Printed below and over the next several pages is the 1998 ACM Annual Address
presented by Duane Thompson, President and King Wilson, Executive Director of Allied
Charities of Minnesota on Friday, November 20, 1998 at The 8th Annual Minnesota
Lawful Gambling Convention & Expo in Saint Paul:

Duane Thompson Remarks

 Good evening .....  on behalf of the Board of Directors of Allied Charities of Minnesota I
would like to officially welcome you to the 8th Annual ACM Lawful Gambling
Convention & Expo.  This is our first Convention & Expo in the metro area so we hope you
are enjoying St. Paul and are finding the training seminars productive. I hope you've
had a chance to stop by the Expo Hall and visit the exhibits.

 I want to thank all of the exhibitors who are participating this year ... especially those
who have been with us for all of our Expo's over the years. Their support and
participation have been a significant factor in the success of the Convention & Expo.

 This year marks the 8th anniversary of Allied Charities Minnesota Lawful Gambling
Convention and Expo. Our attendance and participation in the Convention & Expo is
again well over 2300 people.

 The ACM Lawful Gambling Convention & Expo mirrors the success and progress ACM
has had as an organization these past eight years.

 Allied Charities is the largest charitable gambling organization in the United States.
You represent over one-half million individuals whose organizations are involved in
charitable gambling in virtually every community in Minnesota. We should be proud of
how we have been able to help our communities with our charitable gambling proceeds.
We are definitely a Minnesota Community's Best Bet!

 The past five years I have had the privilege to serve as President of AlliedCharities ....
and to serve with a very dedicated Board of Directors. During that time ACM and the
Board has matured. Our committee structure is working well and the organization is
running smoothly. A volunteer organization like ours is only as good as its Board ... so
it's no coincidence that we've been so successful over the years with our tremendous
Board of Directors leading the way.

 And now would the Board members please stand-up and be recognized as I call your
name. Please hold your applause until I've introduced the entire Board:

Karen Wirkus, Climb, Inc., St. Paul, Vice President & Region 12 Director

Dave Klein, Chamberlain-Goudy VFW Post 5113 - Mound, Treasurer & Region 11
Director

John Vaydich, Duluth Softball Players Assn, Secretary & Region 3 Director

Ken Ayers, Albert Lea Eagles #2258, Region 10 Director

Erv Bernard, Fridley Knights of Columbus #4381, Director at Large

Sharyn Busswitz, Avoca American Legion Post 576, Region 8 Director

Scott Conrad, Duluth Elks Lodge #133, Director-at-Large

Gabe Ducharme, North Country Snowmobile Club, Region 2 Director

Karen Frericks, Schola Foundation, Director-at-Large

Mel Holmes, Garrison Lions Club, Region 5 Director

Milton Johnson, Montivideo American Legion Post 59, Region 6 Director

Duane Lundemo, Roseau American Legion Post 24, Region 1 Director

Bob Matson, North Suburban Youth Assn, Director at Large

Marv Reick, Courtland Lions, Region 9 Director

Bill Steele, Minneapolis Jaycees Charitable Foundation, Director at Large

Maureen Vachuska, Immaculate Conception Church, Director at Large

Mark Zimmerman, Big Lake Lions, Region 7 Director

 Thank you members of the board for all of your help and work this past year. The work
you do is very much appreciated by all here today!

 I have been privileged to serve as president of Allied Charities the last five years. As an
organization we've met the challenge, but need to continue to work hard to attack the
most significant problem facing us today -- the over taxation imposed on us by the State of
Minnesota. With the recent shifts of power from the elections we will have a golden
opportunity to again bring our case to the new legislature and the new governor. I'll let
King Wilson talk about that in more detail in his comments.

 We've also continued to work to keep you better informed through our newsletter,
legislative updates, regional meetings and our internet home page.

 Now, I would like to introduce our executive director to discuss some of the plans we've
made to keep us moving forward into the future.

 Today is a milestone for King ... with this year?s ACM Annual Meeting he has been
associated with ACM ten years. So I?d like to congratulate King on his 10 years with
ACM and say we all look forward to his dedication and involvement for the next 10!!! We
are truly fortunate to have him serving as our Executive Director.

 Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my pleasure to introduce to you our Executive Director, King
Wilson.

King Wilson Remarks

 Thank you Duane for your gracious introduction ... and I look forward to that second ten
years!!! Let me begin by congratulating Duane, the rest of the ACM officers, and the
entire Board on a job well done -- we've made excellent progress under Duane?s and our
Board?s leadership. It has been a pleasure working with all of the people associated with
ACM over the past 10 years.

 It seems like just yesterday when I attended my first ACM Annual Meeting in the
Legion Club in St. Cloud. It was after that meeting I decided I needed to get involved in
what was happening to us at the capitol, and concluded that the best way to do that was
through a then fledgling organization called Allied Charities of Minnesota.

 At that time ACM consisted of several hundred organizations working to become the
voice of charitable gambling in Minnesota. We had only a few hundred bucks in the bank,
and decided that we had to make one last appeal to licensed organizations across the
state to save ACM and charitable gambling. Well, the one last appeal worked, and we
were off and running.

 Those several hundred organizations grew and grew to the point where ACM now
represents over 1,000 licensed organizations across the state, from the very small to the
very large, with the common mission of keeping charitable gambling viable into the
future.

 Over the years we've had our successes and we've experienced disappointments. But
overall, we've made tremendous strides in working with the legislature, other elected
officials, and the Gambling Control Board. ACM has truly become the voice of charitable
gambling in Minnesota.

 I very much look forward to continuing our steady progress in the years ahead and
continuing to work to keep charitable gambling viable well into the 21st century.

 Before I get too far into my comments I would like to thank Majority Leader-elect
Pawlenty for his willingness to take time out of his very busy schedule to be with us at our
Convention & Expo. I?m sure he is already starting to feel the weight of his new found
responsibilities. We appreciate hearing his insights on Lawful Gambling and look
forward to working with him in the future.

 In addition, I'd like to thank the Gambling Control Board, Director Harry Baltzer and
his staff, and Roger Swanson and the rest of the Department of Revenue staff for their
assistance in putting together an excellent series of seminars for our convention. We
sincerely appreciate your help!

 I would also like to personally thank those who made the 1998 ACM Minnesota Lawful
Gambling Convention & Expo possible. Bob Matson, chair of the special events
committee, Karen Wirkus, chair of the education committee, Erv Bernard for
coordinating the seminar tickets, and Maureen Vachuska for handling the schedules,
Sharyn Busswitz for working the Welcome/Information Booth, Scott Conrad for
coordinating the signs, Mel Holmes and Gabe Ducharme for coordinating the
transportation, and Karen Frerichs for helping with the registration booth, and all of the
rest of the volunteers who helped make this possible. Thanks to all of you for a job well
done.

 This past year we continued making progress on the number one issue facing charitable
gambling in Minnesota ... our very onerous tax rates. This past session we focused on the
passage of a tax reduction for charitable gambling in the Tax Bill.

 By placing our emphasis on the tax bill, we were able to garner a 5% reduction in overall
charitable gambling taxes. Over the past several years we have made progress on tax
reductions and have seen our taxes reduced from a high of $65 million to $60 million with
the refund on unsold tickets tax, and another $3 million drop with this year?s 5%
reduction ...... so we?re now down to $57 million ... a 12% reduction in taxes over the past
three years.

 But in real dollars that?s $8 million less to the state general fund that we are now able to
put back directly into our communities. But are we happy? No....  we still need an
additional 20% reduction in our present tax rates just to get us back into line with other
states charitable gambling tax rates.

 So ..... our number one ....  two ... and ..... three priorities are continuing our efforts to
get an additional 20% reduction in our state taxes.

 At our annual meeting this morning, you... the members of ACM, ratified a
recommendation by the Board to ask for a 20% across the board tax reduction for
charitable gambling. That again will be the major thrust of our legislative program for
this coming session. But ... in order for us to succeed, we again need your help.

 Things have changed in St. Paul ... it?s called an election!! We now have a new Speaker
along with a new majority in control of the House of Representatives. We also have a new
governor of the state ... Governor Ventura .... that we'll have to get to know. The political
landscape has changed dramatically ... the buzz word is no longer bi-partisanship ... it?s
now tri-partisanship. This change in leadership gives us the opportunity to present our
case to new state leadership ..... and that makes us optimistic about our future!

 But we'll need your help more than ever. Last year I stood here and told you that we
needed your help to secure tax relief. The tax relief we were able to obtain would not have
happened without your willingness to contact your legislators and explain to them why
you thought our taxes were unfair. We at ACM could tell fairly soon going into the
session that many of you had done your homework and that we had an excellent
opportunity to secure tax relief.

 If we are going to be successful in 1999, we'll all need to re-double our efforts for the
coming session.

 I know you must be tired of us asking for your continued help. Well, quite frankly, we
are tired of having to ask for it -- just like we are tired of having to go to the legislature
and continually ask for a fair tax structure. But I guess we are all even more tired and
fed-up with paying the unfair state taxes ..... so until we get the tax relief we deserve,
we'll just keep asking you for the help.

 Just take a minute and think about what you've accomplished with the extra monies
that your organization has received with the unsold ticket tax refund, or how you will be
able to use the extra funds as a result of last session?s 5% reduction in taxes ...... and
then ask yourself if a few phone calls or letters to your legislators was worth what you
received back. I think you'll agree that the extra money back into your coffers has paid
dividends in your programming and in your community ....  and will continue to pay
dividends well into the future. The extra $8 million annually going back into our
communities is all put directly back into our programs and community efforts .... let?s
never lose sight of that.

 An additional 20% tax reduction for us would mean an added $11.4 million dollars
directly back into our communities. We believe these funds are worth fighting for and
will continue that fight until we succeed!!

 If we all work together our goal can and will happen! At the last Convention & Expo, I
used the analogy that ACM is like the conductor of  a large orchestra .... that being you,
our members. Alone .. ACM .. like a conductor ... can't make any music ... but working
with the full orchestra we would make beautiful music together. Without the violins
playing, the drums drumming, the horns sounding ... the conductor is powerless. With
them all playing in perfect harmony, the conductor is very powerful. Let's all work to
build that perfect, powerful harmony.

 Our tax relief effort has to start at the grassroots level with you and your recipient
organizations .... and it must start soon. The session begins January 5th so time is
crucial.

 On the state level, I am pleased to again report to you that ACM remains very strong and
viable. Our membership base has stabilized at slightly over 1000 organizations from
across the state. In addition, we have over 90 associate members who believe in what we
are doing and are partners with us in our industry.

 I spent the months of September and October traveling the state attending regional
meetings reporting to member organizations on our progress and more importantly,
listening to your concerns as our members.

 We have received excellent feedback on our new internet home page ....
www.alliedcharitiesmn.org ... which has important meeting dates, information on the
latest on what's happening at the capitol, a member's bulletin board, our ACM
publications and loads of other useful information.

 If you haven?t had a change to use it .... please view it when you get a chance and let us
know what you think ... especially if there are ways we can improve the web site. That
web site address is www.alliedcharitiesmn.org! Again, please let us know what you
think!!

 We've also updated our ACM FACT SHEET for your use in telling the charitable
gambling story. A copy is in your packet and we'll be sending  copies to your organization
in early December. This FACT SHEET is a handy reference for telling your story to the
decision-makers in your community ... or anyone else that will listen for that matter. Let
us know if you need additional copies of the ACM FACT SHEET, we will make them
available. We also have available additional copies of our video --"Charitable Gambling, A
Minnesota Community's Best Bet" if you need any extra copies.

  The challenges of the future are still many. We'll always have new issues to face. We
need to continue our hard work to keep our industry competitive ... in a very competitive
market.

 Our industry is strong and viable ... but we must continue to work to keep it that way ...
and fight to make the changes we need to remain strong and viable far into the 21st
century.

 I want to thank all of you for attending our 8th Annual ACM Lawful Gambling
Convention & Expo. We trust it has been a good experience and you have learned more
about our industry. And, if we all work together we can achieve our goals!! Thank you.