| The History of No Brand Con |
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No Brand Con may have held it's first convention in 2002, but the beginning of the story really lies two years earlier in the early part of the year 2000.
The University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Gamer's Guild had decided that they wanted to put on a "Gaming Convention" on campus. To help organize their event, they asked Kevin "Vinnk" Tambornino, head of the local unofficial anime group "Otaku Anonymous," if they would run an anime room there. Kevin agreed, and began to plan for the event. On the day of the convention, he was joined by Trae Dorn (another member of said anime group) to run the event. The convention was an unmitigated disaster. Trae had spent many years working at conventions, and Kevin had helped found Westcon, of Wausau, WI. Neither one remembers who uttered these immortal words to the other, but they both remember what they were: "Man, we could so do a better job."
The seeds had been planted.
Later that year in May, Otaku Anonymous was invited to run an anime room at Kevin's former home convention WestCon. Kevin and Trae were joined by Terence Clark, Topher Marohl, and David Shimanski. They created staff shirts with the words "No Brand Hero" printed on the front - quoting the end theme to the Anime series "Here Is Greenwood". The night before the convention, where Kevin, Trae, Terence, and Topher were sitting in a very small room at an Excel Inn. The four of them decided, once and for all, that they would create a convention, they jokingly named "No Brand Con". The name stuck.
This conversation was the founding of No Brand Con.
Planning commenced immediately. It was decided early on that they would target the Spring of 2002 for their first convention. This was advantageous for two reasons: they would have almost two years to plan, and it would be in the latter half of the school year allowing them to recruit heavily in the fall semester for their first convention.
In the fall of 2000, Kevin decided to found an official organization on campus called the "Anime Appreciation Society." Headed by Terence Clark and joined by several members of Otaku Anonymous, the Anime Appreciation Society became the official organization in charge of No Brand Con. In cooperation with Otaku Anonymous, the Gamer's Guild of UWEC, and Genesis Mindworks, they ran and put together the first No Brand Con, which took place April 5th and 6th of 2002.
The event continued to be held on the University campus for No Brand Con's second and third conventions. When it was time to plan No Brand Con 4 though, the campus had become too restrictive, and the decision was made to move No Brand Con into a hotel. No Brand Con 4 was held at the Plaza Hotel with great success, and with No Brand Con 5 the convention moved to the Ramada Convention Center which has been it's home since.
As No Brand Con grew, it became too large to be a subdivision of a University organization. Because of that, No Brand Con became an independent non-profit, No Brand Con Inc. The Anime Appreciation Society still acts as an official sponsor for the event, providing aid whenever necessary.
Convention Directors of No Brand Con
2002 - Terence Clark, Kevin Tambornino
2003 - Terence Clark, Kevin Tambornino
2004 - Terence Clark, Kevin Tambornino
2005 - Cheryl Masaki
2006 - Alex Wilson and Topher Marohl
2007 - Matt "Neil" Lindvig
2008 - Mike Frey
2009 - Trae Dorn
2010 - Matt Sinz and Katie Hatheway
Attendance Numbers
2002 - 115
2003 - 250*
2004 - 300*
2005 - 400*
2006 - 605
2007 - 905
2008 - 1075
2009 - 1249
* - Indicate Approximate Numbers.
