I use to go to sci-fi fandom and gaming conventions as often as possible. If I wasn’t going to a convention as an attendee, I was running parts of or the entire convention. I was a very active participant of fandom at one time. It was one of my many obsessions. As time went on, I invested a lot of passion into it and as passion grew, so did my negative emotions when things did not go well. At the same time, Fandom culture has changed a bunch and I don’t feel like an old Gen Xer belongs in it anymore. Gaming conventions were more my thing and I was involved with many, as a participant or a organizer. I also ran gaming rooms for many sci-fi fandom conventions, and did it successfully for several years.
Gaming Cons
MACE Events – MACE was a gaming Cons that started in 1996 by Justus Productions as ROC 96.5. I ran gaming for it since 2000. We started MACE West in 2011 in Hickory and moved to Asheville in 2014. We ran MACE East in Wilmington NC, but not successful enough to continue. The last MACE West event was in 2022 just after the death of Jeff Smiuth and the last MACE – JeffCon – was November that same year. I ran both those. This 22 years with Jeff, my family and everyone else involved was amazing. I had a great time doing it!
Mythic Con Events – I coached a new team of people collectively calling themselves Games For All, Events Inc., to carry on the spirit of MACE and MACE West. Starting in 2023, Mythic Con (Prime) in Charlotte and Mythic Con West in Asheville are both carrying things on with just as much gaming and fresh new approaches to things. Once I feel they have things figured out, I will retire.
Other Gaming Cons
- Origins – I reported on Origins 2013 for The Gamer’s Codex.
- GenCon – I attended GenCon 2008 for Gaming Report.com.
Sci-fi Cons
Most Sci-fi cons have gaming, so I participate in both kinds of cons as much as I can.
- ConCarolinas – A general sci-fi Con I helped start and ran for a 11 years at various executive levels (2002 until 2012). From 2013 to 2015, I was not involved with it and someone else ran gaming. In 2016, they asked JustUs Productions to run their gaming again. We came up with an agreement that was mutually beneficial while protecting my interests from their toxicity. Unfortunately, that only lasted 3 years and I was once again out in 2020.
- StellarCon – A general sci-fi Con I ran gaming for from 2000 to 2006.
- ConGregate – I briefly ran gaming at this convention but for various reasons, I stopped.
Sci-fi Fandom has become entirely too toxic for God-fearing, Family-loving people like me with values, honor and integrity. Unfortunately, I can’t see myself returning to that cesspool of hatred, intolerance and extreme left-wing agendas.
Convention Timeline
This is as a complete list as I can remember of all the Cons I have been to. Plus through the years, I’ve been to at least four minor Star Trek conventions called Trek-o-Rama in Charlotte, where I remember seeing Gates McFadden, William Shatner, and Marina Sirtis. Additionally I have organized a few Guild Game Days.
Full Timeline
Awards
- 2019 Rebel Award Winner – In 2019, at ConCarolinas 2019/DeepSouthCon 57, Jeff Smith (JustUs Productions) and I were jointly given the Rebel Award. The Rebel Award is a lifetime achievement award for a science fiction fan who has done a great deal for Southern Fandom. They gave it to Jeff Smith (JustUs Productions) and myself. Between me and Jeff, we have been involved with almost 100 cons, not all gaming MACE events. Many of them were in fact fandom events, although those giving us the award probably did not know that. I suppose they saw the body of work that they knew of, between the both of us and gave it to us.
- 2019 Rubble Award Winner – The Rubble award is given to the person who has done the most *to* southern fandom in the past year. This is intended to be less an honor and more of a ribbing but good-natured. The Rubble is not an officially-sponsored award and some cons don’t even do it. I didn’t when I was 2010 con chair. According to the staff who I talked to later, I got that because it’s my fault for bringing a certain person that nearly bankrupted the con, into the committee in the first place.
Additionally, I have won:
- MACE 2021 Best Story Craft in the Dollarstore Crafting Contest




Fandom & Gaming Community
The UNCC Guild- I help get the Guild to where it is today, but I didn’t help “start” it. The Guild is now over 15 years old and holds gaming of all kinds every Friday, Saturday and Sunday on UNCC campus. I also help start the John D Reavis Hammer of Thor Scholarship fund that awards a Guild student $1000 for tuition each year.
Through the years, I was involved with other fledgling clubs include a gaming club in Gastonia, a sci-fi and gaming club in Winthrop, as well as several online groups, meetups and meeting lists. By now, they are too numerous to mention. But over the years, I tried to use my passion for sci-fi and gaming to grow the community where I could. I can’t say I was solely responsible, but I would like to take some of the credit for state of Charlotte fandom is now – in addition to the long running HeroesCon (which I had nothing to do with), we now have 1 major sci-fi con, a few anime cons, as well as a college sci-fi club and a community sci-fi club that continue to thrive. While I may not be totally responsible for this, I am somewhere in that foundation because when I got here, sci-fi and gaming fandom was dead in Charlotte.
Getting too old for this
Unfortunately, like everything in life, things grow old and stale. And sometimes mold and mildew, disease and pestilence spoils the beauty of things. Fandom as well as the gaming community have grown to be a cesspool of anger and hate at a time when this country has grown more and more divided. I hate that it has gotten to this as I used gaming and fandom to escape such things. Instead the bullies and generally ugly people have come to something I have put so much time into.
Since 2012, I have focused strongly on gaming conventions and gaming at sci-fi cons. I have no desire to be involved with organizing fandom events anymore. Since 2020, that which infested fandom has now reached gaming, much to my disappointment. I had hopes that it would stay out of our little corner of fandom but I was wrong. My time organizing for conventions is constantly evolving. I have yet to find a real reason to stop but at some point I know I will have to.
In 2022, my best friend Jeff – my team mate in all the MACE events – passed away. It has broken me. It has affected not only my passion for conventions but also gaming. I miss you brother. I am trying to do more writing and stay involved with gaming in that way but it’s a struggle. I am slowly handing over my skills to others – Mythic Con – so I can move on from Conventions.
Convention Reviews & Posts
- Surviving Cancellation
- ConCarolinas 2019 / Deep South Con 57 thoughts, experiences & rebirth
- Fandom Convention Prices not family-friendly (on purpose)
- So I am back, but not sure I want to be…
- ConCarolinas 2018 Results
- For all the things I built, how quickly they collapse
- MACE West 2018 Report
- My MACE 2017 Schedule
- Managing Gaming at a Convention, Part 1: Intro
- Post-That Con (ConCarolinas) feedback
- 4 years of almost nothing should say something…
- The sweet satisfaction
- 2 days out and blah…
- Returning to ConCarolinas & My Fandom
- MACE West 2017 Report
- Gaming Conventions vs. Gaming at Sci-Fi Fandom Conventions
- MACE 2016 Personal Report
- The Secrets of Organizing Convention Gaming 2 – Know gaming!
- Convention Poll – My take on it
- After Action Report: My Return to ConCarolinas
- ConCarolinas & JustUs Productions Bumpsticker
- MACE East 2016 Review
- The Secrets of Organizing Convention Gaming 1
- MACE 2015: Am I getting too old?
- EGN Podcast Ep. 26 MACE with Ron McClung
- Why I don’t go to Dragon*Con any more…
- Club MACE 2015 Cruise Report
- ConGregate 2015
- MACE 2014 Report
- ConGregate 2014 Report
- StormCon 2014
- Another weekend after Memorial Day
- RavenCon 2014 follow up
- RavenCon 2014 – Virginia sci-fi and gaming
- MACE West 2014 Report
- MACE 2013 Report
- StormCon 2013 – Southern Gaming Redefined
- RoundCon 2013: A Battle with Adversity
- Living MACE/Emberbright Contest
- Origins 2013: Mechjocks & Battletech Pods
- Afterthoughts of Origins: Con Energy
- Origins 2013 Report -Day 4: Final Day
- Origins 2013 Report – Day 3: A Good Day
- Origins 2013 Report – Day 2: First Full Day
- Origins 2013 Report – Arrival Day
- Tips for Origins Game Fair 2013
- Mysticon 2013
- SCARAB 2013 – Columbia, SC
- MACE 2012 Report (Part 2)
- MACE 2012 Report (Part 1)
- Resignation from ConCarolinas
- ConCarolinas 2012, Gaming Director Report
- ConCarolinas 2011 Con Chair Report
- MACE West 2011 Report
- MACE 2009 Report
- ConCarolinas 2009 Report
- mini-mace 2009 Report
- MACE 2008 Report
- MACE 2008 Pre-Con thoughts and my Schedule
- mini-mace 2008 II
- mini-mace 2008 II – The Second Helping
- GenCon 2008: Geek Chic – The Sultan Gaming Table
- GenCon 2008
- The Continuum (GenCon 2008)
- ConCarolinas 2008 Con Report
- StellarCon 32/Deep South Con 46
- StellarCon this weekend! Deep South Con bid
- I am Press for GenCon!
- GenCon 2008 or Bust!
- MACE 2007 Report
- My MACE 2007 Schedule
- MACE 2007
- Dragon*Con 2007 Report
- Thoughts on the demise of Trinoc*con
- My ConCarolinas 2007 General Report
- DRAGON CON, HERE WE COME, … ONE MORE TIME!
- The Zoology of South East Conventions
- ConCarolinas and my attitude
- StellarCon 31- Fan Guest of Honor comments
- MACE and Prezon flap
- MACE 2006. What a BLAST!
- My MACE Schedule. . . Busy, busy, busy
- MACE 2006 Gaming Progress Report
- StellarCon 30 Review
- HeroesCon 2006
- ConCarolinas 2006 Review
- MACE 2003 Review
- mini-mace 2003
- DragonCon 2003 Review
- DragonCon 2003 / ConCarolinas Party
- ConCarolinas 2003 Review
- StellarCon 27 Review
- MACE 2002 Review
- StellarCon 24
- MACE 1999
- StellarCon 23 (1999)
- Summer Con Report
- MACE 1997 Report
- MOC 10 and DRAGON CON 1995/NASFIC