These are, in no particular order, the character sheets of some of the people behind the scenes making Gary Con the epic adventure it is!
Luke Gygax
Responsibilities: Executive Manager, Good Omen Productions. The buck stops here.
Home Town: Lake Geneva, WI
Current Home: Los Angeles, CA
Non-Gary Con Positions: President of Gaxx Worx (gaxxworx.com), Founder of Founders & Legends Event, Author, Game Designer and Husband to my lovely bride Bouchra and Proud Dad to the G-Girlz (and Grogu the Dog)! Proud Army veteran with 33 years in uniform.
Favorite Games & Hobbies: Advanced Dungeons & Dragons is what he cut his teeth on and he enjoys 5e as well! He enjoys playing some classic games like San Juan, Stone Age, and Settlers of Cataan, as well as silly games like Exploding Kittens, Sushi Go, and Dungeon Mayhem.
Bio: As the son of Gary Gygax, Luke has been slinging dice at the gaming table since he was four years old. He helped his dad playtest and design adventures and games as a young person and has kept gaming as a pastime throughout his life. He helped craft GW1, The Legion of Gold, created the Bullywug, collaborated on the design of the Barbarian class for AD&D and created the spells Melf's Acid Arrow and Melf's Minute Meteor. He has designed numerous game accessories including The Lost City of Gaxmoor and more recently The Oculus of Senrahbah modules compatible with 5e available at fine retailers and FLGS.
For him, it is a distinct honor to organize and run Gary Con every year with the help of his loving family, good friends, fellow gamers, and the entire GC Team. He enjoys talking to people at conventions and swapping adventuring tales, so if you can catch him while he's available, feel free to walk up and say, "Hello!"
He also wants every con-goer to know that he appreciates them for coming and being a part of the celebration to remember his father and celebrate "A life well played!"
Bouchra Gygax
Responsibilities: VIP & VIG Relations Manager
Home Town: Rabat, Morocco
Current Home: Los Angeles, CA
Non-Gary Con Job: Healthcare (RN)
Favorite Games & Hobbies: Cards, Sushi-Go, Ticket to Ride, and a little D&D
Bio: Bouchra met Luke Gygax in 2002 while earning a Master's degree at UW-Milwaukee. Luke took her to GenCon and had her help promote his new module, The Lost City of Gaxmoor. After he saw how many copies she sold while talking to gamers—he proposed to her. The rest is history.
Dave Conant
Responsibilities: Co-Director of Events with Skip Williams and Josh Popp (plus some other areas too)
Home Town: Lake Geneva, WI
Current Home: Ripon, WI
Non-Gary Con Positions: He retired in 2018, but is busier than ever. Aside from Gary Con (which is literally a part-time job), he has become partners with Tom Wham in starting Tom Wham Games (tomwham.games). They're attempting to get as many of the games as possible on Tom's shelves published for others to enjoy.
Favorite Games & Hobbies: He seldom plays D&D anymore, but was blessed to be a regular player in the campaigns of two great DMs in the 70s and 80s—Skip Williams and Frank Mentzer. Games with those people will always recall fond memories. Today, he's fortunate to play online board games with three lifelong friends (Jim Ward, Tom Wham, and Mike Gray) every week. But, if the opportunity to sit at the table arises, any Tom Wham game is always fun.
Bio: Dave had the good fortune of growing up in Lake Geneva at just the right time to be one of those geeky high school kids hanging out at the Dungeon Hobby Shop when it opened in the mid-70s. He started playing D&D immediately and didn't go to college, so getting a job at TSR in 1979 was a no-brainer (79-83); there he quickly settled in on managing GEN CON (during the Kenosha years), as well as all the mini-conventions with his good friend Skip Williams. After layoffs, he still ran the GEN CON Auction all through the 80s and eventually returned to TSR a second time in the early 90s to manage their Pre-Press Department until the company moved to Seattle. He finish his career working outside the gaming industry. Dave also has a wonderful wife of 40 years who indulges him in her understanding of the many hours he spends working on both Gary Con and Tom Wham Games.
Thomas Valley
Responsibilities: Adventurers League Coordinator
Home Town: Orlando, Florida
Favorite Games & Hobbies: Dungeons & Dragons
Non-Gary Con Positions: Senior Software Engineer, Web/UI
Bio: Thomas first met Gary in 1983. Through the years, no other writer has had more of an impact on his life than Gary Gygax. He is honored to help out at Gary Con.
Derek White
Responsibilities: Chaplain, Hospitality, Family and Interfaith Events
Home Town: Jackson, TN via West Monroe, LA
Favorite Games & Hobbies: Castles & Crusades
Non-Gary Con Positions: Full Time United Methodist Minister and Part-Time College Professor
Bio: Rev. Derek W. White, The Geekpreacher, is an ordained United Methodist minister who is best known for his work on three documentaries on Faith & Imagination. His latest project, The Satanic Panic and the Religious Battle for the Imagination won Best Gamer Film at GenCon in 2022. Derek is the chaplain for the Gary Con Gaming Convention and leads ecumenical worship services at various other gaming conventions around the country. He works as a professional Dungeon Master/Game Master where he uses tabletop roleplaying games like Dungeons & Dragons to teach others how shared storytelling may be used for spiritual formation, community building, and social skills training for speaking out on issues of social justice.
Michael Noe
Responsibilities: Operations Manager
Home Town: Goshen, OH
Non-Gary Con Job: President of Iron Wind Metals
Favorite Games & Hobbies: RPG’s of all kinds - AD&D, Superhero, Sci-Fi, Dark Future
Bio: He played his first game of AD&D back in the 1st edition days and was hooked. He bought a players guide, DM guide, and screen a few days later and started running games. Then he stumbled into a job with Ral Partha and went from two-week temp to VP, before branching off to form Iron Wind Metals. He vended at his first GenCon in the early 80s, and is honored to help carry on that great tradition by working with the great people at Gary Con.
Skip Williams
Responsibilities: Co-Event Manager
Home Town: Lake Geneva, WI
Non-Gary Con Job: Freelance author/editor, gardener, caretaker of cats.
Favorite Games & Hobbies: D&D/AD&D (all editions), Dawn Patrol, Chainmail, Mah-jongg
Bio: The D&D Game and I share the same home town–Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Somewhat more than 35 years ago, I noticed an article in the local paper (The Regional News) that featured model tanks in battle. The article was about an early GEN CON, which had taken place the week before. By the time GEN CON was next held, I was there, dice in hand. Between then and now, I’ve done a few things to get noticed in the gaming community, such as running GEN CON for several years, co-authoring the D&D 3rd Edition game, just to name a few. I’m co-coordinator for events at Gary Con, taking on the task with school chum and fellow GEN CON veteran Dave Conant. I’m also doing double duty as a GM and VIP.
Josh Popp
Responsibilities: Events & Technology
Home Town: (Suburban) Chicago, IL
Current Home: (Suburban) Chicago, IL
Non-Gary Con Job: IT
Favorite Games & Hobbies: D&D and Palladium as far as RPGs go. Since getting involved in conventions, he's now played a lot of C&C, DCC, and more! A lot of Minecraft with his kids.
Bio: His parents kept talking him out of playing D&D in the 80s because he "should be out playing sports" or something. Now that he has his own kids, they play D&D together and have a blast. GC12 was supposed to be his first RPG convention where he would meet up with all his online Greyhawk friends, but alas, plans changed. So, he threw himself into virtual cons where some know him as Zarathon, using the Zardoz image as his avatar.
Natalie Barber
Responsibilities: Registration
Home Town: Wisner, NE
Current Home: Omaha, NE
Non-Gary Con Job: Cemetery Admin for Omaha National Cemetery
Favorite Games & Hobbies: Board Game - Splendor; Video Games - Dragon Age Inquisition, Baldur's Gate, Fae Farm, Skyrim, and any cozy game; RPG - All the systems!
Bio: Natalie was introduced to D&D (3.5) in high school but it was really in her freshman year of college with her sci fi/fantasy club, where she learned she loved it! She has been playing any and all RPG systems for about 20 years. When she is not helping with Gary Con, she volunteers at local area conventions and attends all sorts of conventions when able. She also loves cross stitch and crochet, famously stating, "I have an old lady soul in a nerd body."
Chad Johannes
Responsibilities: Website, & Technology Coordinator
Home Town: Baltimore, MD
Non-Gary Con Job: IT
Favorite Games & Hobbies: D&D 1/2e, Pathfinder, Vampire the Masquerade, Zombicide, Swords & Sorcery, Viking Death Squad
Bio: Started playing AD&D in the 80s, and mostly ran as the DM. Got into Vampire the Masquerade, then board games, and mini painting. Along the way, I started dabbling in Live Action/Cosplay, and will always dress up at any moment I'm on stream or in person allows. I am so excited to be part of Gary Con, and hope to meet as many of you as possible! Goes by Vampwickman on the net. Used to work at the Maryland Renaissance Festival. No one that knows him is surprised at this! He is currently working on amassing and painting a mimic army. No furniture is sacred. Born in the same hospital as David Hasselhoff. Definitely my spirit animal.
Garner Andrews
Responsibilities: Communications Manager
Home Town: Alpharetta, GA
Non-Gary Con Job: Digital Marketing Executive
Favorite Games & Hobbies: D&D, Call of Cthulhu, PF2, Baldur's Gate 3, Settlers of Catan, Magic the Gathering
Bio: I started playing D&D back in the early 80's with my best friend and a ready-made gaming group with his brother and their two best friends, and have been an active RPG'er ever since. I've even suckered all three of my children into playing. I've enjoyed many MMORPGs like EQ, EQ2, Age of Conan, and many others. My spare time when not gaming is spent either in my woodworking shop, trout-fishing, or serving others through the Lions Club (the largest charitable organization in the world: www.lionsclubs.org).
Lindsey Andrews
Responsibilities: Communications Assistant & TCG Room Manager
Home Town: Alpharetta, GA
Current Home: Alpharetta, GA
Non-Gary Con Job: Product Experience Specialist
Favorite Games & Hobbies: DnD 5e, most FPS games, Tomb Raider Games, Witcher Games, MMORPGs, art, writing, music, a little bit of everything! She's all over the place and always busy because of it.
Bio: Lindsey got lucky enough to have a nerd for a dad who has inspired her to be who she is and do it shamelessly. He suckered her into playing D&D and she has been absolutely hooked ever since. She graduated in May 2023 from the University of Georgia and has been living in the D&D and Gary Con chaos ever since. When not playing D&D, she is usually doing art, designing characters, playing video games of all different kinds, or helping operate the Pixels & Dice Lions Club.
Matt Everhart
Responsibilities: Virtual Gaming Manager
Non-Gary Con Job: Military
Favorite Games & Hobbies: D&D 5e
Bio: Matt Everhart, who also goes by "KC Rift", has been playing Dungeons & Dragons (among many other role-playing games) since receiving the Red Box from his uncle back in 1983. Even then he was dreaming up new worlds and new adventures for his characters and those of his friends to journey through. While his family, including his wife and four children, and his military career take priority, Matt is nevertheless constantly writing and creating RPG content in his free time. Matt published his first sourcebook, The Deductionist, for the Pathfinder 1st Edition RPG under Total Party Kill Games, LLC. Since then, he has been publishing several other source books and adventures including: Winter's Grim Tiding, The Shadow Boys of Telflamm for Forgotten Realms, Long Was the Night, Dance of the Pumpkin King, and The Trouble with Truffles.
As a writer and contributor for Gaxx Worx, Matt is currently working with Luke on the Oculus of Senrahbah series and launching his new campaign setting "Strange & Grim" - a new dieselpunk setting compatible with Dungeons & Dragons 5e, using the Everyday Hero RPG engine by Evil Genius Games!
Jimmy Duffie
Responsibilities: Streaming Manager
Home Town: Dallas, TX
Non-Gary Con Job: Sr. Director of IT for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas
Favorite Games & Hobbies: TTRPG - Alien, RPG, D&D; PC Games - XCOM (All of them), Baldur’s Gate 1 & 2.
Bio: From his introduction to D&D back in 1981, Jimmy became a big fan of RPG games. Whether playing a game in person or on a computer, he has always been obsessed with fantasy gaming and storytelling. Computers have also been a major part of his life, seeing him develop a successful career in consulting in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. Jimmy took a small break from consulting to study feature film making in New York City in the late 90’s. With several years of filmmaking under his belt, Jimmy combined that knowledge along with his technical skills to start the TTRPG community, Praetor’s Rejects, in 2016. The focus was to broadcast “live” D&D and other RPG rule systems game sessions across multiple streaming platforms. During that same year, he met Matt “KC” Everhart and together they formed, Praetor and Rift’s Astral Menagerie – a production company focused on providing virtual programming to the gaming convention business market. With the onset of Covid, they were approached to produce content for GaryCon, Luke Gygax’s memorial convention celebrating the life of his father Gary Gygax (you should know what he’s famous for)!! And as the saying goes, there’s still more to come….stay tuned!!
JD Cash
Responsibilities: Operations
Home Town: Brazil, IN
Current Home: Indianapolis, IN
Non-Gary Con Job: Retired Army Officer and Owner of Saltire Toys & Games
Favorite Games & Hobbies: D&D and just about anything that will get my wife and kids to the table.
Bio: My first gaming memories are of my older brother and his group letting me pretend to play when I was four or five years old. My mother owned a used book store when I was in junior high school that carried comics and games and I was the 12-year-old dungeon master that gave everyone a Vorpal Sword. I also got into Car Wars and MERP (although I never played it). Both of my boys were raised rolling dice and playing games is how we stayed connected as a family. It led to my wife and I buying into Saltire Toys & Games to help show people the importance of play and how games bring us together.
Courtney "Kat" Mason
Responsibilities: Website admin, communications/art/tech/registration teams, any and all of the things!
Home Town: Green Bay, WI
Current Home: Green Bay, WI
Non-Gary Con Job: Volunteer & stay-at-home-parent
Favorite Games & Hobbies: TTRPGs—any and all systems. Board, card, and video games. Arts and crafts!
Bio: As a dedicated volunteer, she helps with website updates, TTE event tasks, registration, and any other miscellaneous work that needs doing. Giving back to the Gary Con community is her small way of paying tribute to her favorite hobbies.
Gary Con is one of her most highly anticipated events to attend each year, because she loves to socialize with all the other game enthusiasts and like-minded people she meets. As an avid gamer, she's always willing to learn a new game or system. Be sure to invite her to play at your table if you see her and she's not actively gaming.
Austin Neal
Responsibilities: Volunteer Coordinator
Home Town: Owego, NY
Current Home: Winter Park, FL
Favorite Games & Hobbies: Dungeons & Dragons, Call of Cthulhu, Cyberpunk, Magic the Gathering.
Bio: Austin stepped up as Volunteer Coordinator for Gary Con XVI, as such he works with volunteers, staff, and attendees to help ensure Gary Con functions smoothly and is a success for all.
Lee Schaidle
Responsibilities: Art Team
Home Town: A very large cornfield
Current Home: Chicago, IL
Non-Gary Con Job: Freelance Designer
Favorite Games & Hobbies: D&D
Bio: Lee staggered into Gary Con with just enough skills, know-how, and a general can-do attitude that someone took pity on him, brushed him off, got him a cup of hot tea, and put him to work crafting some of the new branded materials and imagery you’re seeing Gary Con this year.
Anna B. Meyer
Responsibilities: Art Team
Home Town: Gothenburg, Sweden
Current Home: Temescal Valley, CA
Non-Gary Con Job: Fantasy Cartographer
Favorite Games & Hobbies: D&D, hiking, reading, flight sims
Bio: Anna is one of the regular fantastic Guests (visit the Guests page for her full bio) featured at Gary Con. She kindly dedicates some of her time and efforts to improving Gary Con with our Art Team.