About TSFS

Thanksgiving Science Fiction Society (TSFS) is a non-profit organization for people who are interested in science fiction, speculative fiction, fantasy, and related genres (SF/F) in all forms. TSFS was organized in September, 2013, following the unfortunate death of Jaelle of Armida, the much-beloved director of DarkoverCon for many years.

TSFS's primary goals are to:
a. promote SF/F, with particular attention to materials of and by women creators;
b. provide forums for interested people and their friends to share their interest in SF/F;
c. promote SF/F within the general populace.

View Our Bylaws


Contact Us (all addresses are AT chessiecon DOT org)

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       Convention Staff

Con Chair Jo Hogan will be heading the programming committee again this year, in addition to being conchair (we'll have a new one any year now, or so they keep saying...). Her skills include herding cats, making things happen on time, and solving problems in unique ways (ask her how she once saved her company hundreds of man hours with a stapler). In her mundane life...well, she doesn't really have what anyone would call a mundane life. conchair AT chessiecon DOT org

Game room coordinator Trevor Schadt was born in Silver Spring, MD, but found his home in Pittsburgh, PA. He started playing board games as soon as he could read the rules, GM'ed his first D&D campaign at the tender age of 6, and has a personal game collection of over 300 board, card and role-playing games. He was thrilled to be part of the burgeoning game room community during the final few Darkover conventions, and even more excited to be at the helm of the game room for the first ChessieCon and on into the future. He can be reached at gaming AT chessiecon DOT org with any questions.

Art Show Director /amqueue has been hovering around the edges of convention art shows since she went to her first convention, a fan-run Star Trek convention in 1978, where she learned the heartache of insufficient cash. Her hovering resumed at the convention where she had her first full-time-job paycheck in her pocket, and hasn't ceased. Her experience in organizing and coordinating large projects goes back to her Girl Scout years, creating and running events for hundreds of scouts over various weekends. "At least the art won't be running around with hatchets," she muttered as the butterfly net wielded by the conchair settled about her feet. In her daily life, she's delighted to have adults for children, and is was plotting all the things she'll do with her copious free time. Footnote: The slash is both historical and silent. (pronounced 'am-cue')

Music Track Coordinator Joshua Kronengold is a fan and filker who has been involved with fandom since 1991, attended Darkovers since around 2001, and run the Darkover Bardic Circle since he unwisely showed up in 2011 and complained about its absence. He's also been webmaster for a large number of Contatas (NEFilk New Jersey), and also vice-chaired in 2011 and chaired in 2014. "I look forward to mixing the best of filk, such as Tom Smith, with other musical traditions such as Darkover's own frequent performers to give Chessiecon a unique feel, with a dynamic program that both treats our members to great performances and gives them a chance to show off their own musical talents." music AT chessiecon DOT org

Mythic (FKA Esoteric) Track Coordinator Charles Butler, is the continuing coordinator for this track for Chessiecon 2015. For more than 10 years he has helped create a track of instruction helping people to understand the "real world" religions behind many of the mystical descriptions that often appear in science fiction and fantasy. We welcome any panel ideas, any presentations from any faith, particularly those that appear in fictional works. Along with the Order of St. Michael (created originally by fans of the works of Katherine Kurtz) the Mythic track presents both classes and panels from diverse flavors including book discussions, rituals, and practical discussions. We regularly provide or arrange for a Jewish Shabbat Service, an annual Falling Stars service for our departed fans and family on Saturday afternoons, a predominantly Pagan Healing Service on Saturday nights and a Christian Mass on Sundays. Professionally, Charles is a registered minister with Rising Sun Outreach Ministry as an interfaith prison chaplain with a background in Christianity, Wicca, and African Diaspora traditions such as Voudoun, Santeria, and Umbanda. He reads Tarot cards, shells (conchas), and consults astrologers. He is a Biblical scholar at Howard University School of Divinity as well as a researcher. He writes rituals and creates music. Contact mythic@chessiecon.org with any questions or to present an idea for a class.

Head of ConOps Alexsandr Poryshkin (one of the many pseudonyms of the lizard) ran the DarkoverCon con suite since time out of mind. Nobody, including himself, really remembers how long. Now he is running ConOps for Chessiecon. He is also a founding member of TSFS. volunteer AT chessiecon DOT org

Video Game Room Coordinator Meg Hogan has been fascinated by video games since her earliest memories of watching her mother play Weird Dreams on the Commodore 64 and wondering why Sonic wasn't moving when she held the wrong controller of her cousin's Sega Genesis. Her first home console was the Super Nintendo when she was ten years old and ever since then she's done her darnedest to keep up with games old and new. Meg believes strongly in sportsmanship and co-existence in the gaming community, no matter what consoles, genres, or gender pronouns you prefer, and sees video gaming as a bonding and memorable experience that's perfect for any convention. It was that philosophy that inspired her to want to run a video game room, and when Chessiecon became a reality so did her vision. She welcomes any donations or loans to the cause; if you have any, please feel free to contact her at videogames AT chessiecon DOT org.