Hopefully everyone had a great Independence Day celebration! Shell and I would like to thank everyone for their support and confidence. We are looking forward to working with you all to improve Marcon for future generations. We are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead of us in developing Marcon 38. Our theme for next year's convention, "Through the Looking Glass... (looking through the past into the future)" offers us a wide range of topics for programming and events. If you have programming ideas please send them our way and we will pass them along to the programming department once all the positions have been assigned. Also, please offer any suggestions you have to improve MARCON's policies, procedures, or MARCON as a whole. We are anticipating a year with many opportunities for positive growth throughout MARCON as an organization.

On that note, please let us know no later than the picnic in which positions you would like serve. Attached to this email is a form we'd like you to fill out and hand to us or email to us. We are asking everyone to put down two areas in which they are most interested. Marcon is a big convention and in order to grow we as staff have to learn other areas of expertise.

Do not forget the picnic is THIS SUNDAY, July 14th at Noon at Hoover Y Park. We have received some gracious donations of chicken, hot dogs and hamburgers. MARCON is supplying the drinks and paper products, but we need condiments, hamburger dressings and buns. If you are willing to provide these items, please inform us by Friday via email. If your last name begins with A-M please bring a side dish, salad or vegetable dish to share with everyone. If your name begins with N-Z, please bring a dessert.

We are looking forward to lots of fun next Sunday! See you there! Any questions? Email one of us.

Thanks, Shell and Lisa

Directions to the Hoover Y Park
23 South to Rathmell Road, the first light south of 270. Turn left. At the second light (Lockbourne Road), turn right. Go 1 mile; turn left onto Rohr Road. Go approximately 1.2 miles; turn left into the Hoover Y Park.

Programming has had its preliminary meeting and is raring to discuss programming panel ideas and events at the September meeting. Our theme this year is "Through the Looking Glass: Looking at the Future through the Past." Please be at the meeting with your thinking caps on and be creative!

Shell and I have contacted everyone who will be in a position of leadership this year. Shell and I made some changes this year in several departments. In order for Marcon to remain strong, the con com members need to be better equipped with knowledge on running several areas of the convention. If you have not been contacted about a department you expressed interest in, it may be because we had more than one person express an interest this year and we felt that it was a time for a change in leadership so a new person have a chance to learn more about running a different area of the con. Hopefully if you did not get a department you wanted, that will not prevent you from becoming involved in a new area of the con or offering your expertise and assistance to the new department head to help then learn what it takes to run that department.

We are looking forward to working with each and every one of you this next year. We want to make Marcon 38 the best convention it can be. It is already off to a good start with our mini meetings this summer with several departments. We are well on our way to a great Marcon 38!

One thing we wanted everyone to be aware of is that Shell and I are in constant communication with each other. We want you to be know that when you send one of us an email or give us a call, that we share that information with the other. Neither one of us wants to be blind sighted or caught unaware of something going on with the convention so we have made that commitment to each other. If you are uncomfortable communicating to one of us, it is ok to talk to the other, but be aware that the conversation or email will be shared with the other so that we are all on the same page.

The first meeting is Sunday, September 15th at 2 p.m. at the Upper Arlington Library. Hope to see you all there!

There is a Department Head meeting the Saturday prior to that. Department Heads should have received notification of the time and location. Please if you are not a department head, do not attend the meeting unless you are the appointed second. It is not that we do not appreciate everyone's involvement, but it makes the meetings run inefficiently and there tends to be a lot of unnecessary conversation when individuals who are not department heads attend. Thank you.

If you have questions email or call. Lisa's number is 614-378-1248. Shell's is 614-327-1031 and you can reach us both by email at marchair@cshellsweb.com

Meeting: September 14, 2002
Time: 1:00 pm
Where: Upper Arlington Library
Who: Department Heads ONLY

Meeting: September 15, 2002
Time: 2:00 pm
Where: Upper Arlington Library
Who: Everyone

Greetings Con Com members and Marcon Staff! The fall weather is upon us and Marcon 38 planning is off to a positive start. We have game masters ready to run games, dealers ready to sell wares and videos raring to be shown. Programming planning is also off and running.

The Upper Arlington Library has asked that if we bring our children that we have them supervised if they are under 7 years old. Apparently, the children's library staff felt overwhelmed last time we had our meeting. Please keep this in mind for the future. Thank you!

This month will be mainly a touch base meeting to see where things are falling. If you have information to share with the committee, please let us know that you would like to be on the agenda. If you don’t tell us, then we may not address that area. I know that we have new guests to announce as well as directions to the Halloween Party.

Yes! I said Halloween Party. THANK YOU to Nick and Linda Winks for opening their home to us to celebrate the coming of winter. The party will be held on October 25th at 7:30 p.m. Directions to Nick and Linda’s home in Westerville will be available at the meeting as well as mailed out via e-mail. Other details are listed below.

Marcon will NOT have a meeting in November due to activities being held by the Upper Arlington Library, but we will have a meeting on December 15; so mark your calendars. Also, Marcon’s holiday party will be held December 28th. The location is to be announced later.

HALLOWEEN PARTY
When: Friday, October 25, 7:30 pm --> ?
Where: Nick and Linda Winks’, 5765 Cairo Road, Westerville, Ohio
614-890-6104
What: Costume (Optional) Ohio Law (Required)

Please Bring At Least One Of:
Veggies for Dipping
Cut-up Fruit for Dipping
Chips
Dips
Candy
2-liters of: Ginger Ale, Sprint, or Lemonade
Cakes, Cookies, and Miscellaneous Munchies

EDITOR’S NOTE: Minutes from the September meeting will be sent out at a later date. Unfortunately, Mr. Murphy has been EXTREMELY active during the past two weeks.

First and foremost I wanted to remind everyone of the Midwinter Party on Jan. 11th at 7 p.m. until 11 p.m. or so at Jack Needles house in Hilliard. Directions are at the bottom of this letter. Marcon will provide paper products, pop, hot cider punch, coffee and tea selections and chips. Please bring other goodies to supplement the feast. If you need ideas email Lisa and she has a list.

Next I wanted to review what was covered at the December meeting and remind you all of upcoming important dates.

Kevin Marcum who has helped in the Anime/Japanimation Room over the years had a stroke and is still in recovery. He is stable but still on a respirator. Please contact Tammy Riffle for more info on his condition.

Dennis Palmer is recovering well from his elevator accident and has been transferred from the hospital to a physical therapy rehab center. Please contact Sharon Palmer, Tammy Riffle or Kathy Wagman for more info on Dennis and his situation.

Registration introduced its new department team: Rick Waterson (Head), Heather Motto, Kurt Von Koenigseck, and Cory Callicotte. There was discussion about the registration fee structure and it was explained by Treasurer Kim Williams. Department Heads were reminded that their $25 registration fee was door by the end of the year and that all staff would have to pay their $25 staff registration fee by April 15th.

Kim reported that so far we have received more pre-regs from individual conventions than from anywhere else, including the web page. She further reminded us that after the PR goes out, we should be receiving a good amount
of pre-regs from that; and that we need to get the PR out as early as possible in order to have more operating funds!

On the hotel side, Kim said that she would be talking with the hotel in January and if you have any questions or concerns about hotel issues could you please get them to her as soon as possible so that she can have them with her at the hotel meeting.

Our line up for Marcon 38 is almost complete. The following guests were announced at the December meeting:
Media Guest of Honor - Richard Hatch of Battlestar Galactica
Editor Guest of Honor: Sue Cook of Malhavoc Press
Special appearances by: Eugene Roddenberry Jr.

Dale is working on an up-and-comer for an additional media guest, but has not confirmed anyone as of yet.

MARCON 39's line up is shaping up nicely as well. The following guests have been confirmed for MARCON 39:
Artist GOH: Nene Thomas
Science GOH: Hugh Gregory
Editor GOH: Ellen Datlow
Fan GOH: Bjo and John Trimble
Filk GOH: TBA
Author: TBA
Gaming: TBA
Costuming: TBA
Toastmaster: TBA
Media: TBA

In addition we are having a special slate of guests in honor of the 50th anniversary of the movie "Godzilla". So far we have the lead Guest as Godzilla GOH: Bob Eggleton.

Publicity reported a good turn out at the Harry Potter Promo event and mentioned that Marcon flyers would be available at Crossroads for the Nemesis and Two Tower premieres as well. There will be other events like this so please keep your ears and eyes open. Wendy Carlson brought the designs for the bookmarks and they were passed around. They should be available for distribution soon.

Upcoming Deadlines: In-house engineering requested that all equipment requests be in by Dec. 31, 2002 so that we can bid out the project and get a better price on equipment this year.

Publicity also asked for any information to be in the PR to be to them by January 15th so that it can go to print by the end of January. On that note, the folding and labeling work party date has yet to be set, but should be mid February. The date should be set within the next week and will be on the website with the other dates of future meetings (see list at bottom of this letter)

Program Book Information is Due by April 1st, 2003. This does not include staff lists, panelists names and bios. Any info that needs to go into the program book for this year needs to be to the publicity team on time so that we can get the book done in a timely and cost effective manner.

Upcoming Marcon meeting dates: Unless specifically noted elsewhere, all Marcon meetings take place at the Upper Arlington Library in the Little Theatre and the department head meetings take place at the UA library In Board Meeting Room B across from the Little Theatre.

Midwinter Party: Jan. 11 7 p.m. Jack Needles House (5624 Van Wert Drive, Hilliard).
Department Head Meeting: 2/15/03 2 p.m.
Con Committee Meeting: 2/16/03 1 p.m.
PR Folding/Labeling/Stamping Work Party: Mid-February Location and Time TBA
Department Head Meeting: 3/15/03 2 p.m.
Con Committee Meeting: 3/16/03 1 p.m.
Department Head Meeting: 4/19/03 2 p.m.
Con Committee Meeting: 4/20/03 1 p.m.
FINAL Con Committee Meeting BEFORE CON: 5/4/03 1 p.m.
FINAL Department Head Meeting BEFORE CON: 5/10/03 1 p.m.
Badge labeling/assembling work party: 5/17/03 Location and Time TBA.
Bad Stuffing: 5/22/03, 6:00 pm at the Hyatt Regency.
MARCON 38 May 23-25, 2003.

Well... I think that about covers it. Thanks for all your hard work thus far. It is going to start speeding up now. Only 137 days till the con. Things will get busy and balls will get dropped. Lets try to work together as a team and make it work regardless of any mistakes we will make. If we can do that NOW then at con, everything will run smoother for everyone because we will know how to communicate and work through problems TOGETHER. Remember if you need anything, call or email us. Right now, Lisa's cell is disconnected so if you need her, contact her on Matt's cell at 354-3589 and you can contact Shell at 327-1031. We are both accessible by email.

DIRETIONS TO THE PARTY AT JACK'S HOUSE!!!
Take I-270 to Hilliard, exit at Roberts Road (1 exit north of I-70, 1 exit south of Mill Run). Head West on Roberts Rd about 1.5 miles. You'll pass a 7-11 and a Sears Hardware. Turn left onto Mesa Drive, the first housing development on the left past the apartments. Stay on Mesa, it turns twice. Just past the Cul-de-sac as the road turns a third time is my house on the right, it's a gray 2 story with beige stone on the front and a green tarp in the driveway.

5624 Van Wert Drive. The street sign on the street light is in my yard.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Lisa and Shell

Ray Stanisz Sr, long-time, Marcon dealer and a great friend of our convention, as well as a really good and decent man, died Friday after a long battle with cancer.

If any would be able to get there, visitation will be Wednesday evening from 4:00 pm till 8:00 pm at Mattox-Ryan Funeral Home in Terre Haute, IN; funeral service will be Thurs at 10:00 am at St Joseph's, also in Terre Haute. I'm sure the family would appreciate any cards or other expressions of sympathy; Ray's wife, Judy, still resides at 2508 Garfield Ave, Terre Haute IN 47804.

Also, Marcon will be voting on a new SOLAE member, as Nick Winks' term is up.

First we wanted to thank everyone who participated in the Winter Mailing party at the Hyatt on Jan 25th. We had about 20 or so people there and the mailing has gone out already been received by folks! An EXTRA "thank you" to those who brought stamps so that Marcon would not have to put out as much capital for the mailing. The mailing would not have happened however, if it had not been for a few folks' efforts and donations of time and supplies. Thank you to Kim Williams who worked with the Hyatt to secure the hotel suite for the evening. Wendy Carlson spent long hours producing a wonderful, eye-appealing mailing piece. Thank you Wendy for all your efforts. Thanks to Dr. Barbara Houk, Linda Winks' sister, who donated the box of 11X17 paper necessary to print the piece on. We have enough left over to print the Pocket Program as well. Finally, thanks to Shell who spent late Friday night photocopying the piece so that we would have a piece to fold, label and stamp. THANK YOU ALL for your efforts! WELL DONE!

Our Publicity efforts do not end there. We still have flyers to produce and Kenn Baughman donated several reams of colored paper to help offset the costs associated with producing flyers. THANKS KENN!!! Keep in mind, we have flyers and bookmarks available for distribution if folks need them and we will need volunteers to help with Movie Premieres out at Crossroads and the Arena Grand in the future and a flyer Blitz of the OSU campus the first weekend in May.

Thanks also to Jack Needles for opening his house to us on Jan. 11 for the Marcon MidWinter Party. It was a HUGE success and we truly appreciated Jack serving as the host for this event. In all, there were 20-25 folks who showed up throughout the evening. We all enjoyed the delicious food, festive atmosphere and engaging conversation.

Since there was not official January meeting there are no minutes to report on so we wanted to take this opportunity to inform you of a few things and confirm meeting dates, times and locations.

For your information: Nationwide/Standard Parking will be extending reduced parking for the Marcon convention May 23-25. The reduced rate will be $4.00 per day parking, with the Marcon badge, for the duration of the convention. The reduced rate will not be extended to in/out privileges.

Volunteers Needed: After several years of dedicated service as Science Fair Liaison for Marcon, Ed Jones has decided to pass the baton to another volunteer. We'd like to thank Ed for spearheading this effort the last 5 years. He has done a lot of coordinating with local school districts and has all the tools available one would need to take over this position. If you might be interested in taking this bull by the horns, please let Shell or I know ASAP. Regardless of if we get someone to take over the coordination, we will need volunteers to attend the Upper Arlington Science Fair on Feb. 21 at 4 p.m. Please inform us if you would be interested in helping out with this event.

Upcoming Deadlines: The Publications Team requests that all Department Heads send their departmental description blurb and "thank yous" and acknowledgments to them by April 1, 2003. Please limit the description of what you do for the con (departmental blurb) to 2 sentences and we ask that all acknowledgments be brief and concise. We ask that if you thank several people, that each person receives one sentence describing why he or she is being thanked. We also want to include any births, weddings or other notable events in this section of the program book, so please feel free to send those as well. If you do not get them in by then they may not get listed in the program book. We are limited on space so we will be more hard nosed about deadlines.

Staff Lists need to be given to Registration and Treasurer by April 15th, 2003. Please do NOT forget that all names of staff members must have a valid address included so that our database is complete and accurate.

February Meeting Preview:
SOLAE Trustee election: Nick Winks term is up and we need to elect a new member.

Dealer's Room Update

Registration Update

Programming Update

Guests Update

Treasury and Hotel Updates

Publicity and Publications

If you are a department head and you want to be on the agenda please email Lisa as soon as possible.

Upcoming Marcon meeting dates: Unless specifically noted elsewhere, all
Marcon meetings take place at the Upper Arlington Library in the Little
Theatre and the department head meetings take place at the UA library in Board Meeting Room B across from the Little Theatre.

Department Head Meeting: 2/15/03 2 p.m.
Con Committee Meeting: 2/16/03 1 p.m.
Department Head Meeting: 3/15/03 2 p.m.
Con Committee Meeting: 3/16/03 1 p.m. MEETING ROOM B
*PLEASE NOTE CHANGE IN LOCATION
Department Head Meeting: 4/19/03 2 p.m.
Con Committee Meeting: 4/20/03 1 p.m.
FINAL Con Committee Meeting BEFORE CON: 5/4/03 1 p.m.
FINAL Department Head Meeting BEFORE CON: 5/10/03 1 p.m.
Badge labeling/assembling work party: 5/17/03 Location and Time TBA.
Bag Stuffing: 5/22/03, 6:00 pm at the Hyatt Regency.
MARCON 38 May 23-25, 2003.

Well... I think that about covers it. I truly appreciate all of your hard work up to this point. It only gets more fun and interesting this point on. Remember if you need anything, call or email us. Right now, Lisa's cell is disconnected so if you need her, contact her on Matt's cell at 354-3589 and you can contact Shell at 327-1031. Remember, we are both accessible by email at marchair@cshellsweb.com.

Once again, keep in mind, we have flyers and bookmarks available for distribution if folks need them and we will need volunteers to help with Movie Premieres out at Crossroads and the Arena Grand in the future and a flyer Blitz of the OSU campus the first weekend in May.

For your information: Nationwide/Standard Parking will be extending reduced parking for the Marcon convention May 23-25. The reduced rate will be $4.00 per day parking, with the Marcon badge, for the duration of the convention. The reduced rate will not be extended to in/out privileges.

Upcoming Deadlines: The Publications Team requests that all Department Heads send their departmental description blurb and "thank yous" and acknowledgments to them by April 1, 2003. Please limit the description of what you do for the con (departmental blurb) to 2 sentences and we ask that all acknowledgments be brief and concise. We ask that if you thank several people, that each person receives one sentence describing why he or she is being thanked. We also want to include any births, weddings or other notable events in this section of the program book, so please feel free to send those as well. If you do not get them in by then they may not get listed in the program book. We are limited on space so we will be more hard nosed about deadlines.

Staff Lists need to be given to Registration and Treasurer no later than April 15th, 2003. Please do NOT forget that all names of staff members must have a valid address included so that our database is complete and accurate.

March Meeting Preview:
SOLAE Trustee election: Nick Winks term is up and we need to elect a new member.
Dealer's Room Update
Registration Update
Programming Update
Guests Update
Treasury and Hotel Updates
Publicity and Publications
Gaming Updates
Filk Updates
Video and Anime Updates
T-Shirt design revealed

If you are a department head and you want to be on the agenda please email Lisa as soon as possible.

Upcoming Marcon meeting dates: Unless specifically noted elsewhere, all Marcon meetings take place at the Upper Arlington Library in the Little Theatre and the department head meetings take place at the UA library in Board Meeting Room B across from the Little Theatre.

Department Head Meeting: 3/15/03 2 p.m.
Con Committee Meeting: 3/16/03 1 p.m. MEETING ROOM B *PLEASE NOTE CHANGE IN LOCATION
PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF DATE AND TIME!
Department Head Meeting 10 a.m. - 12 noon 4/12/03 Marcon Full Committee meeting 2:00 -5:00 p.m. MEETING ROOM B Upper Arlington Library
FINAL Con Committee Meeting BEFORE CON: 5/4/03 1 p.m.
FINAL Department Head Meeting BEFORE CON: 5/10/03 1 p.m.
Badge labeling/assembling work party: 5/17/03 Location and Time TBA.
Bag Stuffing: 5/22/03, 6:00 pm at the Hyatt Regency.
MARCON 38 May 23-25, 2003.

Well... I think that about covers it. I truly appreciate all of your hard work up to this point. It only gets more fun and interesting this point on. Remember if you need anything, call or email us.

Lisa's cell is back up and running so if you need her, contact her at 378-1248 and you can contact Shell at 327-1031. Remember, we are both accessible by email at marchair@cshellsweb.com.

Nick Winks’ term as a SOLAE trustee expired. Dale Mazzola was elected to
the board. They will hold a meeting later this month to elect the officers.

Staff Needs - the following departments are looking for staff: AV equipment
(contact Ethan Dicks), Con Suite (contact Shannon Ferguson and Scott
Briley), Registration (contact Heather Motto and Kurt Von Koenigseck), and
Track Management (contact Nick and Linda Winks).

The following departments are in need of leadership: Accessibility, Charity
Auction, Babysitting. If you are interested in donating your time filling
these slots, please contact Lisa Ragsdale or Shell Franklin.

So far, none of the pre-registered attendees have expressed a need for
babysitting services. If we have no interest by the May 6 registration
deadline, Marcon will offer no babysitting.

DEADLINES
April 1 - program book deadline. If you want anything in the program book,
it must reach Mark McKean by this date.
April 12 - staff lists must be to registration
April 15 - final staff lists and payment deadline to Kim Williams.
May 1 - any demonstrations being submitted to the computer project must be
with Tadashi Nakamura by this date.
May 1 - all requests to the sign shop must reach Chris Kramer.

Please note that when you send in your staff payment, INCLUDE THE DEPARTMENT
TO WHICH YOU ARE ATTACHED!
Staff names need to include real first and last names, address, department,
e-mail (if available), phone number, and badge name. If no badge name is
specified, your real first name will be used. NO REPLACEMENT BADGES WILL BE
GIVEN TO STAFF FOR NAME CHANGES.

Chris Kramer is updating the contact list. If you need to update or add
your contact information, please submit these to him. He can be reached at
ckramer@Columbus.rr.com.

DEPARTMENT UPDATES
OPS - If something goes wrong, CALL OPS! Also if an attendee asks you a
question that you do not know the answer to take them physically to Ops or
call Ops. This cannot be stressed enough. Staff badges will be handed out
beginning Thursday, May 22 at the bag stuffing. YOU WILL NEED A PHOTO ID TO
PICK UP YOUR BADGE. NO EXCEPTIONS. Also, there will be no staff
substitutions at con. OPS will open Friday, May 23 at 10am and will stay
open till the convention closes down on Sunday for the Dead Dog.

HOTEL - The hotel has agreed to supply the convention with ice for the
ConSuite and ten microphones for programming rooms. Additionally, they have
granted an extended to checkout of 2pm for convention attendees on Sunday
afternoon. For staff, they have extended checkout to 4pm on Sunday
afternoon. IF YOU ARE STAFF AND NEED A LATE CHECKOUT, PLEASE TELL KIM NO
LATER THAN ONE WEEK PRIOR TO THE CONVENTION. She will need the name your
reservation is under, your confirmation number, and your check-in date.
Checkout time on Monday remains the normal noon check out time.

IN HOUSE ENGINEERING - Bids have been received, and it looks like the
convention will be spending about $2000 dollars less for equipment this
year. Give a well-deserved round of applause for Judson Lohr.

TREASURY - The number of pre-registrations is down at this time, as are the
number of hotel reservations. When planning for number, please use 2100
people for your expenditures.

FILK - Dave and Judith Hayman are our Featured Filk Guests. They will be
running filk at TorCon, the World Con held in Toronto over Labor Day
Weekend.

PROGRAMMING - A skeleton has begun to take shape for the pocket program.
There will be no First Contact Simulation due to the lack of a project
manager. However, the possibility of a Human Chess Game looks good. More
details should be available next meeting.

GUESTS - Marcon 38 has one additional guest this year. Glenn Shaddix (Otho
from “Beetle Juice”/Senator Nado from 2001 Planet of the Apes) is coming in.
He is linked with our costuming Guests of Honor through Tim Burton’s
rendition of “Planet of the Apes.” Also, we have the beginnings of a good
guest slate for Marcon 39. Artist, Nene Thomas; Science, Hugh Gregory; Fan,
Bjo and John Trimble; Costume, Julie Zetterberg; Godzilla, Bob Eggleton;
Filk, Dr. Jane Robinson and Cynthia McQuillan.

GOPHERS - Jenny is looking for a second. She also says that gophers is
getting lots of interest this year.

VIDEO - Anime has a preliminary schedule worked out. Programming begins at
5:30 on Friday. Saturday from 8 am to 2:30 pm will feature a kids block.
The Overnight Theme Room also has a base schedule. Friday night will
feature a Stuart Gordon marathon, while Saturday’s hits will stem from the
conflicts between Man and Machine.

DEALER’S ROOM - The room is full. We will be featuring 51 dealers with 102
tables.

REGISTRATION - Please take note of the above-mentioned deadlines. Also,
there will be a $5 charge for all replacement staff name badges if no error
has been committed in spelling. For example, if Flipper wants to change her
badge name to Ducky just for the quack of it, she’ll have to pay $5.
However, if Flipper’s name badge happens to say “Flippppppper,” the
replacement is free. Registration has also asked that if you have any
suggestions for bag stuffies, please contact Heather, Cory, or Kurt, and do
be so kind as to give some sort of contact information to go along with your
idea.

SIGN SHOP - As above, please make a note of the deadline. When requesting
signs, be sure to specify if you want a tripod, magnetized, etc.

LOGISTICS - Please note that there will be a final check of the storage shed
sometime in April. The date will be given at the April meeting.

ROOM LAYOUTS - Please get any changes in your room layouts to Dave Ziels as
soon as possible. The Hyatt charges to rearrange the room once the initial
setup is complete.

SCIENCE FAIRS - the Central District Fair is March 21. If you are
interested in judging, contact Lisa Ragsdale.

Again if you have questions or concerns please feel free to contact Lisa at
378-1248 or Shell at 327-1031 or via email at marchair@cshellsweb.com

If you need easels for signage, please contact Chris Kramer.

May Meetings:
General Meeting
Saturday, May 3, 2003
12:30 - 4:45
Upper Arlington Library
2800 Tremont Road
Meeting Room B

Department Head Meeting
Saturday, May 10, 2003
1:00 - ?
Upper Arlington Library
2800 Tremont Road
Meeting Room A

There will be a final shed inventory on Saturday, April 26. Also, if you have needs from the storage shed, please check the inventory list and get your needs to Tammy Riffle. If you do not tell her you need it, it won't be brought to the convention.

If you have Marcon property at your home, please get a list of the property to the Chairs and to Tammy Riffle. Tammy can be reached at zooey@hushmail.com.

Marcon is in search of a babysitter for children at the convention. If you know of anyone willing to fill this position, or you want to fill it yourself, please contact our Chairs at marchair@cshellsweb.com.

OPS: If there is a problem - CALL OPS! This cannot be stressed enough. Also, all staff will need a photo ID to pick up their name badges. There are no exceptions to this. Additionally, there will be NO at-con staff changes.

The human chess tournament is moving right along. Due to conflicts with the hotel's business hours, we are unable to hold it in the hotel lobby. Therefore, the human tournament will be held in the Regency Ballroom on Sunday morning. Check Version 1.0 of the pocket program on the website for more details. Rules for the tournament will also be listed on the web site.

The hotel has graciously extended to Marcon Staff a 4pm checkout time for Sunday, May 25. However, if you need this late checkout, please contact Kim by the May meeting with your confirmation number and your last name so that this can be given to you. The hotel will not extend this checkout time to you unless Kim has notified them in advance. For the attendees, the hotel has agreed to a checkout time of 2pm, and this can be received by calling the front desk at con.

HOTEL PARKING: Over-sized vehicles (vans) will no longer be able to be parked by hotel valet; they don't fit in the garage. You can still pull up to the hotel and unload normally, but then you will have to take your van to one of the outside lots. Hint: The East lot is the closest.

If you have gopher needs, please contact Jenny Smith.

SOLAE MINUTES
The meeting was called to order by current SOLAE vice president Lisa Ragsdale at 7:15 p.m. at the Tremont Branch of the Upper Arlington Library. Other trustees in attendance were John Callicote, Dale Mazzola and outgoing member at large trustee, Shell Franklin. Outgoing President Nick Winks was not in attendance. Other attendees were Caterina Runyon-Spears, Kim Williams and Mark McKean. The first order of business was the election of officers.

Dale Mazzola and Lisa Ragsdale nominated themselves for President. John Callicote indicated he was willing to serve as Treasurer again. Via a phone call, Nick Winks confirmed he did not want to remain the statutory agent for SOLAE. John made the point that Dale was the newest member of the board and would be the most appropriate person for the statutory agent since his term was for three years. Lisa removed her name from the running for President and moved to accept Dale as SOLAE President and statutory agent. John seconded the motion. The vote was unanimously in favor of accepting Dale as President. John Callicote was nominated for Treasurer by Lisa and seconded by Dale. The vote was unanimously in favor of accepting John as Treasurer. Lisa was nominated as Vice-President/Secretary by herself and seconded by Dale. The vote was unanimously in favor of accepting Lisa as Vice President/Secretary.

Nominations for members at large were then discussed and the floor was open for nominations. Judson Lohr, Kathy Hamilton and Mark McKean were suggested as possibilities. John suggested that in the upcoming Chronicles and at the meeting a solicitation be made for volunteers to serve as an at-large-trustee to contact Dale. Lisa moved to close the discussion of at-large members and it was seconded by John.

Old Business was discussed. Dale raised the issue of applying for 501 (c) (3) status. Dale is to pick up from Nick the paperwork that had been prepared by last year's board for submittal by the end of April 2003. An April SOLAE meeting will take place to review the 501 (c) (3) paperwork and make any changes. Prior to the April meeting the current financial documents for SOLAE and MARCON, the MARCON inventory list, and the MARCON asset list will need to be finalized and given to Dale.

There being no other old business, new business was discussed. There being no new business to discuss, Dale asked the SOLAE trustees to review the 501 (c) (3) paperwork and stated he would set a date and location for the meeting by the end of April. There being no other business, Lisa moved to adjourn and John seconded the motion. The meeting adjourned at 7:52 p.m.

The next SOLAE meeting is on Sunday, April 27 from 1 pm to 5 pm at the Northwest Library on Hard Road. Directions can be found at the following web site: http://www.columbuslibrary.org/new/detdirections.cfm?branchid=650

Ok, now that that is out of my system - Here we go, this is the last set of notes and reminders you'll get before con. Lisa and I would like to thank all of you for the time you've put in before con and will continue to put in at con. Oh, and in case you forgot - I know I do sometimes - HAVE FUN. Just stop what you are doing at least twice a day and look around you, see what people are wearing and what they are doing. In most cases fun is contagious, if nothing else it will make you smile.

MEETING NOTES, MAY 3.
Kenny Baker is coming to Marcon 38.

Marcon 38 also has a babysitter now.

If there is a problem, CALL OPS. Don't say "Not my department." If you say "Not my department," Phread will hunt you down and hurt you. She means it folks, so for your sake and Marcon's, please don't test her on this.

If you need reimbursement, see Kim Williams for the proper forms. Please note that reimbursements will not be made until the convention.

Registration will only be issuing replacement badges for staff if their name is misspelled. Please note that such changes will take SECOND PRIORITY. Registration also needs empty boxes for the bag stuffing. Printer paper boxes work fine. If you have any, please bring to bag stuffing on Thursday, May 22.

***Bag Stuffing takes place on Thursday, May 22, at 6:00 pm in Union A!***

If you need a large sign hung at the convention, the convention center will not allow you to do it yourself. Please let Kim Williams know if you do needs large signs hung ASAP so that the hotel staff can hang them Friday morning.

Fifteen fan groups will participate in the parade for opening ceremonies. We are asking our Filk Guest of Honor, Brenda Sutton, to lead the parade with her bodhran.

Amalia, our gracious Charity Auction Department Head, has forms for tax deductions for those wishing to write off their donations on their taxes. All donations go to her.

Masquerade signup will be at the Gopher Station in Union A.

And, Marcon is now an official venue for WizKids games.

NOTES FROM OPS
1. Please be courteous and KEEP IT CLEAN on the OPS frequency for the radios. Also, we are aware that those little radios are used by lots of people with little ones to maintain contact. Therefore, no families chit chat allowed on the ops frequencies. Also, if your department has selected its own frequency, tell OPS what it is so that they can monitor/contact you if necessary.

2. If you have an emergency, simply say, "Call me on the land line."

3. You may pick up a list of the phone numbers and department heads from OPS Friday morning.

4. If you a department head or a second, and you are staying in the hotel, tell OPS what room you are in, and make sure you are IN IT when you crash, or you let OPS know where you are when you do crash. Otherwise you will be hunted down and flogged with a wet carp. Again, they mean it folks.

5. If you are a department head or a second, and you are calling it a night or going off-premises, notify OPS before hand.

6. OPS will open at 10 am Friday morning.

7. Staff badges will be available for pickup at the Wine and Cheese Party on Thursday night, and in OPS on Friday.

8. You DO NEED a photo ID to pick up your staff badge.

MEETING AND PICNIC INFO
Picnic: Hoover Y Park, July 13th, Noon till 7:00pm. Directions will be included in the After-Con Chronicles.

Marcon Wrap Up Meeting and Elections: June 15th (Father's Day) from 2-6 p.m. Columbus Metro Library (Karl Road Branch), Meeting Room

DEADLINES
If you plan on running for Chair, and you wish to submit your bid for a run in the Chronicles, please submit it to the Chronicles no later than May 30 by e-mailing marconchr@insight.rr.com.

The HOTEL LIAISON would appreciate any complaints or concerns in writing in order to pass them along to the Hyatt. Please email them to marcon37@yahoo.com.

MEETING INFORMATION
The wrap-up and election meeting will be held:
Sunday, June 15, 2003, 2:00 pm
Karl Road Branch of the Columbus Public Library, Located at 5590 Karl Road
East of I-71, between Morse Road and SR 161
You can call 614-645-2250 for more detailed directions.
Please note that only staff from Marcon 38 may vote. The staff list will be available at the meeting to check eligibility.

CHAIR CANDIDATE LETTER - SHELL FRANKLIN
Ok, people have now been asking me for months if I'm running for chair of Marcon 39. Over that same period of time I have put it in my memory queue, somewhere right behind my family, my job, and Marcon 38.

So now that Marcon 38 is over, I have caught up on work, I've taken time to spend with my family, and I've spent some time thinking about next year.

Yes, I want to do this again. Are there things I want to do better? Always. Are there things I want to do differently? Most definitely.

I thought about digging out the program books for the last ten years, so I could list all the titles I've held over the years, but decided that jobs and their title were not all that important. Making Marcon fun and run smoothly is what is important. I will mention that the first job I did for Marcon was crowed control for the reg line. That was the year I came to Marcon just to drop Carrie off. I wasn't staff, Panelist, Attendee, or even there to stay. But somehow I was talked into passing out reg cards and pencils to a line of people.

My goal is simple: Have fun and make sure everyone else does too.

PROXY VOTING
If you will be unable to attend the meeting, and yet still wish to have a voice in next year's chair selection, there are two ways to do it. First, you may send a letter with your name, phone number and address, and your vote to the SOLAE mail box: SOLAE, PO BOX 13 60, Columbus, OH 43213. OR, you can send the same information (name, contact info, and vote) to the SOLAE president, Dale Mazzola at dmazzola@wowway.com.

MARCON PICNIC
The annual Marcon Picnic will be held Sunday, July 13, 2003 at the Hoover Y Park. The picnic begins at noon, with grilling beginning at around 2:00. Marcon will supply the meat, buns, and soda. We'll send out a suggested side dish list a few weeks before the picnic.

Directions to the Hoover Y Park:
23 South to Rathmell Road, the first light south of I-270. Turn left. At the second light (Lockbourne Road), turn right. Go 1 mile, turn left onto Rohr Road. There is a little sign pointing down that road for the Y park. Go approximately 1.2 miles, turn left into the Hoover Y Park.

SHED MOVE
So we now have a date for the new shed move-in, yes? And I know it is short notice, but it's Saturday, June 7 at 10am. Yes this Saturday.

The more people we have the quicker and easier it will go. Meet at the old shed at 10am.

If you have questions or need direction email me at cshell@insight.rr.com .