GM Rewards and COVID Updates

For the 2nd year in a row now, the Grand has had to hold back rooms due to the ongoing improvements to the hotel. While we love the results of the room improvements, the impact on available space at the Grand is an inconvenience for many and especially our hard-working Game Masters. With generous support from the Roberts Family, Gary Con has come up with the following GM benefits.

GM Parking

GMs running 12 or more hours of events at Gary Con XV who are not staying at the Grand will have access to Preferred Parking at the Spa across from the Main Lodge entrance from Thursday to Sunday. We will be holding onto part of the Spa Parking across from the Main Lodge entrance. There are approximately 100 parking spaces reserved for you on a first-come, first-serve basis. The area will be staffed by Grand Geneva public safety personnel who will confirm eligibility prior to entering the reserved parking area. You’ll receive your pass to this parking area when you get your badge. The Grand staff will have a GM name list if you arrive during the convention and wish to access the Preferred Parking Area right away. Access to parking will start at 7:30 a.m. Central on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

 

GM Gear Drop Off

We heard your lamentation and supplications to solve the problem of being encumbered as GMs lugging around your tools and props around the convention all day. We worked out a solution with the hotel management to provide a GM Gear Drop Off! This service is available to GMs running 8 or more hours of events at Gary Con XV. The Gear Drop Off will be located at Buttons Bay Boardroom, where Building 5 meets the Main Lodge. We encourage eligible GMs to park and carry their items to the Buttons Bay Boardroom each day they have an event. If you have especially unwieldy gear there is limited space in an unloading zone immediately outside from the Buttons Bay Boardroom. The GM Gear Drop Off will be operated by the Grand Geneva Staff with hours of operation between 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and Sunday 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.. All gear must be picked up each day – no overnight storage. Please note that once the Grand Staff locks the room at the end of each day there is no access until it opens the following day. Unclaimed items will go to the hotel’s lost and found.

GM Preferred Hotel Reservation List

The Grand Geneva has several phases of renovation as part of their improvement program – this has limited the number of rooms available in 2022 and 2023. While the renovation continues in 2024, it should not impact Gary Con. However, it will be the 50th Anniversary of D&D, so we expect rooms at the Grand Geneva will continue to be in high demand. We truly believe GMs are the backbone of our convention and we know available hotel rooms have been a frustration to our GMs, so we are always looking for ways to show our appreciation. Starting this year with Gary Con XV, we are testing a new GM reward for our most prolific Game Masters. At 16 hours you have earned the fantastic Gary Con GM T-Shirt (it has moved down from 18 hours, so that’s more good news) and a free Silver Badge (or the value of one against any badge) for the next Gary Con. Now, for the first 50 GMs at the 18-or-more-hours level, you will earn a space on the new GM Preferred Hotel Reservation List. This gives you access to register for one room prior to the Gary Con room block opening to the general public. Thank you to all of our GMs! You are the folks that give your time to prepare and bring the highest quality games to Gary Con for everyone to enjoy. The GM Preferred Hotel Reservation List is one of the many benefits for GMs. You can see all of them here: https://garycon.com/game-master-rewards/. (Please note, the GM Preferred Hotel Reservation List is for GMs with over 18 hours of games which run at GC XV. The order that GMs will be added will be based on the ACCEPTED time stamps in TTE).

 

GM Concierge and Tableside Service

Tableside Service is back at Gary Con XV! The Grand Geneva is able to safely provide Tableside food and beverage service throughout all of our gaming areas and for vendors in the Exhibit Hall. The menu for Gary Con XV is in the works but Cockatrice Wings, Gorgon Burgers and many more favorites will be making a return. We, the Gary Con Team, took a look at our operations and decided to consolidate the GM Concierge service to our GM Lounges versus running a cart or carrying trays of items to each table. Going to each table every two hours takes a lot of effort from our Volunteers and increases risks of transmitting illnesses. GM Concierge would be a visit by a volunteer with a cart, giving them a snack and a drink. We will instead stock the GM Lounge with the selection of drinks and tasty snacks for our GMs to pickup before their game. We will have the main lounge on the upper level in a Galewoods Ballroom and very likely one or more satellite sites to make it more convenient for our GMs. We’ll announce those locations once they are finalized. And don’t forget to get your Gary Con Stadium Cups to get in on the great Spotted Cow and soda specials all convention long – including FREE Spotted Cow or sodas during the Happy Hours!

COVID-19 Policy Update

We have monitored the COVID-19 situation over the past months and after review and careful consideration, we are updating our policy to include a negative COVID-19 test result from a laboratory within 96 hours of the day you pick up your badge at Gary Con XV. This is similar to what we did last year at Gary Con XIV. The negative COVID-19 test must be a lab test, not a home test, however it can be a Rapid or PCR. Our policy page will be updated to reflect the change soon. To recap, when you pick up your badge at Gary Con you will show either a negative COVID-19 test from within 96 hours OR proof of COVID-19 vaccination (vaccination card, a picture of the card or an electronic version are all acceptable). Please note there is NO mask requirement at this time. We are following local health guidance for masks and unless there is a directive to mask in public places we expect there to be no masks required. We welcome everyone to wear a mask if they choose to do so.

New Memorial Tiles at the Lake Geneva Library

For those of you who enjoy exploring Lake Geneva while at Gary Con, there is a new memorial marker in honor of E. Gary Gygax at the Lake Geneva Library on the lakefront. We would like to thank all of you for making it possible for Gary Con to do things like this. Our community has helped place two physical markers in Lake Geneva as well as assisted the Geneva Lake Museum exhibit and owners of 330 Center Street to maintain that historic location and we even get to run games there during Gary Con! Stop by the Riviera and the Library and get pictures at these markers. The below pictures are courtesy of Heidi Gygax and the adorable children are her granddaughters (and Gary’s great granddaughters) Amelie and Zoe.