JacksUsername
07-19-2005, 02:06 PM
Hi, I didn't know if any of you had seen this yet, but Connecticon is in real danger as is the runners of the con. This has been posted with many webcomics, as well as now linked to on the main Connecticon site::::
In 2003, ConnectiCon opened its doors for the first time. Run by Matt Daigle and Briana Benn at the University of Hartford in Connecticut, ConnectiCon was a labor of love. Through blood, sweat and tears (and their own finances), they created one of the friendliest, most welcoming conventions in the Northeast. It caters to Anime, Sci-Fi, Gaming, Fantasy and more.
They ended their first year in debt, not entirely unusual for a first time convention. Yet despite their own financial losses, in 2004 they hosted ConnectiCon for a second time. The convention doubled in every aspect: attendance, guest appearances, and in fun. They finally broke even.
Due to a change in management and policy at the University of Hartford, where ConnectiCon was hosted for the first two years, the convention was forced to find a new home in 2005. Faced with a choice of canceling their event or taking a risk on a more expensive venue, Matt and Briana put everything they had on the line to throw the best convention they could. They moved ConnectiCon to the brand new Connecticut Convention Center.
Despite throwing another wonderful convention this year, they did not break even. In fact, due to the Convention Center being so new, and through a series of misunderstandings between ConnectiCon and Connecticut Convention Center staff, there were a lot of unforeseen expenses tacked on at the last minute.
To outline the costs concisely: The space rental was $45,000. The billing for additional expenses (to be attached at the convention's end) was quoted as being $5,000-$10,000. These expenses were planned for. However this bill was inflated due to last minute additions to Connecticut Convention Center staff, such as a full-time Fire Marshal, a full-time nurse, and extra security personnel, which were not discussed in the initial contract negotiations. Over the course of the weekend these additional expenses continued to pile up, until costs far exceeded the original $10,000 estimate.
As a result, Matt Daigle is now $34,148.50 in debt. That is too much for any one person to shoulder, let alone a person who was never interested in making money, and just wanted to throw a fun event for people to enjoy.
At this point it's not only ConnectiCon 2006 that's in danger; it's Matt and Briana's future.
ConnectiCon has earned a reputation amongst the webcomic community as being the largest supporter of our medium. There has never been another convention that treated webcomics with such respect and admiration. There has never been a convention that showcased such a huge number of webcomics in one place.
They have treated webcomics like royalty for the past three years and now, in their hour of need, dozens of webcomic creators and other artists have banded together to organize this fund.
We need to save our friends. We need to save our ConnectiCon.
And we need your help to do it.
\if any of you have any extra to donate, the site is http://www.saveconnecticon.com/ and is being also sponsored by comics such as ctrlaltdel, applegeeks, vg cats...etc.
I hope they can raise enough, connecticon rules.
In 2003, ConnectiCon opened its doors for the first time. Run by Matt Daigle and Briana Benn at the University of Hartford in Connecticut, ConnectiCon was a labor of love. Through blood, sweat and tears (and their own finances), they created one of the friendliest, most welcoming conventions in the Northeast. It caters to Anime, Sci-Fi, Gaming, Fantasy and more.
They ended their first year in debt, not entirely unusual for a first time convention. Yet despite their own financial losses, in 2004 they hosted ConnectiCon for a second time. The convention doubled in every aspect: attendance, guest appearances, and in fun. They finally broke even.
Due to a change in management and policy at the University of Hartford, where ConnectiCon was hosted for the first two years, the convention was forced to find a new home in 2005. Faced with a choice of canceling their event or taking a risk on a more expensive venue, Matt and Briana put everything they had on the line to throw the best convention they could. They moved ConnectiCon to the brand new Connecticut Convention Center.
Despite throwing another wonderful convention this year, they did not break even. In fact, due to the Convention Center being so new, and through a series of misunderstandings between ConnectiCon and Connecticut Convention Center staff, there were a lot of unforeseen expenses tacked on at the last minute.
To outline the costs concisely: The space rental was $45,000. The billing for additional expenses (to be attached at the convention's end) was quoted as being $5,000-$10,000. These expenses were planned for. However this bill was inflated due to last minute additions to Connecticut Convention Center staff, such as a full-time Fire Marshal, a full-time nurse, and extra security personnel, which were not discussed in the initial contract negotiations. Over the course of the weekend these additional expenses continued to pile up, until costs far exceeded the original $10,000 estimate.
As a result, Matt Daigle is now $34,148.50 in debt. That is too much for any one person to shoulder, let alone a person who was never interested in making money, and just wanted to throw a fun event for people to enjoy.
At this point it's not only ConnectiCon 2006 that's in danger; it's Matt and Briana's future.
ConnectiCon has earned a reputation amongst the webcomic community as being the largest supporter of our medium. There has never been another convention that treated webcomics with such respect and admiration. There has never been a convention that showcased such a huge number of webcomics in one place.
They have treated webcomics like royalty for the past three years and now, in their hour of need, dozens of webcomic creators and other artists have banded together to organize this fund.
We need to save our friends. We need to save our ConnectiCon.
And we need your help to do it.
\if any of you have any extra to donate, the site is http://www.saveconnecticon.com/ and is being also sponsored by comics such as ctrlaltdel, applegeeks, vg cats...etc.
I hope they can raise enough, connecticon rules.