September 4th, 2023
For Immediate Release
To our beloved community,
We as the board of directors at AEIOU would like to address the sudden departure of our Facilities Board Member and DenFur Convention Chair, Vonbon. We are aware that information has been circulating about their removal and would like to alleviate your concerns as our friends and attendees with purpose, direction, and transparency. We would like to start off by assuring you that no one has ever been let go from or asked to leave our organization without ample cause and accompanying documentation, and all of the events brought forth in this statement were discussed, at length, with Vonbon. They were given the opportunity, time and time again, to respect their position on our board and help us make these events better for you, our guests. We are here, because they chose not to.
As the Facilities Director, Vonbon oversaw communicating with our venues. They were in possession of a great amount of trust and responsibility in regard to the finances of our organization. During AquatiFur 2022 some financial discrepancies were discovered that were linked to the hotel, under the umbrella of facilities. At Painted Desert Fur Con in 2023 Vonbon held a party in contracted event space outside of normal operating hours in which alcohol was purchased outside of the hotel and consumed inside of it without prior approval from the venue, the events team, or any of the other board members with AEIOU. This was a direct and egregious violation of our contract with the hotel and could have ended our relationship with the venue if they had chosen to pursue it.
During, and after this incident at PDFC, steps were taken to educate Vonbon in an attempt to ensure that there would be no further damage done. Unfortunately, there were similar financial issues at Golden State Fur Con, and AEIOU was asked to pay out of pocket for services that should have been covered by a third party. As such, more education was offered and support systems were put in place, only to be ignored and disregarded.
Over the course of several months as DenFur approached Vonbon repeatedly refused to cooperate with fellow board members or follow established procedures and delayed communication with our host hotel unnecessarily. We, at AEIOU take our relationships with our venues very seriously and as DenFur approached we came to realize that nearly no communication had been offered to the hotel or to any potential overflow hotels. This caused distinct confusion between the venue, the board, and unfortunately you, our attendees. We spent the weeks leading up to DenFur in a mad dash, trying to correct the mistakes as best we could in the absence of any prior communication.
On Thursday evening the board was informed that the convention would be held responsible for financial decisions made by Vonbon for personal gain. Including an underground party to be held in contracted convention space, the rental of AV equipment, additional event insurance, and hotel rooms held by the master account without knowledge of AEIOU or its board of directors. Once this information came to our attention the Board of Directors was given
no choice but to call an emergency meeting and dismiss Vonbon from their positions both with the board and with the convection itself.
Thankfully our Vice Con Chair Zodiac Melon was able to step up and provide additional support while also filling a vacant and much neglected Con Chair position with mere hours of notice. We intended to come forward with all of this much sooner, but unfortunately there were threats of physical violence made against our freshly minted con chair. So, we deemed it best to gain some distance from the event before addressing our community, as it showed an extreme lack of respect for an individual who exemplifies all that our Fandom stands for. As an organization all we want is to see our community grow and thrive. We know that this situation has been the cause of much speculation and even more heartache, but we do believe these choices were best for the health and safety of our board, our attendees and the longevity of our growing events.
We as an organization do not stand for any of the events that transpired and will only look to work with better, more professional individuals moving forward. And we would like to thank you, our attendees, for taking the time to read this, and for your support, past present and continued.
We look forward to many events to come.
The board members of Anthropomorphic Events Incorporated Organization United