The CaptainCon Crew

Paul Shoemaker - Operations

One of the founders of the New England Privateers, Paul “The PugFather” Shoemaker has been a gamer and con-goer for nearly 4 decades. In that time he’s fielded more wargaming armies than he cares to count for Warhammer 40,000 from Rogue Trader through 3rd edition, Warmachine/Hordes from the first Prime releases to the current edition (including many years in the Pressgang crew), Malifaux, Dropzone Commander, Guild Ball, etc. When avoiding his pile of unpainted figures and the day job in public health, you can find Paul enjoying board games of all types and daydreaming about having the regularly scheduled free time to be in a role playing game campaign for Iron Kingdoms, D&D, or Call of Cthulhu.

Paul’s the guy responsible for the budgeting, supplier contracts, website, and otherwise making sure all the pieces come together on time and in the right way. When not running around at the convention making sure all the behind-the-scenes stuff is working correctly, you can find him walking the floor chatting with old friends or hanging out with his wife and their pugs.

Craig Caton - Compliance and Logistics

Craig "Lonely Monk" Caton is the youngest and best looking member of the New England Privateers founders. In High School, he started gaming with Avalon Hills products and never stopped; leading to a long gaming resume of miniatures, RPGs, Board Games, and some Card games. As an aficionado of the hobby aspect of gaming, Craig is by far the most prolific and talented painter of the crew.

For CaptainCon, Craig coordinates relations with regulators and our chosen charity each year for the charity raffle, and works with sponsors, and handles logistics. He’s the ‘jack of all trades’ for all the important ‘stuff’ at and outside the convention to make the event a success from shipping/receiving to paperwork to making sure everyone has what they need to get things done. It is surprising what can get done when "stuff" happens...

Craig works hard to live up to his unofficial position as the resident curmudgeon, always trying to be as blunt and sarcastic as the situation requires.

Andrew Hartland - Gaming Coordinator

Andrew "Hacksaw" Hartland attended his first convention (Duelmasters play-by-mail anyone?) at the age of 16 and immediately became a gamer for life. His gaming experience includes collectible card, miniature, and board games galore. He is most well-known for developing the modern version of the "Steamroller" tournament format for Privateer Press' Warmachine and Hordes miniature games. Play time is hard to find as an adult, so he focuses most of his gaming time on a PC these days. However, he is itching for the day when he can get back to the tabletop on a regular basis. As one of the New England Privateers founders, Andrew is responsible for events management at CaptainCon, business development, and ensuring that everyone has what they need during the show. To support his gaming habit, Andrew is currently employed as an engineer for NASA.

Cory Chambers - Vendor Liaison

Cory “The Hat” Chambers, has been playing games for over 30 years, starting with Hero Quest and fast tracking to Warhammer 40K and hundreds of games since.

Cory grew up in hobby stores and has been working in the game store business for over fifteen years. He brings this expertise to CaptainCon where he works closely with our vendors to make sure they have the support they need as valued partners of the convention.

Cory’s originally from Massachusetts and currently living in New Hampshire. After spending over eleven years in the Marines and getting his Bachelor’s in management he owns his own gaming store, Game Chamber, in Dover, NH. When not hard at work reading rulebooks, he enjoys demonstrating his vast game library and playing board games with his family.

Amy Kaiser - HR Officer “Volunteer Wrangler”

Amy is the newest member of the ownership team. She has been volunteering for CaptainCon for many years as well as working at PAX East and PAX Unplugged.  She has been very active in the board gaming world as a playtester for The OP, Renegade Studios, AEG,  and North Star Games as well as playing any game she can get her hands on for most of her life. She also enjoys miniatures tabletop gaming (Warmachine/Hordes, Guildball, and others) and was an active Magic the Gathering player back in the Revised & 4th edition days. Amy helped bring Karaoke Night to CaptainCon starting in 2022 and looks forward to hanging out singing with everyone for years to come. If you haven’t yet, you’ll almost certainly run into Amy & her family with her Philly Pirate Crew at the Marvel Crisis Protocol events, the charity raffle, or just all over the place at the con.

Amy works with Craig before and during the show to recruit, organize, schedule, and support all the awesome convention volunteers that help make CaptainCon such a success every year.

Mark Holloway - IT Guru and Brewmaster

Mark Holloway is the Quartermaster on the CaptainCon ship. Thanks to his technical genius, the Captain’s Log achievement tracking system works smoothly for hundreds of gamers and all our vendors and event runners every year. He is an avid beer brewer and performs great jazz sea shanties to ensure the crew is operating at its best and that their spirits are high. While off duty, Mark likes to be in the board game room and unleash his inner Ork in the "Freebootaz!" RPG events.

Ruxton Smith - Engineering Superstar

A Master Brew-Meister, Ruxton was born in the frost-bitten land of Quebec. Abandoned at the age of five, he was raised by nomadic Iceland wolves, where he spent his time learning to hunt Elk and scratch fleas. Realizing he couldn’t stand the smell of his pack-mates, he left and moved to Iowa City, where he found his new calling: Kilts…and Computer Engineering.

Ruxton is a long-time friend of the CaptainCon Crew and invaluable team member who helps with all the crazy little things during the convention - including too many years of putting together the hellish jigsaw puzzle that was the old painting contest display cabinets. If you can’t find him hanging out behind the registration desk at convention HQ, look for him playing board games on the convention floor.