Conversations with Rosie Bono

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rosie Bono.  

Hi Rosie, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I was always a geeky kid growing up. I loved watching sci-fi and fantasy movies with my grandfather, reading fantasy books any chance I could get, and grew to love graphic novels (manga) and Japanese animation (anime) and in my pre-teen years. started attending fan events when I was 11, and I would say (jokingly) that was when it all went downhill. I fell in love with the absolutely amazing and all-consuming sense of community found at fan conventions (anime conventions, comic-cons, etc.). I began attending those conventions as often as possible, and met a lot of incredible people, and had a lot of unique experiences I will remember for the rest of my life. I decided that I wanted to start helping within these events to help in creating that sense of community, so I started volunteering my time in different areas of these events from when I was 15 till I was 17. 

In 2012, an opportunity to be on staff long term for an event came along at an event in my hometown, and I jumped on it. I was put into the position of volunteer coordinator and loved it. I was in that position for two years (and met my future husband working that event). During that time, I began going to college for Event Management. In 2015, that event stopped running and my closest friends who were also on staff for the previous event decided to start our own non-profit fan event, Kogan Con, with our first event in 2018. Focusing on education on pop culture history, influence, related skills, it has been the most difficult but the most rewarding thing I have done. In 2019, through meeting the owners of other conventions around the West Michigan area, I was given the opportunity to be an intern at the Grand Rapids Comic Con for their 2019 event. Through this, I was given hands-on experience with event management, problem-solving, and coordinating and organizing areas of events I didn’t even know existed. After the 2019, I knew that event coordination was my “big kid” job. 

After my time as intern, I was promoted to Event Coordinator in 2020, and I was set to graduate from GVSU with my degree in Event Management that June. Then COVID hit. And overnight, events ceased to exist. Kogan Con and Grand Rapids Comic Con were cancelled, and all planning that had been done for them had to be rerouted to 2021. Picking up a close to full-time job to fill that temporary monetary void, I assisted in the clean-up and re-organization of both organizations event plans and looked forward to 2021. By the time 2021 came around, the Grand Rapids Comic Con had decided to host another event during the year, a “Spring Fling” event in April and the “big” show in November. We had to postpone the first April event in 2021 to when gathering restrictions in the state of Michigan allowed for large-scale events to start occurring. So August 2021 was my first event in my role as event coordinator. And if I thought running Kogan Con’s small, non-profit event was hard, I hadn’t seen anything yet. That was the hardest thing I had done in my life. And at a heavily caffeinated breakfast the Monday after the event, the owners told me it was the easiest event for them yet. I could have flown. I was so happy to hear that. 

And that brings us to now! I have been the Event Coordinator for the Grand Rapids Comic Con events for 3 years now, Kogan Con President of the Board and Convention Chair for 8 years, and working in the events world over 10 years now, with plans to open an event consultation and planning business in 2023. 

And I wouldn’t change it for a thing. 

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Working in the events and hospitality industry, there are always road bumps along the way. Ask anyone, and they will tell you it is one of the most mentally, physically, emotionally taxing professions to be in. And I would agree with them. But the biggest roadblock I have encountered has, like many people, been when COVID happened. It ground everything I had been working towards for the past 10 years to a screaming halt. I had to do an immediate left turn as far as work went to keep the bills paid, and that took a lot of wind out of my sails. And for the 2 years of shutdown, I had to keep planning and organizing for the future, but at the time, the future was day by day. But, as many did, I just kept my head down, kept working and staying safe, and have come to the other side. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My work is specialized in event coordination, organization, and execution, focusing on large-scale fan events. I and the President of the Board of Directors and Convention Chair for Kogan Con; Kogan Con is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating awareness of, and appreciation for, Japanese Animation (Anime), Graphic Novels (Manga), Gaming, Comics, and related popular artforms, primarily through the presentation of conventions and events that celebrate and study the historic and ongoing contribution of these artforms to popular cultures. 

I am the Event Coordinator for the Grand Rapids Comic Con, put on by West Michigan Convention Ventures LLC. West Michigan Convention Ventures LLC is a family-friendly organization that strives to create PG to PG-13 style events with programming for adults and children of all ages. 

In my young teenage years, I dreamed of working for conventions and being able to make a living doing it. And now it is a full-time job for me. 

Both events focus on bringing educational content from within the fan-related industries to their attendees, all the while encompassing a fun environment where you are free to express yourself through cosplay (costumes), talk about your favorite shows, games, movies, books, comics, etc. and just nerd out! Fan events are a massive sect of the hospitality and events world, but being able to open eyes and teach about just how interesting and important these pop culture aspects are while it being fun is an absolute honor for me. 

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
Like Yoda said, “Do or do not; there is no try.” Take chances, have fun, and never think you can’t do something. 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/rosebono 

Image Credits
Have Camera
Truong Lam Photography