SPECIALIZED GAMING CONSULTANCY

Strategic Charitable Gaming

Tonkers have been driving technological innovation with business and nonprofits since 2001. Tonk Group’s mission is to mobilize gaming that offers a better return to nonprofits and supporting operations by leveraging a portfolio of state-of-the-art multimedia solutions, high-level industry contacts and exclusive licensing opportunities for emerging markets. 

Tonk Group, LLC is driven to modernize charitable gaming with new models delivered with blockchain integrity.  Tonk creates economic development strategies through game platforms it licenses and creates with its partners and providers.

 

Tonk Group’s raison d’etre is economic development, bringing partnerships and strategies to benefit local communities and nonprofit missions through gaming.  Tonk’s members bring to bear decades of project management experience, nonprofit fundraising and technical integration, from pioneering social media to building and managing mobile sports book offerings. In 2016 Tonk was founded as a distributor for Diamond Game, a Pollard Banknote subsidiary.  Licensed by New Hampshire Lottery Commission-Racing Charitable Gaming Division, Tonkers found charity games too  encumbered by over-reaching regulations, weak enforcement and unscrupulous game operators.  Most charitable games were  dated and did not appeal to the next generation  of supporters while relying upon a shrinking membership well of support.   The need for more modern, mobile, fair and accountable charitable gaming models was made apparent.  

As sports betting and esports grows in North America, Tonk is carving a place for charitable gaming. Today, Tonk has packaged a portfolio of state-of-the-art multimedia hardware & software packages which include online games, customer management systems integritized with blockchain technology. Tonk Group, LLC offers competitive models and economic development strategies with mobile, automated and transparent platforms for esports, sportsbook and charitable gaming.  Partnering with blockchain innovator, Peerplays Global, LTD, Tonk offers a progressive gaming package that empowers donors, players, operators and regulators through tokenization.  Our marketing strategy is vested in community support.

“Our mission is to mobilize charitable fundraisers that offer better returns to nonprofits.”

Tonk’s members are acquainted through their volunteer commitments to veteran Service organizations and parallel experiences. Tonk shares at least half of all proceeds from veteran charity raffles with the Veterans Foundation of New Hampshire to support pro-bono legal representation for military families.

 

Management Bios

Tara Sue Clark

Chief Executive Officer

Tara Sue was born and raised in Chief’s Kingdom, Missouri and the Northlands of Kansas City.  Tara Sue holds an Individualized Bachelor’s Degree in Political Theory from Missouri State University in Springfield.  Her tech integration experience began in 2002 as the first political candidate to use a Weblog and a Paypal account.  Utilizing a site donated by Dave Winer (Userland), the campaign led to her nomination for a Wired Rave Award after the election which raised issues of P2P legislation and privacy.  Tara was recruited by Policlicks.com LLC that year and served as the start-up’s CEO driving blogosphere development in neutral, nonpartisan multimedia broadcasting.  Tara Sue led the company’s contract negotiations, supported programming and marketing to create the first (organizational) social network in 2003 and provide the program at no cost to thousands of organizations.  The platform was among the first to integrate blogging (Bloghoster) instant messaging  (Shoutbox), monetized white label email (Outblaze) and provided video streaming for organizations (Magnify) on the company’s proprietary platform which was provided serving over 7000 nonprofits  for more than 15 years.  In addition to serving as CEO and technician to Tonk, Tara Sue is a founder and (volunteer) executive director to the Veterans Foundation of NH, Inc. (2011-Present)  and the Veterans Law Project (2005-Present). Tara Sue is founder and operator of Sumus Media, LLC which supports Tonk Group integrations, casino amenity companies, small business and no-cost services to nonprofits, particularly veterans groups and Marines.

Ross Myers

VP Business Development

Ross is Tonk Group’s chief business development strategist and founder.  Reared in an Army family, Ross has lived and worked all over the world.  A lifetime entrepreneur,  Ross’ gaming experience began as a teenage employee of his local Arcade in North Carolina.  After high school Ross started Irving Park Paint Company, a high-end residential paint and restoration business,  growing the firm from small jobs with his brother to a crew of 20 and acquisition of a development partnership on the (then) largest industrial restoration project in North Carolina (2003-08).   In 2001, shortly after 911, Ross founded Policlicks.com, a multimedia upstart that provided support to veterans groups,  nonpartisan voter education and Web development.  Ross spearheaded the “Fabric of America Campaign” a civic program and organized with Compaq & Sorenson Media “Give Thanks America Campaign” video messages to troops.  Recruiting Tara Sue during a political candidate recording session in 2002, the two began what has become a 17 year collaboration in tech and multimedia integration for nonprofits.  Since 2007 Ross has provided consultation and business development plans and strategies to licencors, manufacturers and distributors of hardware and software gaming.  Ross is the key driver behind Tonk Group innovations and the marriage of gaming and blockchain technology service offerings.  

Michael Mendyk

Compliance Officer

Michael holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from University Nebraska-Lincoln.  He has over 20 years experience in professional consultation and managerial guidance within the regulated US gambling industry.   Michael was co-founder and CEO of Maxpop, Inc. (1999-2004) where he built and directed the company-wide effort for a start-up offering advanced video compression and streaming technology.  In addition to directing 12 employees and 3 outside legal resources, Michael negotiated and closed exclusive market intellectual property contracts valued at $10m with a Nasdaq listed company.  With a history of effective shareholder relations and executive guidance on complex business and intellectual property licensing matters, Michael joined Mpact Partners, LLC (2004-2009).   Here Michael’s key contribution was establishment of a North American subsidiary for South Korean corporate parent.  Michael serves as an executive consultant to Munmen Resolutions Group, LLC and managing partner to iGaming Consultants, where his network of industry expertise covers all key aspects of regulated sports betting and online gaming verticals; product development and certification, corporate regulatory compliance, vendor selection, platform integration, commercial agreements and legal support.   

Dana Hussey

VP Operations

Dana brings to bear over 30 years of charitable game development and nonprofit management.  A decorated combat Air Force veteran, Dana was honorably discharged in 1977.   The following year he joined as a volunteer to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).   An awarded Health and Safety manager for Waste Management (1984-97), Dana also organized and managed the VFW Post 1772 Bingo Hall making it one of the largest and most profitable Bingos in New Hampshire (NH) for over a decade (1984-99).   Dana has held positions at all levels of the veterans organization including VFW National Judge Advocate and VFW state adjutant and quartermaster to the VFW New Hampshire (1998-2009).  In 2001 Dana was elected to the Board of Trustees of the VFW National Home for Children for a 6 year term. During his term of office the National Home, which houses children orphaned by war, he helped reversed a nearly $3 million deficit, built two (2) new homes for the first time in over 40 years and approved the first balanced budget in over 20 years.  Dana has been a part of Ross and Tara Sue’s nonprofit tech integration effort since 2003 when the duo produced the 1st Presidential Primary Video Forum with the Veterans of Foreign Wars Department New Hampshire. Dana has consulted and directed development of multiple charitable gaming establishments and nonprofits over the years.   In 2010 Dana recruited Tara Sue & Ross to help establish a vehicle for veterans support in NH.  Dana is a the founding president and current board member to the Veterans Foundation of New Hampshire, Inc.

Francis Gravel

Chief Financial Officer

In 2016 the trio recruited Francis Gravel to Tonk Group. For 30 years Francis owned and operated Buster’s Billiards in Somersworth, NH, then the largest billiards hall in New Hampshire. Within this space, Francis and Dana built the fastest growing billiards league in New England, the Northeast TAP League.  When he is not playing pool or managing Tonk’s finances, he enjoys his retirement with his wife in Rochester, New Hampshire.

Michael McLaughlin

Legal Counsel

Attorney McLaughlin has been involved in government relations since 1996.  Prior to that he served as a member for the staff of the New Hampshire State Senate where he worked on legislative and regulatory matters that came before the New Hampshire General Court.  McLaughlin has been a key contributor to the New Hampshire regulated charitable gaming space for several years, integral to crafting legislation for online poker, Bingo, Lucky 7 and assisting Tonk Group’s Sports Book Project Management in the recent NH Sports Book Wagering Services RFP.  In 2006 McLaughlin joined Shaheen & Gordon law firm.  He is the manager of government relations practice known as Capitol Insights Group.  In 2016 McLaughlin adopted Tonk Group in support of its mission to bring better accountability and modernized models to charitable gaming.