I made the trek back from TypeCon to Oregon Tuesday night, and promptly succumbed to some sort of illness. Although it could be the result of too much typophiliac togetherness (germs) coupled with too little sleep, I'm more inclined to think I'm going through TypeCon withdrawals. This serious, yet non-fatal condition will soon be documented in the New England Journal of Medicine.

It was really cool to get back online and see all the happy posts about TypeCon, and the pictures! It was wonderful to see old friends again, and meet many of you for the first time. The thing that makes me happiest is hearing that, for the most part, you all had an excellent time at TypeCon. You learned, you had fun, you were inspired - that was the most we could ever hope for.

A really great group of people helped make this conference possible, and many thanks are in order. Those who went above and beyond must be recognized and embarrassed appropriately.

JP Porter, aka the AV goddess. JP (Shoot the Moon Productions) took over the herculean task of managing the presentations of more than 60 speakers, and made sure they looked as good as possible. Technically, the show ran as smoothly as it ever has, in spite of multiple platforms, obscure software, crashing computers, and having to move the entire show from the spacious ballroom (Friday and Sunday's venue) to the pillar-infested conference center on Saturday. She did it with grace, she kept her cool, and she did it all gratis to help SOTA. Among other talents, she also shoots and edits video for business and pleasure. Hire this woman, she will save your a**!

Ann Sandler, loving wife of Stuart. Ann has the patience of a saint. She allowed TypeCon to take over her home, and she was incredibly gracious about it. Thousands of pounds of items for goodie bags, sales tables, and auction were delivered to the Font Diner in June and July. The week prior to TypeCon, her dining and living rooms and little Jackson's playroom became the center of a bag-stuffing frenzy. She helped organize the operation and resisted the urge to kick us out at 2 am. Now that TypeCon2003 is over, she has her husband back, and hopefully her sanity.

Carima El-Behairy of P22, who always comes through in a pinch. She helped sort out the complexities of the first TypeCon co-op vendor table, in itself a deadly undertaking. She also tamed the benefit auction, helped with registration, TypeGallery set-up - wherever she was needed, she was there. And we were glad.

Speaking of the TypeGallery - Margery McAlpine, one of the guerilla typographers from Target, got this really big show on the walls. She cracked the whip over a crew of willing volunteers (including Nick Shinn), and the gallery looked fantastic. She was all smiles throughout a stressful process, and we would not have had such a wonderful show without her efforts.

Jennifer Gordon, Miss Velvet Elvis herself, worked day and night to get the printed program finished in the shortest possible amount of time. Throughout this truly scary project, she kept her sense of humor, even when I asked her to change the text typeface for the whole book at 4 am day before it was to go to press.

Mark Simonson, who designed the TypeCon2003 identity. Mark created so many beautiful print and web pieces for the conference that it's impossible to keep track. He designed the website and built the templates that enabled Mighty Media to create our best registration system yet, and made the content portion of the site easy to update. Usually on short notice, Mark came up with consistently great stuff and was incredibly patient and easy to work with.

Steve Pittelkow from MCBA jumped in late in the game and solved many problems. The workshops there were a smash, the party was killer, and headaches such as locating transportation, computer equipment, etc., were alleviated with his help. His sense of humor made said problems seem not-so-bad-after-all.

Stephen Coles of Typographica put together the first SOTA member publication, Interrobang. Not quite a magazine, not quite a newsletter, it's a nifty little rag that will only improve with age. Stephen pulled several all-nighters, including stints during the 4th of July holidays, to get that baby on press in time for TypeCon.

Stuart Sandler neglected fonts and family to help make TypeCon happen. Letting us turn his house into storage facility and assembly line, driving to Iowa and back to retrieve the Lazy Drinker machine and then manning it during the big party at MCBA, hauling bags and boxes to the workshop and conference sites... I don't know how many trips he made up and down his basement stairs with boxes from Germany and San Francisco, but his legs must be in great shape by now.

Brian Bonislawsky from Astigmatic came into town the Monday before TypeCon, and I don't think he slept for a week. Bunking at Stuart's, he stuffed bags, ran a zillion errands, was on call at the conference, and did whatever needed doing. Brian also built the TypeGallery website in the spring, even though he and Stuart were working on a huge project with an impossible deadline. Brian is one of the few people who has been involved with every single TypeCon, and he works harder each year.

Jon Coltz - the man from Daidala. Not to be trite, but Jon was literally my rock during TypeCon. I don't think he ever said no - if something needed to be done, he immediately volunteered. I know he didn't get much sleep, but he kept his smile and his charming disposition throughout. Aside from working registration, the vendor area, and running every kind of errand possible, he also organized Matthew Carter's special event at the Walker (and did a heartfelt intro for Matthew), sat on a panel, and emcee'd a whole day of programming, remaining coherent throughout.

Richard Kegler of P22, who worked with me throughout the year to make TypeCon a success, and help SOTA grow gracefully. In addition to myriad other duties, he ran the auction, helped with registration, and answered question after question during the conference. After more than 3 years of giving his heart and soul to SOTA and TypeCon, Rich will step back a little and let the rest of us do the heavy lifting. He is a gentleman and a diplomat, and I am privileged to have been able to work with him on 3 TypeCons!

There are many others to thank, but I'll save it for another post. We're looking forward to another great experience in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2004!