Any questions for ConChair candidates?

[BigGuy]

Right now I'm the only candidate, but people can still nominate others.
But for now if you have any questions or comments post them here.

[RemSaverem]

Just a note of so much love and appreciation to you Mike. 100% support to you for doing what you need to do to stay afloat. Many hugs and fond memories and best wishes. Please stay in touch. Who knows maybe you and Duncan will be in Malaysia at the same time and could go to a con together. I am sooooo grateful to you beyond words and will miss you both personally and professionally.

All that said:
To candidates: What qualities and what activities towards building con community did you most admire about each prior con chair under which you've worked? How do you forsee yourself emulating, diverging from, and/or building from those performances? And how realistic is it to still pull off a con in these turbulent financial times? Do we have any fail-safe insurance in case we need to cancel?

posted with love by Rem.

[BigGuy]

 I think that people will always find money for the things they love to do: like going to an anime con. People ride and room share to drive down costs, so I think we might not have the same growth we've had in previous years but I don't believe we'll need to cancel Kumoricon.
 Regarding prior Conchairs, I've worked under every one we've ever had. I admire things about all of them, I don't think anyone would even take this job if they didn't absolutely love Kumoricon and want to see it prosper and grow.
 Sorry but right now I can't forsee how this year will go since a lot of things are crazy right now. I want con to go smoothly, and I hope that when things do go wrong we can deal with it quickly. But I can't really speak to how my Performance as ConChair(unless I lose to someone nominated in the future) will stack against the incredible people who have come before.
 Sorry if I didn't answer your question adequately.

[RemSaverem]

No that's fine.
I personally will not be able to afford to pay for hotel space this year unless some major windfall occurs. So I'll be looking into the hostel or the goddess temple or finding crash space at a friend's house. Others may be in the same boat; I would imagine there might be more locals who commute this year than prior years. That kind of forecasting was what I had in mind. And how that impacts decisions such as is it worth whatever extra insurance $$ to try to go 24 hrs.

[kylite]

I know I am gonna get killed for it but *takes a deep breath* I "jesse cranston", being of sound mind and body do hereby nominate Brownie for Con Chair.

I am requesting a second anyone?

[Hawkeye]

Seconded.

[superjaz]

I know I am gonna get killed for it but *takes a deep breath* I "jesse cranston", being of sound mind and body do hereby nominate Brownie for Con Chair.

oh they are going to find you dead in ally with cats lickin at ya

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sprqnr4fRzQ

anyway here is a question, who is in mind have in mind for vice chair  (in the case beu gets chair)

[BigGuy]

Enjoy the rest of your very short lives

[Hawkeye]

That's a good question indeed Jaz, but do remember the vice chair is chosen by the board and not by the people.  Although if I remember right, people do have the right to make suggestions, even if the board chooses not to heed them.

[JeffT]

Question for the Chair candidates:

The convention chair has a great amount of influence over the future direction of the convention. What are some of your major ideas for the future?

(Examples: Ideas for staff interaction and organization. Changes or improvements that are different than the normal way Kumoricon has done things. Initiatives which will distinguish Kumoricon from other conventions. You don't need to address all those, and you can add your own. ^_^)

[BigGuy]

 I've always liked that Kumoricon feels like a small con even though we're getting pretty big. I want us to always have that "small con, for the fans" feeling. I'd like to see more official and unofficial fan run panels and events, I don't know how many outreach events other cons do, but on our forums we have people planning outings and get togethers.
I'd like to try to have more staff functions to get people mingling more.

  I'm also very new to the Exec level. This will be a transition year for me so I don't know about any sweeping changes, it sounds lame but we should stick to the stuff we're already doing that works and really only change what doesn't. I need to be brought into the loop on what doesn't work and then go from there.

On a personal level I don't really like how formal everything has gotten, I realize that the con is a serious event now. But I remember when general meetings were 10 people sitting on the lawn at the UO just putting stuff together.
We can't go back to that of course, just remembering out loud.

[DancingTofu]

This isn't a question, just a point to be made.  Departmental meetings and subdepartment meetings do really provide the atmosphere you describe.  If you feel that that's something that really promotes the small con feeling, then you should encourage Directors and Managers to arrange meetings with staff beyond what we get from breakouts, and maintain that as part of your agenda.