Doxacon Seattle:
Alright, let’s get this straight: So, you met the Doxacon Seattle Planning Committee at your first Doxacon Seattle, which was this year, and then were at the next DS Planning Committee meeting?! How does that work, exactly?
MJ:
Ha! Yeah, not the most orthodox path to onboarding, is it? Pun intended. Well, it all started last year after Doxacon [Seattle] had just wrapped for the day…
I happened to be at an Eastside gaming establishment running a store event when a mixed contingent of attendees and staff stopped in for some after-con fellowship. As I was picking up after my store programming, I asked one of the folks still left after most had gone home what group that had been. She said they had all just been at Doxacon and that it was an event centered on faith meeting fandom. Now, I’ve been living deep inside the humming heart of hobby gaming for decades, now, and I’d never heard of such a cryptid. As is my way, I made instant friends with her and we chatted and gamed periodically over the following months. Eventually, it was time for this most recent Doxacon, and she texted to make sure that I knew badges were on sale. So, I signed up as a volunteer to do odd jobs and clean things up at the end of it all. Afterwards, at THAT afterparty, we chatted about how I’d heard about Doxacon and what drew me in. I recounted spending my whole life both in service to Christ and in gaming, so Doxacon was an obviously perfect fit for me. Next thing I know, we’re talking about me contributing and kapow! I’m in the next planning meeting.
DS:
Yup, that is an unusual origin story, no doubts there!
Now, what was it that made both sides so comfortable in bringing you into the fold that quickly?
MJ:
Well, I have to say that I’m fairly convinced that some providence was involved in my happening to be running a game store event right next to the Doxacon Seattle afterparty last year. See, I’ve been fundamentally involved in every church that I’ve attended throughout my life, from reading the lessons in my Lutheran services at age 5 right up to running sports leagues and doing public performances at a megachurch in my adulthood. On the gaming side, I was once the Rocky Mountain Regional Representative for Wizards of the Coast. One of my duties with WotC was running the gaming hall at GenCon, so I’ve got some top-shelf experience in that arena. Very different animals, to be sure, but that kind of field training scales really easily. Plus, there was just a great vibe between me and the planning committee. I fell in like with everyone, instantly.
DS:
Well, as uncommon as that starting path sounds, it seems like there’s a lot of exciting potential for things. To that point, what will be your role during Doxacon Seattle ’25?
MJ:
In a befuddling departure from my skill set and areas of interest, I’ll actually be running DS’s first-ever all-day gaming hall! I know, I don’t quite know what to make of that position placement, but I have to keep faith that the personnel deciders know what in the world they’re doing!
I’ll be coordinating volunteer game hosts who sign up to teach and oversee various games throughout the day, as well as signing players up to those games and managing open tables for drop-in games over the duration of the event.
DS:
Cheeky. Yes, we’ll all be deep in prayer that you somehow find your footing with that appointment, eh? Jokes aside, though, welcome to the family and have a fantastic time with your first Doxacon Seattle as a board member.
Thanks for reading and we hope that you’re as excited as we are to see what our newest board members have in store for us as we enter Fall and start ramping up our preparations for Doxacon Seattle 2025!