Ben Schnitker

News Article from WJHG

Ben Schnitker was a tireless volunteer the last couple of years at Anime South. He was one of the few people who stood out on our staff - not only because he was a great worker, but more importantly, a great leader. This made Ben invaluable to the convention, and his leadership was one of our greatest resources.

I cannot truly convey the depth of my despair for his family. I found him to be a young man of principle, which is sorely lacking in today's world. I vividly remember a somewhat contentious conversation I had with him a couple of years ago, which made me give him the utmost respect. He refused to carry out a task I had delegated to him because he thought it would delay a panel that many people were waiting for. We were able to work out the problem and carry out the panel on time. What really etched that incident in my mind was the conviction with which he wanted to help others, even to the point of refusing a direct order. That showed me that he understood that the responsibility to help others overrode any directions which were given. To discover that this world has lost a man with that kind of character is a loss that I cannot put into words.

In keeping with his selfless life, his father has indicated Ben was signed up as an organ donor. The lives of 8 people were saved in the course of the past couple of days after Ben's passing.

We pray for his parents, his brother, and his entire extended family. We will be dedicating Anime South IV to the memory of Ben Schnitker. He was 19 years old.

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