Gary Con: A Safe, Inclusive and Friendly Gathering
Over the past few days there has been a lot of discussion about Bill Webb’s appearance as a Special Guest at Gary Con. He contacted us to inform us that he is withdrawing as a Guest out of respect for Gary Con and my father’s memory. We have updated our website to reflect that change.
I would like to take this opportunity to ensure that everyone knows about and is familiar with the Rules and Policies in place at Gary Con, especially our Harassment Policy. We developed these policies a few years ago when Gary Con grew beyond its initial roots as a gathering of family, friends and local game aficionados. Last year 2000 people came to celebrate my Dad’s life by doing what he enjoyed most – playing games! With an event of this size we realized that having clear guidelines for conduct would help ensure that everyone had a safe and enjoyable time at Gary Con.
Our Harassment Policy is simple, but clear:
“Gary Con is an inclusive, family-friendly convention. We expect all attendees to treat each other with common courtesy and respect.
GaryCon does not permit harassment with regard to gender, sexual orientation, dress, age, race, religion or lack thereof, political affiliation,disability, or involvement or non-involvement in any group or activity at GaryCon.
Harassment includes any behavior that annoys, alarms, demeans, or threatens another person or group. Harassment includes (but is not limited to) verbal comments, the useof overly sexual imagery in public areas, intimidation, stalking, unauthorized photography or recording, inappropriate physical contact, unwanted sexual attention, and the disruption of events or activities.
If you feel you are being harassed, you fear for your safety, or you witness someone harassing others, contact a Gary Con staff member, volunteer,or hotel security immediately. All harassment reports will be investigated and dealt with. Possible consequences of harassment include, but are not limited to, the revocation of the offending party’s Gary Con badge, ejection from the venue, and the involvement of local authorities.”
You can find it on our website at https://garycon.com/policies/. The entire Gary Con staff and Gygax family take the safety of both our Guestsand attendees seriously. If you see or experience something that violatesour policies, please report it! At Gary Con XI we will have a”Comments Box” available at the convention headquarters. If youare not comfortable speaking to someone in person about an incident you can writeto us there. I’d like to invite anyone that has constructive suggestionson how to better our policies and help ensure we continue to have a safe andenjoyable atmosphere to email me directly at [email protected].
Game On!
Luke Gygax
Founder, Gary Con