

Visit their website at Retro51.com

Event Details, Social Media, Uncategorized

Gerry Thompson & The GAM Podcast Confirmed For The 2019 HBMO!

September 28, 2018 hunterburtonopen Leave a comment

We are so excited to announce that Gerry Thompson will be returning to the 2019 Hunter Burton Memorial Open. Last year Gerry was sponsored by gaming and comic megastore Madness Comics & Games in Plano, Texas. Through their combined efforts they raised hundreds of dollars for the 2018 event in addition to adding plenty of special fundraising efforts and events at their storefront.

This year Gerry will be coming as part of his hit GAM Podcast. Along with castmate and competitive Magic player Bryan Gottlieb, they have added a new level of gaming insight and strategy to the Magic the Gathering world by talking about their experiences, deck choices, current meta, and so much more!

All of us on the HBMO team are excited to have Gerry and Bryan at the 2019 event. Stay tuned for announcements about awesome opportunities to meet them as well as to play some games of Magic with them before and during the 2019 event!

A little bit about Gerry Thompson, Bryan Gottlieb and The GAM Podcast:

The GAM Podcast – “We create the best Magic: the Gathering content for competitive players, focusing primarily on the various constructed formats!”
Listen to the podcast here:
GAM Podcast – Soundcloud
GAM Podcast – iTunes

Gerry Thompson
is an American Magic the Gathering player. His career accomplishments include two Grand Prix victories, Pro Tour Top 8 at Montreal in 2013, Bilbao in 2018, and a Pro Tour win at Nashville in 2017. He is also known for his repeated success at the StarCityGames tournament series and considered one of the best MtG competitors in the world. His hometown is Elk River, Minnesota. (Credit Wikipedia)

Bryan Gottlieb is a stalwart of the Northeast Magic the Gathering scene, Bryan has been playing Magic for over twenty years. While he has seen his share of Grand Prix and Pro Tour success, he is better known in pro circles as a deckbuilder and theorist.
(Credit StarCityGames.com)

Event Details, Social Media, Uncategorized

The New HBM Outreach Program!

September 24, 2018 hunterburtonopen Leave a comment

Hunter Burton Memorial Inc. is excited to announce that it will begin a new step in its outreach program for suicide awareness. Starting in November of 2018, the HBMI team will begin venturing out to stores during special advertised events and talking to stores and their players about what the internal store communities can do to help those who might be struggling.

“This initiative will change the dynamic of what we do as a foundation. It moves us forward to the next step in uniting the gaming community across the country in the battle to prevent suicide.”
– Erin Giddings
Director of Operations for Hunter Burton Memorial Inc.

“The goal of the foundation is to bring awareness to a major at-risk community all the while celebrating Hunter Burton. This new outreach program will help us do both!”
– Dona Burton
Founder/Treasurer of Hunter Burton Memorial Inc.

What exactly will this new program entail and how can you be involved? We’re glad you asked! Here are some of the details so far:

What it is: Stores/Businesses can sign up across the country to host a special HBM Outreach Event. These can be any type of positive atmosphere event including a gaming tournament, meetup, casual gaming session, mixer, etc. and is not just limited to Magic the Gathering.
How to do it: For a business to sign up they simply need to email HunterBurtonMO@gmail.com about their interest and the event idea they have in mind. If/When accepted there is a form to fill out. This form and at least a $100 donation will be returned to HBMI and the event scheduled.
What it entails: The business will get advertising on the Hunter Burton Memorial Open website as well as the Hunter Burton Memorial Inc, website. In addition they will be listed as a sponsor for the 2019 Hunter Burton Memorial Open for their tax deductible donation. Of course there will also be a FREE entry into ANY ONE EVENT at the 2019 HBMO held on March 16th and 17th to either a winner or lucky participant. Last but not least, stores in Texas (and other states depending on schedule and accommodations) will have a member of the Hunter Burton Team visit during the event to talk to the attendees about what they can do to help their fellow community members and do their part to maybe save a life.

Are you a player who wants this event at your game store or business? Ask your store about hosting one of these outreach events. The more players that ask about it, the more likely the store is to want to participate! Scheduling begins October 1st, 2018 so start talking to them today!

Are you a business that is interested in holding one of these events? Contact us today to see what we can set up. We are always looking for non-gaming partners such as breweries, restaurants, coffee shops, stores and more! We want to work with you!

Spread the word, the HBM is coming to a store near you very soon!

Help Us Tell The World!

Start A Conversation In Your Local Store…

Volunteer at our event!

Donate Gaming Products

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (8255) http://www.SuicidePreventionLifeline.org

An Amazing Event For A Wonderful Cause!

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
1-800-273-TALK (8255)

http://www.SuicidePreventionLifeline.org