bronycon:

This is a letter that I imagined myself writing exactly three times in my time here at BronyCon. Each one of them was during the convention chair elections with the thought: “if I don’t win, I should have something prepared.” Each one of those times, I never did get around to writing that letter, but I’ve given a lot of thought towards what I should say if and when the time should come that I would no longer be BronyCon’s convention chair.

That time has finally come, and still, I do not quite know what to write. But hopefully this will suffice.

For three days a year, we have the honor and privilege of working for an event that is able to shape, change, and better the lives of people who set foot into the Baltimore Convention Center. For the other 362 days, we come together in other ways, preparing ourselves for that work. What we do, as staff, attendees, guests of honor, exhibitors, press, panelists, musicians, and everything else is nothing short of a miracle. It is a labor of love that many in the world would turn their backs on and choose not to do, but that is not us – we should be proud of that.

My tenure as chair has been a bit of an odd one. Before me, no one had run this convention for longer than a year. In most cases, less than a full year. I decided that I would keep going until I had literally nothing else to give BronyCon as chair. It has not always been the easiest, I’ve not always succeeded, but for every bump in the road, every conflict, every complication, I put more and more of myself into BronyCon. At the end of my journey, I gave BronyCon everything I had – blood, sweat, tears. I shared with it all of my happiness, all of my sorrow – I gave it my very soul. In return, it always gave me back the same. For as much as I might say that a lot of my DNA is in BronyCon’s, in truth, it’s actually the opposite. For as much as I have helped define what BronyCon is, it has helped define who I have become in my adult life, and I would not be the person I am today if not for you all.

Thank you for letting me help you all change the world for the past three years. I hope the memories stick with you, and I know they will with me. This letter is not goodbye. Goodbyes are for sorrow, and I have no sorrow in my leaving. I lay my position in the very capable hands of BronyCon’s new convention chair, Jenna O’Connell. She is smart, fresh, and ready to take our convention to the next level. I leave knowing there is a convention full of hard working and dedicated staff and a group of people world wide who enjoy what we do, and want to see what is next for our event.

I will not be saying goodbye our event, this much I swear. No matter what, I will be there for BronyCon. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for us.

Thank you for letting me be BronyCon for a little while. Thank you for everything.