Corgi Events to disband after staff upheaval following Sin City Murr Con's first year

"It also indicates that while Treble may help in the transfer, they'll be stepping aside once matters are finalized"

Based on internal Corgi Events chat provided by Omnom, Treble will remain on as an advisor with no set end date and will continue to have his equipment and other assets still under his control indefinitely. Given the letter is not forthcoming in mentioning that Treble will be an advisor nor a goalpost as to when that role would end, there is concern AEIOU is just a new coat of paint, especially given the counter actions taken against those in the chat when this news was revealed.

https://nitter.net/OmnomThenom/status/1492580123731660800

How unrealistic was that CSI? A dude freaking dies, and nobody even seems to notice at the fictional PaFCon. In real life, the Las Vegas furry orgy can't even get started for two years and then instantly folds because the guy in charge is incompetent and/or a criminal.

Just about every. Single. One. Of the whistleblower type accusations come from people who themselves have a lot of bad history and things to hide. It paints a picture of people who let a lot of things slide if it was good for them and their image and advantage, even if it hurt others.

Noelle White posts: https://www.facebook.com/dusk.white/posts/1375112802931187

My experiences with DenFur

Hello Ladies and Gents. Let’s just file this under “I’m not important enough to listen to, but I have my own story to tell”

Now, I don’t want to name call, or sling around accusations. It has always been my policy to to live and let live. I will tell you the facts as I know it and let you all draw any conclusions that you choose to.

I have lived in Colorado for the past 20 years. When I came I started out attending Rocky Mountain Fur Con (RMFC). In 2016 they had their last convention here in Colorado and then fell shortly after.

As an established meet organiser I, and my fellow furs who help me run Arvada Tails, got together and rented out the local park. We had raffles to raise money, had folks bring food and had our own Day in the Park. And it was amazing. It showed what Colorado was capable of.

In 2018 these golden calves came riding in from the great nowhere bringing great news! Colorado was getting a new con and it would be funded, for profit, by this unknown person who has run a pony con somewhere. It came attached with Bubbles and her then husband Bryant. I thought to myself, well at least I know these names. Not the people, but the names. A discord server was created and things were moving.

They asked for volunteers and naturally a majority of Colorado furs applied. People with numerous skills and talents were gathered and placed where they could shine. I encouraged people I knew to apply. Mind you, there were no qualifications, no back ground checks, no expectations to be paid, just a desire to help.

I say this now to establish that I was there in the beginning. It started off well. We had several chats and meeting discussing everything needed for a successful con. It was clear from the start, at least in my point of view, that Treble (Corey Wood) was just a money man. He wanted nothing to do with anything other than “here is the money, run my show” vibes. And that was fine.

I was invited to the first real life meeting at the con hotel (Then the Crowne Plaza) early in 2018. I felt honored to be there. To listen in. I came prepared with my ideas on how to make it a better experience. There was some business talks, I was able to share with them some of the things I had brought for theme, then it was on to dinner, chatting and drinking. This lead me to assume, “well, this was just an in person meeting, informal and fun.”

I was allowed to bring some of my ideas into the con. The theme was rebuilding after the Armageddon. I set to work painting a mural, making a banner, crafting post-apocalyptic scenery. I painted a welcome to DenFur “those who arrive, survive” crate sign that went in the lobby and all the little touches. I was assigned operations and though that’s where I worked for the Con time I also was running around and changing up the signs for the panel rooms, keeping the place on point and tidy. So two jobs really. It was hard work because anytime an issue happened or someone needed help we didn’t know who to talk to. Once I tried to talk to the director and was yelled at to go through the chain of command. If I had a problem “talk to the person over you and they will tell me”. Which I did, and it never seemed to go up. Or it did and the person above me didn’t care? I was reimbursed for the little things I did and could show receipts for. But I didn’t ask much. This was largely out of my own pocket. The time and money I spent was a gift as I wanted DenFur to succeed.

Regardless, this was year one, with folks from out of state and with a new con. I expected things to be tricky with bumps in the road. We all did. I did so well with my little touches with theme, that in 2019 they made me Theme Director. I was promised that it would be my own, it’s own department, I would be able to pick my own staff and have a budget. They didn’t say what my budget was, and I didn’t ask. But I did my best to keep it cheap. I was told that next year was going to be a Sci-Fi type “This is Star Trek but not really cuz copyrights”. I discussed with, and helped Bryant to write the lore, wrote descriptions of the races and the planets that they came from. Then, I started my team.

I gave it some time, expecting Denfur leaders to start getting active and getting ready for the coming con. The 2018 con was in August. I didn’t expect folks to start right up planning for next year, though I did. Once I found out I was going to be a Director of my own theme, the hype was so real that I gathered good crafty Colorado furs and set to work. I assigned tasks and set a meeting for July. I contacted the Star Trek cos-players at the USS Tiburon to come to our con and bring their set up. The props they had and their “crew” with the promise that they would get free admission. I set up who was coming, obtained names and made sure they were considered GOH.

My team communicated, got busy making thousands of tribbles to pass out free at the con, make artwork to hang in con space. We walked the halls, measured the length of the hallways, planned and plotted. I set to work ordering things we would need for the con space on the idea I would be paid back at some point.

The year was getting later. As this was going on I was asking Denfur top brass, heeeyyyy so I know it’s January but are we going to talk? This was a habit. All of us were concerned. And the months went by with no communication with the staff and volunteers. It got to be July. The con was now next month. This is when I meet in person with my team and found out that one of my crew was told they were going to have to work for Art department. And another told they were going to have to work Ops. I told them, if they wanted to that was ok. My people had been working hard all yearr to make the theme come alive. I got the response, “no I am only here for you and what we are doing.” So I approached Boiler and asked what was going on. I have this person who is part of my team and they are told another thing? To which I was told that I didn’t have a department, I was part of Art, which Boiler ran and they would have the final call. Boiler was suddenly my boss. This was complete news to me as I had tried to talk all year with upper management, got no response and was told to carry on, it was MY Department.

This was news to me? So I went to Bubbles and was told, “No, this is YOUR baby”. So I tried to be diplomatic on the matter, went to Boiler and asked what she wanted me to do, tried to tell them all I have already done. And they didn’t care. Told me nothing, never spoke to me other than to tell me I was under them and to basically shut up. With this in mind, and after waiting weeks for a response I gathered up my team and said, “you know what? let’s carry on as if I am still your Department head” and we did. We were told in August, “Hey lobersters are funny let’s make that a thing” My friends and I all looked at each other and thought “are they drunk? What does lobsters have to do with our Star not-quite-Track world?” But we worked it in. setting to work making lobsters to add into the theme. They announced next years theme and I had no part in it, but started drafting what I and my team would do with it.

All along, though no one ever gave us any direction, they were happy to chat about how we were all part of a tree. A team. We were all important branches of this Corgie Events tree. August arrived and my team and I came early to the con. Late Thursday night, we pulled in with cars full of bling for the con. All things that my crew and I had bought or made for the con. (I purposely have not mentioned names because I don’t want to drag them into this muck. You are all Flipping amazing and I love you dearly) We worked til midnight, allowing in the USS Tiburon to set up. Bubbles showed up with some posters for us to use. Posters I had no idea was coming or what to do with them. But we used them. Placing wall decore along the hallways, setting up the panel boards, the message board for people to write on, setting tribbles EVERYWHERE. I planned the opening ceremonies (made a script, and last minute invited a guest to play the Lobster bad guy) and what part I would play along with the then chair.

Every morning my team and I set out to update everything, the panel cards, place more tribbles. Ect. I won’t say it all, it was work. Hard work. Often I would walk by and see one of my team working at another site after she had already worked 6 hours for me. I asked her why and she said she didn’t mind. Though I think she was just being nice and wanted to help. The person who was assigned art was under so much stress she flat out said if she couldn’t work with Theme she was out and bounced. (In a very wise move).

Fast forward to Sunday. We had closing ceremonies. I didn’t have all I needed for my second script. I ran through the halls with what I had and grabbing a table cloth off a table I wore it as a cloak and got to the stage. After all of the general things were said, the guest thanked I walked up as “Tim” to introduce next years theme. I had given my friend coconuts and asked them to clop around the stage. It was a huge success and well greeted!

After I said thanks yous and people filed out I noticed that AV was tearing down the space. And I asked, oh? Are we packing up? And someone, told me “shrug” I guess. I was then in a panic mode. All my stuff was still up. I gathered help where I could and this was general attendees who knew me to rush to get my stuff gathered up. I went into a room that had been cleared out and all the chairs stacked against a wall right in front of my giant mural! I had to climb up a stack of 10 chairs to try and reach the top with no help from anyone. I was beyond stressed. Beyond worn out. I dumped what I could get back on the floor and my friends did the same. We tried to get everything together. It was next to the wrap up panel room where the chair and department heads were chatting with attendees over what worked and what didn’t.

I was not invited. I thought I was a department head too, but no I was just used. I think the worse part was when the audience said “the theme was the best part!” It really hit home and was well done. And then heard Boiler taking credit for it all. The people cheered. And I cried. I broke full down and cried. After all I didn’t all the stress and headaches. The rushing to make sure it was all pulled off, working the past year with my friends to create so much for this con, the rushing to make sure it was all up and down without any help from anyone other than ourselves. Here was our leadership taking credit for things they NEVER had ANY part of. It crushed my spirit.

My friends had never seen me like this. They helped me to gather my stuff and get it out. They picked me off the floor (where I was sitting on my knees bawling like a beaten child) and took me out to eat with them.

My husband Strom was in charge of the Volunteers. He has his own story on how he was never told what to do, how to handle them, what to offer them as a Thanks. But that’s not my story to tell. So, So many of us, were burned, used and abused. The were ZERO communication other than to yell at us when we did something wrong. Never taking suggestions, never making anything better just passing blame. So many times in the past two years we all offered suggestions on how to make it better, how to handle issues. Storm is the one who said “Hey, the line is the worse part, what if we mailed out badges?” Which they did, and Storm never got credit. Not that credit matters all that much. But when you claim you did something, when you didn’t? That’s just… rude.

At the end after everyone was gone we all met up again and were told that we were opening up 5 new cons and we were welcome to work at them. We were part of the Tree! Well… let me tell you. To most of us, the tree we were part of, were just leaves. Used to make the tree grow, then discarded to rot on the ground. I, for one, never felt part of this Mythical tree. I didn’t belong here. There were a tight knit upper management who were all popular, and didn’t care to listen to anyone other than themselves. A giant circle jerk if you will. Bryant pulled me aside and told me I did well on the theme and we started talking about next year. He was, aside from my friends, the only one of this massive tree to acknowledge me and what I had done. Bitter sweet.

After the con I asked to be reimbursed for the things I did buy. I had a spreadsheet and receipts. Mind you, this did not include my time spent or all the other things I had made. It was what I was asking for which was the bare min. I was told, yes I'd be paid. I asked again in September. and asked to send a invoice through paypal. Again I asked in October, took a month off and in January I needed the money to pay my property taxes. And was told by Bubbles, "yes, send me again the information and I'll send that to Treble" After which I was blocked and removed from the discord conversation. I was never paid for 2019. I gave up trying. But I have screenshots of my talks, and the proof in paypal of sent invoices.

My husband, I and most of my theme team vowed right then and there we would never put so much of our heart and souls into this again. Not as it stood. We would see if they would make any changes. Start getting organized any sooner, show any effort. We would help. We wanted this to succeed! Seeing nothing happening we both agreed to simply attend. We wanted to see how they fair without the help of all these awesome, talented furs. Then covid hit. DenFur started up again in 2021. We attended. And we got to see how well they did without us. The theme made me laugh. I had planned to get REN fair folks to stroll along the con space…. Well let’s just say I had great plans for the future. Boiler and Nova came out with statements that Covid was to blame on the lack of volunteers. But those of us who worked it and experienced the pain, knew the truth. It had very little to do with Covid. If we had been asked we would have helped again. This was the first con post the shut down. It had massive potential. But we were never asked. We warned friends who did offer to help out what would happen. And true to form it all happened again.

This is my side. Take it as you will. I feel better getting this off my chest after so long. Corgie LLC has been dissolved and AEIOU has taken it’s place. With the promise that Trebel would not be involved. We have heard this before. That worked so well last time didn’t it? But there is always hope. Right?

I have to be honest... My initial reaction to all this is purely selfish. I have to ask: Is there going to be a Southern California furry fandom convention, or not? CaliFur imploded due to personnel problems and attacks from the alt right, and now Golden State Fur Con is questionable (at very least) due to financial issues, personal and institutional. Southern California is too big and too full of active furry fans not to have a dedicated, well-run, and above all FUN furry convention, regularly. I hope all this works out soon.

Simon Fox of... fawksnews has put together a timeline of some relevant events, which might help to understand given how many cons are involved.

I also saw a discussion where someone has been accused of forging traceroute evidence and then trying to hide it in order to take a pot shot at a sysadmin. Why people think doing that is a good idea when the fandom is full of geeks who will dig into that stuff is beyond me.