The Official Anthrocon Wrap-up Report

Uncle Kage posted the following Anthrocon report to a.f.f.

Click "Read more" to see it.

WHEW!

I believe by all accounts that Anthrocon this year was the largest Anthropomorphics convention ever. Our grand total was 1457 registered members, although it certainly seemed that there were more. Of these, there were 144 sponsors, and 87 supersponsors.

First off, a huge THANK YOU to the staff who made it all possible.

Second off, I've got a *BIG* box here of lost and found items, everything from tails to eyeglasses, all collected at Con Ops or given to me by the hotel afterward. If you lost something at the con, please send an email to [email protected] and put the words LOST AND FOUND in the subject line. I'm getting lots of emails right now, and I would hate to lose a plea for help amongst all of them.

REGISTRATION: Things got a little haywire on Friday. I have spoken to my fine Registration folks, and they have already begun working on an entirely new system for next year. We aim to make check-in as quick and painless as possible. My apologies for the backup on Friday!

HOTEL: We are returning to the Adams Mark next year. The elevators were notorious, as they have been for many years, for breaking down. I had a long talk with the sales staff, who told me something encouraging. They admitted
that the owner has shown little interest for many years in upgrading the elevators, even though the four of them cost the hotel about $10,000 a month in repairs just to keep them running; however, about a month before the convention, the owner himself became trapped in one of the elevators when it broke down between floors. Apparently there are now three proposals from three different contractors on the owner's desk for the repair of the elevators.

CHARITY: Our charity auction raised a total of $7273 for the Reins of Life, a local organization that uses horses as therapy animals for handicapped children. Praise and thanks to Rigel for his outstanding organization of this very successful event!

MASQUERADE: Rigel did that, too. Gads, he works hard! This year featured more powerful lighting, a high-end sound system, and the long-sought resting area ("The Headless Lounge") for the costumers. Some of you may have seen
some of my biggest fans in there.

DANCES: I bow before Points, Triggur, Brenda, Rigel, and all the others who turned the ballroom into a blur of sound and lights that rivaled the best clubs down on Delaware Avenue!

DEALERS' ROOM: We had 80 dealers this year in a spacious room that kept traffic flowing smoothly, all thanks to helpful suggestions from the local fire marshall.

ART SHOW: The magic of Petercat and his staff once again came to bear to create a mammoth art show with something for everyone. I do not have total sales figures, but I do know that the credit card machine was noticably hot to the touch on Sunday afternoon when I went to collect it! Peter will let us know later on what our final figures were. Artists, remember that we go over our sales with a fine-toothed comb afterward to make certain that all the numbers are in order, and that takes time. We do assure everyone that all artist payments will be made by the deadline promised in the art show documentation.

UNCLE KAGE'S STORY HOUR: I found out that I have a daughter! :O

GUESTS: Dan and Josie DeCarlo joined us, along with Mr. Bill Holbrook and his family. All seemed to have a bangup time! It was a little disconcerting seeing Josie and my mom going out bar-hopping on Saturday night, but hey, our job is to make sure the guests enjoy themselves, right? I just hope Mom didn't tell her any stories....

PROGRAMMING: We heard the best comment we could hope for: "Everything is too good!" I assure you that there's nothing we can do about that problem, so you'll just have to live with it. Seriously, I am pleased that folks enjoyed the programming we offered, and applaud SusanDeer for her masterful wrangling of the schedule.

CON BOOK: I am sorrowful that Peppermint, our cherished con book editor, will not be able to help us out next year, but I am pleased that she is pursuing her writing career full time. Perhaps we'll have her as a guest of honor in three or four years when her eighth best seller hits the shelves!

SECURITY: We had only one instance of a gentleman who did not follow our clearly posted rules and had to be asked to leave. There was also a mysterious fellow lurking around in the parking lot, forbidden to enter the convention but desperate to still be nearby. I was asked if I wanted to have him removed, but declined. The comedic value of his efforts outweighed any concern over his presence. My hat is off to him for providing me with a good laugh when I needed it most. We had a few reports of security personnel being overly enthusiastic about their duties. I ask the membership to look on them kindly, as these are volunteers themselves, and often the instructions they were given were not as clear as should be. "Let no one enter this room!" leaves little room for interpretation. I shall be working very closely with security in the upcoming year to make certain that each volunteer knows both the extent and the boundaries of his duty, and I apologize to anyone whose
convention experience may have been marred by misunderstandings.

STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS: I cannot say it enough -- I love these people! They worked their buns off for no better reason than to do a good job, and the only reward they got was a grunt from a dazed chairman as he rushed by to try to find some other fire to put out. These folks are the salt of the earth, and deserve much praise and thanks for all they have done. They themselves ARE Anthrocon, and please remember that when you are looking for someone to thank for a job well done.

INTERNET ROOM, VIDEO ROOM, CON SUITE: These three areas were staffed by valiant volunteers Tigerwolf, Ray Rooney and Cynthia Moreno. All three of them stayed at their posts through thick and thin. Next year I am very much hoping to get each one some help in running these respective functions -- a hint to those out there who might be wondering just what they can do to help Anthrocon out.

That is far from a comprehensive report from the chairman's side. It is what I was able to spill off the top of my head while I prepare to unpack dozens of boxes and catalog all of the equipment that was brought home. Here is to all 1457 of our members who made this organization such a success -- I look forward to seeing each one of you in 2002, when we will be joined by English writer Lisanne Norman and fantasy illustrator Heather Bruton for a celebration of "INVENTION."

See you there!

-- Uncle Kage

Anthrocon