Ohayocon Senior Leadership and Volunteers on Strike After Removal of Con Chair Cody Marcum [Updated 10/10]
This is a breaking news story, and we will update it if we learn additional details. Last updated 10/10/2023 at 10:50am CDT. The original headline of this article read “Majority of Ohayocon Senior Leadership Allegedly Removed in ‘Hostile Takeover'”.
Something is happening with long running anime convention Ohayocon, and it doesn’t look great. Earlier today, the following message was posted to the con’s official website, Discord, and Facebook page:
Columbus, OH – In a shocking turn of events, Melissa Phelps, the President of the Board of Directors of Cultural Exchange Society, Inc., has initiated a hostile takeover by firing and removing access from a majority of the Senior Leadership Team. This sudden and unexpected move has sent shockwaves through the community of Ohayocon Volunteers.
The Senior Leadership Team at Ohayocon has been an integral part of the convention’s success, providing guidance, experience, and dedication to the event’s growth and improvement over the years. Their contributions have helped Ohayocon become one of the most beloved and well-attended conventions in the region.
The abrupt removal of the Senior Leadership Team has raised concerns among the Ohayocon volunteer community about the future direction of the convention and the well-being of the volunteers who pour their hearts into making the event a success year after year. Many volunteers and attendees have voiced their support for the ousted leaders and are calling for transparency and accountability in the wake of this takeover.
We stand with the volunteers of Ohayocon and urge everyone to support the dedicated individuals who have worked tirelessly to make this convention a cherished experience for all attendees. We believe in the values of community, collaboration, and inclusivity that have defined Ohayocon for years, and we call on Melissa Phelps to address the concerns and questions of the community openly and honestly.
As this unexpected change unfolds, supporters of Ohayocon are encouraged to voice their concerns, ask questions, and seek clarity on the future of the convention. Melissa Phelps and the other members of the Cultural Exchange Society Inc. Board of Directors have a responsibility to address the concerns of the community and provide reassurance that the convention will continue to prioritize the values and traditions that have made it a beloved annual gathering.
From what we’ve been able to gather, it appears that a group of Ohayocon staffers and volunteers had formed an informal union called Conventions of Ohio Volunteer Event Network (COVEN) and presented a document of demands to Phelps and other members of the board of Cultural Exchange Society, Inc on March 4th, 2023. You can read a full version of that document here. The audio of that March 4th meeting was released on the Ohayocon Discord as well (which seems to be under the control of the fired staff members). Phelps seemed at least receptive to listening to COVEN’s demands back in March.
What happened between then and now isn’t quite clear, but clearly something has escalated. Within hours of the post going up earlier today, the Ohayocon Facebook page seemed to have been deleted.
Additionally, the following post went up on the convention’s Twitter/X account (which seems to be the sole official social media still under the control of Phelps):
We’ve been told this same message was posted by Phelps to the convention’s Facebook Group, but as we were not able to get access to the group to verify that.
COVEN is affiliated group of Ohayocon volunteers and staff, and while not a federally recognized union, is an attempt to form a workers rights organization for convention staffers. We cannot confirm this staff removal was direct retaliation for forming this group or making demands.
Due to the removal of the official con website and the deletion of the official convention Facebook page, we were unable to find reliable contact information to reach out to Melissa Phelps or Cultural Exchange Society, Inc for comment on this story. If we are able to find out more information, we will update this article.
Update 10/3/2023 (8:50am CDT): The Ohayocon website is currently returning a 403 error instead of the statement from the “fired” staff. We do not know if this is a result of Phelps regaining control of the domain or some other issue.
The official Facebook group has been apparently locked down. We still have not gotten direct access to it, nor have we found a way to reach out to Phelps, but a screen shot of the post she made last night has been passed around with the following text:
Hello! Tonight we removed our Convention Director for changing the logo from our Ohayocon Blue Circle & Cross to a new logo without permission. The logo in question was contracted to be created from the Social Media Person by the Board of Directors of The Cultural Exchange Society Inc. the governing body of OHAYOCON. (This is only a few years old and created so that we could file as a non-profit.) The logo was not approved by the board and I relayed that to the artist in April/May ish. On Sept. 1st this logo was placed on our social media pages as well as our website and other official items. Cody was immediately contacted about this and asked to change it. Later that evening on Sept. 1st it was decided by the board officers that it needed to be changed asap or we would let the person who authorized this change to be let go. We have a long and storied history with this logo and its not something to be changed without rolling out the red carpet, buying ads to announce it etc.. I was told no, very plainly and then I pushed off letting him go in an attempt to find another way around this issue. It just got weirder during this last month as I was refused the log in information for all of our assets. (Website WordPress info, Twitter/X, Hootsuite,Our Registration Software among the many. Cody did not give us updates when asked for them and so I realized that our relationship was unsalvageable and it had gone too far. While it is my dream to make this show a non-profit with a long lasting impact on our community, I am currently still the sole owner, I should have access to all of our assets, and when it’s not me any longer it should be the BOD who gets that information. I apologize for all of this drama. The leaders of OHAYOCON were not fired. We, the board, took the position that the Convention Chairman should be getting this information to us and so they were the person who we chose to remove from their position.
Importantly, on the Ohayocon discord, the “fired” staff have disputed this statement. Erin Reinhard (who had been the social media manager) claims that she was not “contracted” to create the logo, but instead merely instructed to. Several staff members also claim that use of the logo was voted on at a meeting that Phelps chose not to attend and that they have meeting notes to support this.
Update 10/3/2023 (2:50pm CDT): We were forwarded screenshots of another post in the official Ohayocon Facebook Group (which Phelps has paused to stop posts and comments). We still do not have access to this group or a direct route to reach Phelps for comment.
Phelps posted the following earlier today:
I am opening up discussion here tonight at 9pm but I will be pausing it again from 12 am to 10/5 at 2pm when I return from the Doctors. But first I am posting the board response to Coven for your review. While Coven is not a formal union but I totally believe they had every right to come to the board with their issues. I do not agree with how they did it in no way shape or form. I am very proud of the Board of Directors for how hard it’s been to try to make a 501C3 out of something so complicated as Ohayocon. Writing new policies and doing the boring work is not fun or easy. It’s a thankless job that made us hated at Ohayocon. It is not my intention to call anyone with this post but to respond to a document that was private and now leaked only partly to the public. ** Of course the logo was not the only issue. However, I will not drag them or any of our former staff through the mud as he doesn’t deserve that. It was not my intention to have all of this become so complicated. I do not bring up our artist as I am trying to respect her not ignore the issue. What happened to Erin is BS. I did not write something, but I posted it and I didn’t catch the mistake until way way to late. There is no excuse for this. None. She is amazing at what she does and is a successful artist in her own rite. I just didn’t like the logo, and had conceptualized something more bespoke looking to move away from the icon heavy look of the red Greek Cross/Plus sign. Cody is also amazing, I just don’t know if he was the best fit for Con-Chair as it put him in a position sandwiched between two sides protecting each side from the other. There was drama and strife at OHAYOCON for years and it came to a head in March, but strangely that person is not part of the conversation here and honestly I’m not bringing her in publicly to respect her privacy unlike how she respected our website.
She also attached the response the Cultural Exchange Society Inc had to the COVEN “manifesto” document.
One of the most confusing parts of this situation seems to be the ownership of Ohayocon. As far as we can tell, prior to 2022, Ohayocon was being run as a sole proprietorship owned by Phelps. Cultural Exchange Society Inc was set up to transition the convention to a nonprofit corporation (it’s believed they’re seeking 501c3 status and not 501c4 or 501c7). There is a general conception that Phelps still owns the convention though. That would imply that she has not actually transferred ownership of the convention assets to the nonprofit corporation (as nonprofit corporations do not have owners).
This may also be a misconception though, as it’s probably safe to assume most of the folks commenting on this situation aren’t intimately familiar with the structures of nonprofits. It would be interesting to see the articles of association or bylaws governing Cultural Exchange Society Inc though.
Update 10/3/2023 (10:20pm CDT): The Ohayocon website seems to have been brought back online, though with some missing functionality (like registration). This is likely a rolled back version of the page, and it’s interesting to see that at least currently it still features the controversial “Sakura” logo.
Update 10/4/2023 (7:30pm CDT): It appears that the Ohayocon official Facebook page has been restored, even though the official group remains locked down. Additionally the Ohayocon staff has put out a list of demands to the organization.
With the restoration of the website, we have attempted to reach out to Melissa Phelps via her Ohayocon.org email address late yesterday, but we are still awaiting a response.
Update 10/6/2023 (8:50pm CDT): Ohayocon has put out a statement regarding the current situation which is, frankly, confusing. In the statement, Ohayocon says “Contrary to misinformation swirling online, NO volunteers or members of the Senior Leadership Team have been fired from Ohayocon…” which is at odds with Phelp’s repeated, explicit statements that the con chair and marketing head had been fired.
The CESI board has issued a response to the demands put forward by the Senior Leadership:
Hello Cable!
I am responding to your requests sent to the CESI Board of Directors by your deadline.
1. Reinstatement of Cody Marcum as Ohayocon’s Convention Chair: Unfortunately, due to a planned reorganization of CESI and Ohayocon, the convention chair position no longer exists. We encourage Cody to apply for the Convention Director position as he has many exceptional qualities to bring to the role and we would love the opportunity to value him for his services if hired. If not, we will work with him to find a volunteer role suited to his time, talent, and treasure.
2. Empowerment of Cody Marcum with Control over Ohayocon Contracts and Finances: Cody Marcum would not handle any contracts or finances for Ohayocon unless he were hired in the Convention Director role. We agree that this role should be empowered with these abilities.
3. Role of Cultural Exchange Society, Inc: CESI is the nonprofit of which Ohayocon is its beloved flagship program. As such, CESI Board members will oversee CESI staff who will oversee Ohayocon volunteers.
4. Reinstatement of Senior Leadership: Only Cody Marcum was not asked back to volunteer in his specific role due to a planned restructuring. No other senior leadership had been spoken with about restructuring before word of a “hostile takeover” was released to the public. We apologize for any confusion but unless you received an email from CESI releasing you from your volunteer position… you haven’t been released from your volunteer position. If anyone would like to be released from their volunteer position, please let us know.
5. Reimplementation of the Ohayocon Sakura Logo: The “Ohayocon Sakura logo“ violates the trademark held by Sakura of America and has been deemed by them to be too close to their trademarked logo. Therefore reimplementation of the logo would result in a second potential logo lawsuit in a calendar year. In releasing Cody Marcum from his volunteer position, the Board also pointed out that his handling of the logo situation was not in the best interest of CESI or Ohayocon. We simply cannot reinstate a logo that violates a trademark and need to ask everyone to refrain from using it or we will be forced to direct any legal action toward the artist as the convention will not be using said logo out of respect for Sakura Color Product’s 100+ year history.
6. Senior Leadership Team Handling Public Relations Strategy: Unfortunately we have seen that the Senior Leadership Team’s handling of public relations includes misinformation, half truths, and the digital equivalent of inciting a riot. As such we cannot in good conscience allow any of Senior Leadership Team to handle public relations. Moving forward, a paid Attendee Experience Manager on CESI’s staff will be responsible for PR.
7. Restriction on Cultural Exchange Society Inc. Board Members’ Social Media Activity as it Relates to Ohayocon: In this area we are in full agreement! Every one of us, board and senior leadership team alike, in addition to our hundreds of volunteers and tens of thousands of attendees, are immensely passionate about Ohayocon. It is an integral part of who we are and without it, something would be unquestionably be missing from our lives – we all felt that during the pandemic. Through that passion we have found that a lot of excessive commenting offensively and defensively can be seen by all parties. We recognize that Melissa Phelps posting over the last week did not help to quell misinformation and we have asked her to direct her passion into her new role with CESI. As part of the planned reorganization with the org chart submitted with our 501(c)3 application and to aid in the transition and allow better board oversight, Melissa Phelps will be stepping down from the board and stepping into CESI’s first ever Executive Director role, allowing her to better pass the baton to the next generation of Ohayocon staff. While this position will provide direct support to CESI’s premiere program Ohayocon, the Executive Director will be primarily tasked with the year-round success of CESI beyond the annual convention. To fill the board seat vacated by Phelps, CESI will be holding an election wherein volunteers will be able to elect representation to join the professionals on the Board of Directors to allow greater integration and transparency. CESI encourages all interested volunteers to stay tuned to our website for more details this month. But to summarize: more official statements and less social media superfluity moving forward.
Thanks so much. Please let me know if you have any additional questions moving forward.
Best, Justin [Nordell] (he/him/his/y’all) Treasurer CESI Board of Directors
In the wake of this response from the CESI board, the Senior Leadership of Ohayocon announced on the convention discord that they are on strike. The organized Ohayocon volunteer organization, COVEN, also announced that they are also going on strike as well.
Folloing the update from CESI and the lack of acceptable response to the demands set forth by the Senior Leadership of Ohayocon, COVEN has unanimously voted to go on strike as of 9 PM EDT today, October 6, 2023. For further information we direct you to the link in our Bio. pic.twitter.com/mLuhvFHo8z
— Coven Communications (@COVENComm) October 7, 2023
We still have not had a comment or response to our email sent to Melissa Phelps earlier this week, though Nordell’s response indicates that Phelps has stepped down from the Board of Directors.
Update 10/8/2023 (4:05pm CDT): The Ohayocon twitter/X appears to have been taken down by the CESI board of directors.
Update 10/10/2023 (8:30am CDT): The Ohayocon twitter/X appears to have been restored by the CESI board of directors. Nothing seems altered, and we’re not sure what the goal there was.
Update 10/10/2023 (10:50am CDT): In a Livestreamed interview with MegaZakari last night, CESI Board Member Justin Nordell stated that they will be putting up an application for refunds for interested parties. We’re not exactly sure if that means CESI will reject some refund requests or if it was just an odd way to phrase it by Nordell. He tried to claim that not immediately refunding people was a benefit to attendees, so we’re not sure.
Nordell throughout frames things in ways that are, honestly, slightly puzzling. Like that being a nonprofit would let them properly compensate folks who had been volunteer workers, which is strange since the convention was likely violating US Labor Law when it was using volunteer workers at all in its for-profit years. He also claims the “red cross” logo had never had issues for years, which contradicts what we’ve been told about at least one prior cease and desist to this year. He continues to repeat the “well meaning volunteer” story, which doesn’t seem to match anyone else’s version of events.
He also claims that a “volunteer wanted to create their own logo” which is bizarre, as we know Reinhard was directly told to design a new logo by Phelps. Nordell claims they reached out to Sakura about the logo, and were told it was too similar. He says they reached out to Sakura “as soon as it popped up on social media,” which would be September 1st. We know that if this happened, these concerns were not expressed to Reinhard at any point though.
Nordell also used a metaphor where the staff adopting the Sakura logo was as if you asked “mom” for permission and she said no, went to dad for permission and he said no — so you went to your siblings and asked them for permission. This seems to imply the meeting where the logo was voted on was the act of children, which is a genuinely puzzling thing to say when in the middle of a labor strike.
It was clarified that Phelp’s new role of Executive Director since she stepped down from the board is not convention chair or convention director, but instead a position for managing CESI’s year round activities. This position still has authority over Ohayocon’s management though. Nordell revealed that the current board of CESI is currently himself, Emily DeJesus (who has been made board President), and Katie Phelps. A fourth member is currently being considered as well.
He also claims that Reinhard locked CESI out of Ohayocon’s social media, which is contradicted by multiple statements from Reinhard who says she had changed the passwords when she took over the job of managing the convention’s social media.
A number of other topics were covered in the interview, but the tone and contradictions to verifiable facts from Nordell make it difficult trust much of what he said without supporting documentation. You should listen to the conversation in its entirety if you’re curious, but either Nordell is misinformed or purposefully misleading people in his responses.
As a former volunteer/department head for Ohayocon, I can safely tell you that this is all thanks to Melissa Phelps’s poor planning and horrible management. She constantly goes on power trips and fires anyone who is not a “yes man” agreeing to her every whim (even if it hurts the convention). The volunteers work so very hard to make this convention happen, all while she sits back at the bar and watches, never lifting a finger unless it’s for a “special guest”. She only wants the fame and popularity that come with running a convention and never wants to do any of the hard work that it takes to put the convention together. She’s been known for mass-firing people without even properly letting them (or their department) know about it. It’s sad that she still treats volunteers like they are cattle to be herded to her whims instead of actual people who care more about the convention than she does. I stand with the Ohayocon volunteer staff. They deserve so much better than this!
While I empathize with COVEN’s frustration with the Ohayocon executive staff, all of this posturing feels like a waste of time, because there’s a better option. Everyone who signed the manifesto should just instead quit and join Matsuricon. It’s the other anime con in Columbus, but it takes place in summer instead of winter. It appears that Matsuricon was founded by disgruntled ex-Ohayocon staffers back in the mid-2000s.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Demanding that Ohayocon’s owner, Melissa Phelps, relinquish absolute power will never work, as seen with all of the failed calls for other disgraced con chairs like John Leigh and Ryan Kopf to step down. COVEN should just move on and grow Matsuricon into something greater.
Here’s the thing — Phelps’s term on the board of CESI has to be re-elected at some point. With the new structure of the event, it’s very possible for her to be removed eventually.
That’s true, but if the board of directors includes her daughter Molly (as stated in the public documents), as well as her close friend and that friend’s husband (Emily and Robert DeJesus), then the deck is already stacked. I don’t think this will be a situation like San Japan where that con chair was removed by the rest of the board of directors.
As for the Elections, previous elections to the CESI board had only considered board members as voting parties, if I’m reading their bylaws right.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ioykeh-N__Ck6djvH9YnFdZLd3nNJlEJhFVj7bU9P6E/edit?usp=drive_link
Board Elections
The Governance Committee, if created, shall present nomination for new and renewing Board members at the board meeting immediately preceding ohayocon/ohayocon 202. Recommendations from the Governance Committee/committee created for this purpose shall be made known to the Board in writing before nominations are made and voted on using staggard term elections. New and renewing Staff elected Board members shall be approved by simple majority of the staff and Board members at a Board meeting at which a quorum is present. If no Governance Committee is created, then this duty shall fall upon another committee created for that purpose or upon the Board of Directors.
Term of Board
All appointments to the Board shall be for a term of2 year(s). No person shall serve more than 2consecutive terms unless a majority of the Board, during the course of a Board meeting at which a quorum is present, votes to appoint a Board member to 2 additional year(s). No person shall serve more than 6 consecutive years. After serving the maximum total number of consecutive years on the Board, a member may be eligible for reconsideration as a Board member after 1 years have passed since the conclusion of such Board member’s service.
Vacancies
A vacancy on the Board of Directors may exist at the occurrence of the following conditions:
The death, resignation, or removal of any director;
The declaration by resolution of the Board of a vacancy in the office of a director who has been declared of unsound mind by a final order of court, convicted of a felony, found by final order or judgment of any court to have breached a duty pursuant to the Corporation Code and/or Act of the law dealing with the standards of conduct for a director, or has missed 3 consecutive meetings of the Board of Directors, or a total of 4 meetings of the Board during any one calendar year;
An increase in the authorized number of directors; or
The failure of the directors, at any annual or other meeting of directors at which director(s) are to be elected, to elect the full authorized number of directors.
The Board of Directors, by way of affirmative vote of a majority of the directors then currently in office, may remove any director without cause at any regular or special meeting, provided that the director to be removed has been notified in writing in the manner set forth in Article 5 – Meetings that such action would be considered at the meeting.
Except as provided in this paragraph, any director may resign effective upon giving written notice to the chair of the Board, the president of Corporation/Organization, the secretary of Corporation/Organization, or the Board of Directors, unless the notice specifies a later time for the effectiveness of the resignation. If the resignation is effective at a future time, a successor may be designated to take office when the resignation becomes effective. Unless the Attorney General of Ohio is first notified, no director may resign when the Corporation/Organization would then be left without a duly elected director in charge of its affairs.
Any vacancy on the Board may be filled by simple majority of the directors then in office, whether or not the number of directors then in office is less than a quorum, or by vote of a sole remaining director. No reduction of the authorized number of directors shall have the effect of removing any director before that director’s term of office expires.
A Board member elected to fill a vacancy shall be elected for the unexpired term of his or her predecessor in office.
Elections will be staggerd two year term elections.
We don’t want to just move on and grow another convention into something greater. Nothing against Matsuricon, us COVEN members love working with members of Matsuricon. But we want to make Ohayocon better, a convention that we’ve shed blood, sweat, and tears for. Many of us have been around for over a decade. We don’t just want to give up when we’re at the precipice of making long lasting changes that will keep Ohayocon running and thriving for decades to come.
You want things to work out, and have endured many tough situations in order to keep the fans happy. I understand that feeling all too well. I had to bid farewell to a convention, which over the course of 16 years, made me discover new friendships which I still cherish today. It hurt when I realized the people in charge didn’t respect my work. But eventually, new opportunities came knocking. Now I enjoy conventions beyond my home area more than I ever did in the past.
I’m not saying there’s no hope for Ohayocon. But when the lynchpin is a single person who has reigned for over 20 years, hasn’t had a great track record, and is converting the con to a “nonprofit” to seemingly keep more money, the chances of reconciliation are extremely low. Good luck to you and the rest of COVEN as you navigate this. I really hope it works out.
(Posting this as a neutral third party with 25 years of experience with non-profit con operations)
It appears that the registration of the CESI as a 501(c)3 has happened and it is officially a non-profit in the eyes of the state of Ohio. Trae is 100% right that under such circumstances, there would have to be a structure that allowed for board elections and the addition/removal of members. This is not a matter of opinion, this is how 501c3s are legally obligated to operate, period, full stop. On that note:
If this con has been operating as a GP this entire time, HOLY CRAP. That is a HUMONGOUS assumption of legal risk for anyone on staff and is the structure under which it is easiest for an event to be completely dismantled if any legal issue were to occur – hotel contract dispute, issue with compensation… anything. If anyone is arguing that they should go back to that, they really shouldn’t if they care about the future of the con. BIG yikes.
(“What about the other for profit events/Kopf cons?” – they’re for-profit LLCs which are completely different from a GP. Also, they ARE legally owned by someone, so if someone is advocating for that in the hopes that such a structure would allow for more equality/security for staff, that would actually be worse…)
This whole thing and the overtly personal tone from both sides seems to indicate that no one has a good grasp of what’s going on. Then again, Ohayocon is not alone in that; it still troubles me how little people in the fan community understand these kinds of non-profit structures and why they exist.
COVEN’s wording of their document of demands would not hold up to the scrutiny of a court of law. As for CESI, they appear to have used LegalZoom to incorporate, which makes me worry that an actual human legal advisor was never retained.
My opinion: some neutral parties NEED to be brought in to mediate the situation.
I’d also suggest hailing some legal help of some kind for all parties involved to actually explain what forming a non-profit entails and actually means. Heck, you might even be able to get the help free: Moritz College of Law at OSU has a legal clinic. I used one of these when i incorporated my small business, and they are an AMAZING resource. https://moritzlaw.osu.edu/study/clinics/entrepreneurial-business-law-clinic
Wishing no ill will to either side, but there’s definitely a lot of passion and personal feelings involved. Now is time for both sides to come together, figure this out, and proceed – lest a very good convention join the ranks of those who have been consumed by needless drama borne of rumor and spite.
So at one point there was an LLC based out of Kentucky (and another registered in Deleware), but neither appear to have been active in recent years. Additionally, I can’t find a record that either had a fictitious business name registered with the State of Ohio, which means that even when the LLCs existed they weren’t operating legally in the state of Ohio (as neither was an Ohio LLC).
There was a Cincinnati location indicated in this
https://www.hipaaspace.com/ein/ein_verification/881554636
But none listed on the KY one…
Is she gonna move it to Cincinnati??
I wouldn’t read anything into it. The “location” looks like the address of a registered agent. It’s not uncommon for cons to have different corporate addresses than the cities they’re held in.
The top of this article still states that they aren’t asking people to boycott the con but that’s actually not true anymore. Now they ARE asking people to not attend the con.
Forgot to remove that in last night’s update. Thanks.
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Melissa has always been quite the liar, and she’d always pulled the strings from the background. When she officially took over completely after the 2010 convention, she made wild claims that Dusti, the former President of the BoD, had stolen excessive amounts of money. Yet, when people asked why she wasn’t filing charges against him, she danced around and ignored the questions.
The entire non-profit status of the convention has been a mess the the life of the convention. Multiple leaders of the convention tried to get it going prior to 2010 with no luck.