What came first, the geekdom or the cosplay? Knoah Calvert wouldn't be able to tell you because both have been in his life as long as he can remember. His geekdoms have varied of the years from anime to video games. There was one thing that was constant, his love for art and cosplay. He's been a cosplay and special effects makeup artist for over 15 years. His cosplay inspirations came from his favorite anime and video games like Wolf's Rain, Inuyasha, Final Fantasy, and Drakengard. His inspirations for special effect makeup came from his love of Star Wars and Underworld. He has been doing charity cosplay for the last 8 years through Bunny's Heroes! His love for art didn't stop there, he has been a Digital Artist over the years and designed MidWest FanFest's very own mascot!

On his off days, he loves picking up a paintbrush and canvas from time to time. He's been going to conventions since his early years as a fan but of course that wasn't enough and soon joined staff at SoDak Con for it's last 5 years as numerous positions including cosplay head and artist alley head. For the last 8 years he has been staff for Nan Desu Kan in Denver and has enjoyed being a part of their main events! Not to be outdone of course, Knoah also is a skilled horseman and an avid writer. He is excited to continue bringing the best to the community through MidWest FanFest!  

In a galaxy not too far away, not too long ago there was a geek, and his name was Gary Woodward. That's how most stories start, right? Gary has been a pillar of the geek community for over 30 years. He got to break into D&D with the red box in 1982 and Star Trek had been a long-time favorite of his. Since then he ran and was part of many campaigns and groups. He was a part of the local Star Trek Fleet where fate dealt him a new role, handler of princesses and action heroes for Bunny's Heroes at Storybook Island's Safe N Sweet Trick N Treat event.

After there he joined SoDak Con Security and soon after became a department head of registration. Of course, the journey soon brought him to SoDak Con's sister con, Nan Desu Kan where he has been in registration and security for the last 8 years! He is still a handler for Bunny's Heroes and you can find him helping out at many local events like Dakota Mini Nerd Con and Black Hills Con. But the great Fighter wasn't busy enough he volunteered at Lion's Clubs and the Literacy Programs in Montana over the years. We are sure that there are many stories yet to be told of what this great community builder has done! He looks forward to the stories and adventures that MidWest FanFest will bring.  

Shareece Tatum has a lifetime of achievement in the geeky industry, especially in South Dakota. The more apparent ones being the founder and Executive Director of SoDak Con in Rapid City for 10 years. But to regulate her experience and being a founder of the geek community in South Dakota to just that convention would be a disservice. She is currently the Event Coordinator for the Black Hills Renaissance Festival and founder of Bunny's Heroes, a cosplay charity that has been running for ten years. She has been the cosplay head at Nan Desu Kan in Denver for over 5 years, being an attendee than a staffer for almost 20 years. She ran a blockbuster larp production company before the pandemic and since then has been a professional GM that is paid to write and plan virtual games.

Shareece is a Masterclass cosplayer that has won awards at many conventions and jokes that she was in cosplay before there even was wonderflex. Over the years she has advised many other conventions at their foundings like Siouxper Con and many mini-cons across the state. She has been invited to be a consultant at many conventions across the country to observe and advise them on how to improve and be the best for their attendees. This is just the scrapping of over 20 years of experience in the world of geekdom! Shareece has broke barriers her whole life, and she will continue to do so with MidWest FanFest  

The geek is strong with Richard Rasmussen. Rich was raised in a geek family, where watching the original Star Trek was a part of his family's weekly life. Since he could remember he has been active in the tabletop and video gaming communities. It was only natural that he would help out at local geek conventions and soon was a part of the history of SoDak Con. He became of department head, first tabletop/video game then vendors. Before the closing of SoDak Con he had become a part of the Board of Directors. The strong relationship between SoDak Con and NDK opened doors for him and he has now been staffing with Nan Desu Kan for 8 years. He has worked with the vendors and currently main events at the 15,000 attendee convention in Colorado. He was the creator behind the Megagame for the blockbuster larp production company, Felbis Productions. He also wrote for the larp company's characters and the main plot for some of the games. He is a proud father of four and is up for any adventure his wife drags him into.