Why? A story of I-CON

I have been a member of the I-CON convention committee for over a decade now. One thing I did for six years was run Science and Technology programming. There's a favorite guest of mine, from back when I did that job. She isn't especially famous, but she's very smart, extremely easy to work with, and I always enjoy talking to her. I guess I've known her 11 years now.

Most years, Liza brings her children to the convention. This year, I had a chance to chat with her and her son, Philip. Philip is a very, very energetic kid. I mean, he has enough energy for three adults. He's currently a huge super-hero fan. He bought a super-hero action figure in our Dealers Room, and when I sat with him and his mom in the Green Room, he was telling me in great detail about this guy, his arch-enemy, Spider-Man's abilities and storyline, and so forth.

At the Awards Banquet, I had the great privilege of introducing Philip to Dwayne McDuffie, who was at the time writing both Fantastic Four and Justice League of America, and who has written for the Justice League cartoon and many others. Dwayne's a great guy, and made a real effort to be friendly and charming to Liza and Philip.

If you work for a con, people will often ask you, "It seems like that's a lot of work. Why do it? What do you get out of it?" The look on Philip's face is why we do it. That little boy, getting to meet the person who tells those wonderful stories, was so awestruck, and so moved, that all by himself he justified the full year of work I put into I-CON 27.

Thanks, Dwayne. And thanks, Philip. You made the event a lot more fun for me.