I wanted to start a new thread here because I feel this is very important. As an industry, we have to simply move on and stop being political, but I want to make it clear that Rich Hanf was 100% correct and that people need to stop attacking him, myself, or this industry in general. I tried to end the situation nicely, but apparently people still continue to attack Rich and that is not right....so let's end this here and now.
I do not want to put out lots of dirty laundry on this situation, it's not good for me, Michael nor this industry....however, I also will not sit back and simply let people attack Rich Hanf on this situation because although we cannot record time, what he said is what I explained to him (and asked his advice) as well as what happened.
Again, I am not going to go into all the details of everything that happened that weekend, however, I will mention just a few things that happened at the Costume Ball which are fact and just a part of some of the concerns I had when I asked for Rich's advice.
Now, just to RECONFIRM my thoughts, I called a vendor tonight to get his side of the story (we talked at the costume ball, but I wanted to reconfirm again), and here is some of the information I received. The vendor does want to stay anonymous but I'm sure we could talk to him privately if needed.
As a guest, Leonard was given a free ticket to the Costume Ball by our Vendor Liason, Daeylnn.
Here were some of the issues that arose:
#1) This one vendor I just talked to tonight was approached at our Costume Ball (National Haunters Convention).
Leonard said directly to him, "Why are you coming to this show? Why aren't you coming to HauntCon Anymore?"
The vendor replied some of the things I was doing for him (we have an agreement where the vendor is also receiving 1 free booth) and explained this to Leonard.
Leonard then said directly to him, "IS THAT ALL I HAVE TO DO IS GIVE YOU A FREE BOOTH AND YOU WILL COME TO HAUNTCON INSTEAD?"
I was told by this vendor that he felt that Leonard constantly 'probed' him throughout the night, trying to 'feel his way' into what it would take to make him come to HauntCon.
He told me on the phone tonight that : "I FELT AWKWARD, AND REALLY COULDN'T ENJOY MYSELF"
-- So, can you not see the concern of myself and the rest of the National Haunters Convention staff? None of us want to hear this from a vendor, a friend or anyone.....everyone just wants to have a good time. Now, instead, I have a VENDOR telling me they felt awkward and 'probed' at my costume ball.....
#2) Leonard also apparently 'worked' some of the other vendors....I do NOT want my vendors harrassed nor put on the spot, but I will list one because I have a few people who saw first hand accounts of this.
For example, Leonard approached one our vendors (Der Mord), and introduced himself. To paraphrase, "Hi, I'm Leonard Pickel, and I run a Convention called HauntCon"....he then proceded to pull up next to this person and talk to them for a while.
-- So, again, you can see the concern of myself, the NHC staff, and Rich Hanf himself who stuck up for us.....we are all out to have a good time, not look over our backs. If Leonard wants to attend as a Haunter, then he is more than welcome, however, we all do not feel it's professional to talk about another show with our vendors, especially when it has a conflicting date.
Finally, this information (especially about the show) was known by many vendors, and even the event area staff. For example, the Haunted Attraction Magazine booth had made a request to Michael Bruner if it was ok to put out HauntCon information.
Michael politely declined, saying we felt it was best to keep a neutral stance with all the conventions and that the booth was simply for the magazine. The owner of the booth and Haunted Attraction magazine abided by these rules, was professional, and there was not a single problem with any other vendor or person.
Robert Kocher
National Haunters Convention
I do not want to put out lots of dirty laundry on this situation, it's not good for me, Michael nor this industry....however, I also will not sit back and simply let people attack Rich Hanf on this situation because although we cannot record time, what he said is what I explained to him (and asked his advice) as well as what happened.
Again, I am not going to go into all the details of everything that happened that weekend, however, I will mention just a few things that happened at the Costume Ball which are fact and just a part of some of the concerns I had when I asked for Rich's advice.
Now, just to RECONFIRM my thoughts, I called a vendor tonight to get his side of the story (we talked at the costume ball, but I wanted to reconfirm again), and here is some of the information I received. The vendor does want to stay anonymous but I'm sure we could talk to him privately if needed.
As a guest, Leonard was given a free ticket to the Costume Ball by our Vendor Liason, Daeylnn.
Here were some of the issues that arose:
#1) This one vendor I just talked to tonight was approached at our Costume Ball (National Haunters Convention).
Leonard said directly to him, "Why are you coming to this show? Why aren't you coming to HauntCon Anymore?"
The vendor replied some of the things I was doing for him (we have an agreement where the vendor is also receiving 1 free booth) and explained this to Leonard.
Leonard then said directly to him, "IS THAT ALL I HAVE TO DO IS GIVE YOU A FREE BOOTH AND YOU WILL COME TO HAUNTCON INSTEAD?"
I was told by this vendor that he felt that Leonard constantly 'probed' him throughout the night, trying to 'feel his way' into what it would take to make him come to HauntCon.
He told me on the phone tonight that : "I FELT AWKWARD, AND REALLY COULDN'T ENJOY MYSELF"
-- So, can you not see the concern of myself and the rest of the National Haunters Convention staff? None of us want to hear this from a vendor, a friend or anyone.....everyone just wants to have a good time. Now, instead, I have a VENDOR telling me they felt awkward and 'probed' at my costume ball.....
#2) Leonard also apparently 'worked' some of the other vendors....I do NOT want my vendors harrassed nor put on the spot, but I will list one because I have a few people who saw first hand accounts of this.
For example, Leonard approached one our vendors (Der Mord), and introduced himself. To paraphrase, "Hi, I'm Leonard Pickel, and I run a Convention called HauntCon"....he then proceded to pull up next to this person and talk to them for a while.
-- So, again, you can see the concern of myself, the NHC staff, and Rich Hanf himself who stuck up for us.....we are all out to have a good time, not look over our backs. If Leonard wants to attend as a Haunter, then he is more than welcome, however, we all do not feel it's professional to talk about another show with our vendors, especially when it has a conflicting date.
Finally, this information (especially about the show) was known by many vendors, and even the event area staff. For example, the Haunted Attraction Magazine booth had made a request to Michael Bruner if it was ok to put out HauntCon information.
Michael politely declined, saying we felt it was best to keep a neutral stance with all the conventions and that the booth was simply for the magazine. The owner of the booth and Haunted Attraction magazine abided by these rules, was professional, and there was not a single problem with any other vendor or person.
Robert Kocher
National Haunters Convention
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