KansasFest, Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)(3) in the state of Oregon, organization exclusively for educational purposes, that is dedicated to community, education, and preservation surrounding the Apple II line of computers. KansasFest, Inc. is run by a volunteer committee who receive no compensation for their services. If you’ve ever wondered who those individuals are, wonder no more:
Vince Briel brings his enthusiasm for all things Apple II to the Committee, helping with the Garage Giveaway, soldering workshops, and keeping the cats moving in the same direction.
Martin Doherty is the jack-of-all-trades for the Committee, keeping us on track in meetings, and going where no one has gone before on site visits to different universities.
Sean Fahey (Board Member) is the Committee’s site contact for Rockhurst University and scout for the Greater Kansas City area. He helps insure that KansasFest attendees get logistical information and support on local attractions and resources.
Paul Hagstrom considers himself “serious” about archiving vintage computing software and hardware. He’s a regular contributor to multiple retro-computing podcasts and provides a valuable perspective on the committee, in addition to specific duties with scheduling talks, helping maintain our online social media presence, and spearheading the online KFest conference.
James Littlejohn is Secretary of the Navy (since he drives the largest land yacht on the committee) and the District Optimization of Legacy Factors Response Officer (2nd class). He enthusiastically transitions hyper-scale partnerships and dynamically cultivates user friendly collaboration for idea-sharing.
Kirk Mitchell is the treasurer, and manages each year’s Kookout luncheon. Dodges responsibility until cornered.
Peter Neubauer (Board Member) serves as vice president and treasurer. He coordinates with Rockhurst University, manages finances, assists with our online presence, and helps fix things before anybody notices the problems. Peter’s favorite computer is the Apple IIc+. Related, he spent years wondering why he was terrible at games before realizing that nobody else played with the accelerator enabled.
Javier Rivera focuses on marketing and promotion initiatives, and keeping our meetings running smoothly. Widely acknowledged as the Master of Retrobrite, Javier has an active YouTube channel where he shows off Apple II content, retrobriting, creating 3D parts, and designing and reproducing Apple II art.
Kate Szkotnicki has a permanent, incurable case of Con Staph. She is happy to help out with KansasFest in any way she can, probably by making Things. When she’s not tinkering with old Apples, she’s probably playing Destiny. Or Magic the Gathering. Or Both.
Chris Torrence coordinates the schedule along with Paul Hagstrom. Chris and Javier are also responsible for social media and messaging. Chris has an active YouTube channel where he reviews and repairs Apple II equipment.
Tony Diaz (Committee Member in Perpetuity) was a core organizer of KansasFest for many, many years, and was instrumental in transitioning the event from Avila University to Rockhurst University in 2006. He helped keep it going through the lean years and facilitated its rebirth into the vibrant gathering it remains today. Tony passed away in October 2021.
There are countless others who have contributed to the event over the past three decades, including Cindy Adams, Jerry Cline, Ken Gagne, Steve Gozdziewski, Martin Haye, Howard Katz, Andy Molloy, and Steven Weyhrich, as well as sponsors such as Resource Central and Tim Kellers. Carl Knoblock ran the “Peikop Endropov” airport taxi service for many years, while Devin Reade provided e-mail list support for years. To list everyone here would be impossible. But the most important contribution anyone can make to KansasFest is to show up — without attendees, there is no event for the committee to coordinate.