RUSTY HEVELIN | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Why do some new conventions struggle and falter while others achieve unexpected measures of success? "Common sense" might tell us that those that don't succeed are victims of poor planning, bad attitude, and/or mismanagement. However, in truth, most young cons are started by bright, enthusiastic groups of people, and are often run reasonably well. Bad weather, poor timing, and lack of support from other local fans are often most guilty of contributing to the demise of a promising new convention.
Last year, DemiCon had to cross perhaps the biggest hurdle a convention will ever face — its first convention. By most accounts, it was a success. Why? Again, "common sense" says that the convention committe must have been capable (which they were), the local fans were hard-working (which they were), and that the attending membership was supportive (which it was). But, as stated above, the same can be said of other new conventions which do not fare as well. So again, one must ask, "Why?"
In fact, there is a reason. And it is one of fandom's best-kept secrets.
It has a name. It is Rusty Hevelin.
Some of us knew that there was more to selecting Rusty as DemiCon I's FanGoH than just providing a veteran fan for programming. Rusty isn't just a fan. Rusty is THE fan. His presence bodes well for any convention — new or old — for he carries the torch that burns the eternal flame of trufandom. As we become a larger and more diverse community, it is this flame which helps us to remember our common roots. We, as fans, may feel alienated at times by a more (pardon the term) "mundane" world. Yet, due to technological advances of the last 40 years, and to media phenomena such as Star Wars, an acceptance of "science fiction" permeates our culture as never before. How easy it is to forget that it was people like Rusty — visionaries who established the first SF clubs, the first SF publications, the first SF conventions — that made it possible for you and me to enjoy the wide variety of forms in which this "genre of ideas" is expressed today.
"He carries the torch that burns the eternal flame of trufandom."It seems incredible to think of how much has changed since the publication of the first SF "pulps" earlier in this century. Incredible to think that the first DemiCon had more attendees than the first WorldCon, now nearly 52 years past. Incredible to think that someone like Rusty would actually hitchhike for days to attend a (then-rare) convention in another state, arriving unable to pay the $2 membership fee (it was, however, waived in view of the circumstances). "Bummed out" that your favorite SF television show has been cancelled? Let Rusty tell you a few stories about the men (and a few women) who worked tirelessly to pave the way for the things you and I now take for granted. I guarantee your troubles will begin to seem small by comparison.
This page created by: Kevin G. Austin