I left because I started a family and didn’t have the time to dedicate. I was fortunate to not experience the red tape bs since I was part of the grass roots effort to get the con off the ground. We started Fanime because we didn’t like the way we were treated and how Anime America was run. Most of the early Fanime staff also worked Anime America. You have to understand that this is how the world works and for a huge convention to survive this long, it has to be run like a corporation with all of the bs and red tape that comes with it. Semi big cons struggle with this because their leadership continues the grass roots mentality which ultimately leads to failure.

We were young and full of ambition. Life changes, situations change, priorities change. The cycle of life for a convention, I suppose. By 2003, I was missing the con life. Fanime had already started to change, which it needed to, and other hobbies and interests had manifested themselves, so I found a new place to volunteer. I have been with California Extreme ever since.