[IntestineBoy]

http://blog.senatedemocrats.wa.gov/t...-penny-arcade/

SENATE RESOLUTION
8640
By Senators Jarrett, McAuliffe, and Fraser
WHEREAS, The greater Seattle area is home to over 45 video game companies, making the
video game industry in Washington one of the largest in the nation; and
WHEREAS, Jerry Holkins, a comic writer, and Mike Krahulik, a cartoonist and artist, both
originally from Spokane, Washington, collaborated to create an online comic about video games
called Penny Arcade in the fall of 1998; and
WHEREAS, Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik recently celebrated the comic's 10th anniversary;
and
WHEREAS, In 2004, Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik launched the first annual Penny
Arcade Expo, a gaming festival in Bellevue, Washington; and
WHEREAS, By 2008, the Penny Arcade Expo has grown to become the largest game
convention in the United States, with over 58,500 video game enthusiasts attending the Penny
Arcade Expo at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in August 2008; and
WHEREAS, The Penny Arcade Expo attracts thousands of tourists from around the globe
to visit the city of Seattle while attending the convention, and has served to further reinforce Seattle's
status as a leading locale of the game industry; and
WHEREAS, In 2003, Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik created the Child's Play Charity, an
organization which raises contributions of money and toys to donate to Children's Hospitals
worldwide; and
WHEREAS, Child's Play Charity has raised over 4.5 million dollars for sixty different
Children's Hospitals since it was established, including Washington's own Seattle Children's and
Sacred Heart Children's Hospitals;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington State Senate officially
recognize the accomplishments of Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik in becoming widely accepted
leaders in the computer and video game industries, encouraging industry growth through
scholarships, and advancing Washington State as a hub of the gaming industry through the presence
of Penny Arcade Expo; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Washington State Senate honor Jerry Holkins and
Mike Krahulik for their hard work and dedication to improving the lives of hospitalized children
worldwide through their creation and continued work with Child's Play Charity; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be immediately transmitted
by the Secretary of the Senate to Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik.
I, Thomas Hoemann, Secretary of the Senate,
do hereby certify that this is a true and
correct copy of Senate Resolution 8640,
adopted by the Senate
March 5, 2009
THOMAS HOEMANN
Secretary of the Senate

[wenis]

wang.

[GDJustin]

Wow.

Say what you will about Penny Arcade, positive or negative, but damn... what a high (but strange) honor.

[DanteFox]

wut

[woxel1]

Brilliant.

[rollingstart]

yawn

when they reach VG Cats in Cat Fancy level of fame, then make a thread about it.

[IntestineBoy]

Washington FTW

[DanteFox]

Washington FTW

Washington WTF

[IntestineBoy]

I wish I could embed the video, but click the link to the blog page and check it out.

[Rapping Granny]

WOAH MAN!

[Pachael]

All in favor say 'aye'

AYE

[Mindlog]

Good on PA.

[C4Lukins]

I know my vote may seem suspect and not worth consideration when you take into account my former 28 years in Texas and my past year as a resident in Florida, but I vote AYE on this one.

[Anticitizen One]

I dont get it

[PataHikari]

I think this is the first positive video game related thing I have ever seen come out of the government.

[CO_Andy]

Next up Knighthood.

[Stinkles]

It's because they made Twisp famous.

[EmCeeGramr]

I think this is the first positive video game related thing I have ever seen come out of the government.

Sonic the Hedgehog was partially based on Bill Clinton.

[akachan ningen]

my reaction:

[Turk]

Sometimes I forget how dry and boring government is.

Congrats P-A guys!

[civilstrife]

They deserve every bit of it.

I got to attend PAX last year, and it was truly something special.
Seriously. If you're thinking about going, just do it. Just go. It's unbelievable.

[Turk]

They should do a comic about "the senetor that voted Nay" :lol

[Ridli]

Well it's official, the Washington State Senate officially approves of rape of fruit.

[DeceitDecide]

That's just amazing. Penny Arcade continue to set an example as upstanding members of their local community and as members of the video game industry at large.

[Rentahamster]

Nice.

I remember the day after the strip where the cardboard tube was introduced, I saw "The tube is civilization!" scrawled in chalk in Red Square (UW).

[Nirolak]

For those who are confused, this is most likely almost entirely due to their charity work with Child's Play but when you commend someone at a government or similar level it is traditional to list all of their major accomplishments within the commendation.

At least, generally the government chooses to commend someone for running a highly successful worldwide charity for sick children rather than having a popular web comic, and for that they totally deserve it.

[Firestorm]

Remember when some lunatic lawyer tried to sic the police on them?
Fun times.

[Jackson]

Remember when some lunatic lawyer tried to sic the police on them? Fun times.

Some lawyer?

Jack Thompson deserves more respect than listing him as "some lawyer".

Come on, the dude got himself disbarred over video games and when he was disbarred people threw parties for his disbarment. That's pretty epic!

Congratz to the PA guys, they deserve it!

[Xabora]

Pretty awesome, now whats Jack Gonna do! :lol

[Windu]

awesome. they run a great charity so they definitely deserve it.

[DanteFox]

I dont get it

me neither

[Htown]

Some lawyer? Jack Thompson deserves more respect than listing him as "some lawyer". Come on, the dude got himself disbarred over video games and when he was disbarred people threw parties for his disbarment. That's pretty epic! Congratz to the PA guys, they deserve it!

Is "senate resolution" going to be in the game?

I'm sorry

[Firestorm]

Some lawyer? Jack Thompson deserves more respect than listing him as "some lawyer". Come on, the dude got himself disbarred over video games and when he was disbarred people threw parties for his disbarment. That's pretty epic! Congratz to the PA guys, they deserve it!

The point was to refer to him without referring to him specifically. I'd rather his name is eventually forgotten.

[Blackace]

This is why Washington rules.

Nice work guys.

[McBradders]

I said wow! Nice work.

[djtiesto]

That's awesome, congrats PA folks!

[B_Rik_Schitthaus]

why hasnt this been done for Ctrl-alt del.:lol

[Aegus]

Still not sure why they're being classed as leaders in the video game industry though.

Good on them though for their charity work.

[RiZ III]

Ha that's pretty cool.

[Ulairi]

Still not sure why they're being classed as leaders in the video game industry though. Good on them though for their charity work.

They run one of the most important gaming website out there.

[Dyno]

That is high end all the way, top drawer, and very classy too boot.

Kudos to the Penny Arcade team! To take an internet comic strip and parlay it into millions for kids is an astounding feat. I look forward to their continued success.

[cr_blah_blah]

http://blog.senatedemocrats.wa.gov/t...-penny-arcade/ SENATE RESOLUTION 8640 By Senators Jarrett, McAuliffe, and Fraser WHEREAS, The greater Seattle area is home to over 45 video game companies, making the video game industry in Washington one of the largest in the nation; and WHEREAS, Jerry Holkins, a comic writer, and Mike Krahulik, a cartoonist and artist, both originally from Spokane, Washington, collaborated to create an online comic about video games called Penny Arcade in the fall of 1998; and WHEREAS, Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik recently celebrated the comic's 10th anniversary; and WHEREAS, In 2004, Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik launched the first annual Penny Arcade Expo, a gaming festival in Bellevue, Washington; and WHEREAS, By 2008, the Penny Arcade Expo has grown to become the largest game convention in the United States, with over 58,500 video game enthusiasts attending the Penny Arcade Expo at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in August 2008; and WHEREAS, The Penny Arcade Expo attracts thousands of tourists from around the globe to visit the city of Seattle while attending the convention, and has served to further reinforce Seattle's status as a leading locale of the game industry; and WHEREAS, In 2003, Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik created the Child's Play Charity, an organization which raises contributions of money and toys to donate to Children's Hospitals worldwide; and WHEREAS, Child's Play Charity has raised over 4.5 million dollars for sixty different Children's Hospitals since it was established, including Washington's own Seattle Children's and Sacred Heart Children's Hospitals; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington State Senate officially recognize the accomplishments of Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik in becoming widely accepted leaders in the computer and video game industries, encouraging industry growth through scholarships, and advancing Washington State as a hub of the gaming industry through the presence of Penny Arcade Expo; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Washington State Senate honor Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik for their hard work and dedication to improving the lives of hospitalized children worldwide through their creation and continued work with Child's Play Charity; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be immediately transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate to Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik. I, Thomas Hoemann, Secretary of the Senate, do hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of Senate Resolution 8640, adopted by the Senate March 5, 2009 THOMAS HOEMANN Secretary of the Senate

for people who apparently can't read why they were honored without it popping out at them. People seem to forget how influential they really are, something like Gerstmanngate wasn't that long ago and was brought to public eye by them. PAX is huge and the gaming convention since E3's demise. It even manages to be a public event that's successful from a business and consumer side. They should never be discredited as just an online comic, and for someone in the gaming industry to receive that kind of recognition should be celebrated.

[Pureauthor]

Good for them.

'Grats.

[LCfiner]

congrats to the PA guys.

[truly101]

why hasnt this been done for Ctrl-alt del.:lol

I'm waiting for it....you know what......

[sykoex]

I'm so ashamed to be born in Washington right now.

[Zoe]

The speaker should have practiced pronouncing Krahulik ahead of time :lol

[border]

It even manages to be a public event that's successful from a business and consumer side.

Well from what I gather they kinda do that on the backs of unpaid employees, so it's probably easier for them to be "profitable" than a large convention staffed by a crew of paid professionals.

[truly101]

Well from what I gather they kinda do that on the backs of unpaid employees, so it's probably easier for them to be "profitable" than a large convention staffed by a crew of paid professionals.

They have a staff of volunteers or actual unpaid employees? There's a difference.

[Zoe]

Well from what I gather they kinda do that on the backs of unpaid employees, so it's probably easier for them to be "profitable" than a large convention staffed by a crew of paid professionals.

It's SOP for fan-centered conventions to employ mostly volunteers. That doesn't mean that there aren't paid professionals though.