CORE VOLUNTEERS

Brian Lenz: Founder | Wizard of Fun

Salutations! My name is Brian Lenz. I am the Master of Ceremonies for GrandCon. My passion for gaming started at a very early age, and it was later in life that I realized gaming doesn’t truly happen without community.

My passion for gaming and community was further supported when I founded Mitten State Tabletop Tabletop Gamers (aka West Michigan Tabletop Gamers) back in 2011. MSTG continues to grow beyond my expectations and will always have a special place in my heart and for so many other tabletop gamers in this community.

MSTG (WMTG) was the catalyst that sprung forth the creation of GrandCon in 2012. GrandCon is now being held annually on or around Labor Day weekend at the DeVos Place Convention Center in beautiful downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. GrandCon is Michigan's premiere tabletop gaming convention, and is considered one of the best regional tabletop shows in the country. 

GrandCon - Where People Play Games!

Kyle Kantz: Show Coordinator

Hello. My name is Kyle Kantz. Growing up, games have been a staple in my life.  Not being able to sit around electronics, my siblings and I had to come up with different ideas to entertain. We ended up playing a lot of Risk or Samurai Swords growing up.  That has evolved into a passion of mine. This passion has been displayed in my career as well. I have been a teacher the last 5 years, where I started a game club.  I have also brought games into my teaching. I love how games can teach you so much about Life Skills (critical thinking, problem solving, dealing with mistakes, etc.) and bring families together. I currently meet around once a week with a game group and I'm always willing to try a game at least once. 

My passion has led me to GrandCon where I can learn even more about the industry. I am excited to be a part of this extraordinary team and use my knowledge to help GrandCon be successful. I look forward to meeting new people and seeing how the love of gaming can bring all sorts of us together.

Tim Latshaw: Media Coordinator

Hi, I am Tim Latshaw. I am the media coordinator of news bits for the GrandCon.

Having moved to Michigan from New York, I joined local board gaming as a way to meet new people. Like others, my experiences had been restricted to the "classics" at the time. I certainly didn't expect to find so many new and different worlds in games, and have been drawn into the worlds of ideas designers are constantly dreaming up! 

The hows and whys of gaming are as interesting to me as the games themselves, and that won't be stopping anytime soon. It's likely the journalism background in me. My favorite games include the Arkham Horror Card Game, Tokaido, and Pandemic Legacy. I have attended GrandCon from the very first year and am happy to be a part of the crew as we forge ahead. 

Dave Bengry: Library Coordinator

Hi! I’m Dave! I’m the library coordinator for the GrandCon game library. 

Way back (in 2013) my wife and I were headed to the movies at the mall. We got there early and decided to spend a little time browsing in Barnes & Noble. Spur of the moment we decided to cancel the movie plan and buy a copy of Forbidden Island on a whim. Since that time, we’ve been playing board games with whoever is interested. We found the West Michigan gaming community to be incredibly inviting, and have created amazing friends along the way. 

I always say I’m willing to try any game once (with exceptions, looking at you Diplomacy…), and I have almost always had a good time trying new games. All of those pieces led me to GrandCon. The West Michigan gaming community is great, and the game library is HUGE!! I’m excited to help cultivate an inviting library and provide attendees with more gaming options than they could hope to conquer!

Kathy Shaffer: Events Coordinator

Hi, my name is Kathleen Shaffer. I am the events coordinator for GrandCon.

While I have always liked traditional board and card games, my boyfriend (now husband) and I both started to really enjoy the newer style of games when we began attending the West Michigan Tabletop Gamers group events at Barnes and Noble. Not only did I find the games interesting and entertaining but I found the players themselves to be a wonderful, kind and crazy bunch of people.

Struggling with M.S. over the years, I now play more "under 90-minute" type games whereas my husband can play for hours. I recently bought Quacks of Qudelingburg after playing it at GrandCon last year and one of my favorite games is Homestretch - That results in a lot of yelling at tiny plastic horses. So fun!

I have been with GrandCon as a volunteer since the year one and have enjoyed every minute. I can't wait to see the evolution of the convention over the next several years!

Ken Sawyer: Marketing Coordinator

Hello, my name is Ken Sawyer. Since high school, I have always enjoyed playing miniature tabletop games. Miniature gaming and the hobby around it have brought hours of joy and fun with friends and family for over 30 years. Each year, I continue to grow my skills, learn new things about the hobby, and discover new games and rule sets that keep me excited and passionate about the tabletop gaming industry. My passion led me to work for Games Workshop for the US retail division, which helped me launch my own retail tabletop gaming store for many years.

These days, I still work on my hobby and gaming with friends and help out different gaming companies with Social Media, Marketing, and Advertising.

Why GrandCon - I am a part of the team for GrandCon because the community's passion for tabletop gaming is so strong. Working with the team at GrandCon and meeting so many new people who share my excitement for the games and the hobby brings me back each year.

VOUNTEER EXTRODINAIRES

Jason Kornoely: Volunteer Extrodinaire

My name is Jason Kornoely. I am a volunteer extrodinaire. I have been playing games of all sorts since I was eight-years old. Being the youngest of five children I was eager to be included so I would play whatever hit the table. We loved to play Risk, Fortress America, and  Axis and Allies. We also enjoyed playing Monopoly with custom boards. Marathon games of Trivial Pursuit were often our Saturday night ritual. When my older brother was around, we would roll up D&D characters, lay waste to orc tribes, and liberate treasure from twisting and perilous dungeons. In my adult life, I married a wonderful woman who is patient with my passion for games. We have four children. Two of them are old enough to play games; which we do nearly every Friday night over pizza. We mostly play Dixit, Sushi Go, Machi Koro, and Sleeping Queens.

I love how games bring families together.

I am a teacher at Pine Ridge Elementary in the Forest Hills school district. I have created a board game club at my school; which has been going strong for the past past three years. I also organize family game nights. It is so gratifying to watch kids and their families enjoying quality time together. That is why I am thrilled to be working with the good folks of GrandCon because they believe in the power of games and the magic that they weave among family and friends.

Eric Wisniewski: Volunteer Extrodinaire 

My name is Eric Wisniewski. I’m a volunteer extraordinaire, assisting with many facets of GrandCon. I’ve been in love with board gaming since the 90’s, when my parents gave me a copy of HeroQuest for Christmas. Everything about it was interesting: the killer miniatures, the exploration, the odd dice, the spell-casting, all of it.  It opened me up to a world outside of the Hasbro/MB tentpole classics.  In the intervening years, I’ve played a copy of Catan to pieces (literally), walked through GenCon with a garbage bag full of games, and survived a 46-hour gaming marathon.

I joined the GrandCon volunteer team to assist and entertain. I’ll be here with the rest of our crew helping you make discoveries in the ever-expanding GrandCon game library and raiding the treasure hordes of DeVos Hall. I look forward to the fellowship with friends old and new that this gathering always brings.