Hello Penguicon Board, ConCom, Staff, and Community.
I’ve been attending Penguicon since Penguicon 4.0 in 2006.
When I saw how shiny and fun the convention was and how interesting and welcoming the attendees and staff were, I was thrilled to repeat my attendance the following year. Doing so showed me that these people could be my community.
I’ve been contributing my time and energy to running Penguicon since then, and I’ve realized that I believe in the dual cores of Penguicon’s Mission of promoting Speculative Fiction and Open Source.
As I see it, Speculative Fiction is about predicting possible outcomes of society and technology. From waterbeds, satellites, and cell phones but also the wide varieties of potential Utopian and Dystopian futures.
Open Source (software, hardware, and others) is – at its core – the concept of sharing our tools, ideas, and techniques with others to expand human knowledge and ability.
Those two things together let us imagine the future, good or bad, and create tools to handle and enhance our possible outcomes. This is the best thing humans can do for and with each other to develop and continue civilization.
So, for nearly 16 years, I’ve championed and supported Penguicon as a volunteer. What kind of volunteer? GoH Wrangler, Sponsorship, Gopher, Front Desk Greeter, Marketing, Room Party Liaison, Head of Programming, Track Head, Board Member, as well as, for the last 13 years, Board President.
While I believe in this organization and community, I am immunocompromised. This means that even before 2020, I had to wear a mask in crowded public places. So now, living in a Pandemic that shows no signs of ending means that even a high-quality mask will not allow me to safely be in a crowded convention building for more than a few hours. So obviously, I cannot participate in person for the foreseeable future.
So, despite my deep attachment to and love for this community, I must step aside and allow someone else who can fully participate in leading the organization as Board President.
I resign as Board President, effective as soon as the board is able to replace me in that role, and will take a role as a board member without portfolio until the Board is able to add a board member to replace me.
-Randy Bradakis
Randy,
I first came to Penguicon in 2008 and I felt for the first time that I understood what other people must mean when they say “building community.” Finding Penguicon was akin to a religious conversion experience for me, and meetings at The Castle were a vital part of my early indoctrination. You have always been such a vital part of my Penguicon experience that this announcement almost doesn’t compute. Your health situation sucks– there’s no way to sugar-coat it– and you have to do what’s right for you. Penguicon can find a new president, but you can never be replaced. I’m sure I don’t only speak for myself when I say I will do anything to help make this decision suck less for you. And thank you for so many years of service to the ideals we share.