Today we’d like to introduce you to Pat Henry.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Dragon Con’s story starts as these things sometimes do: A group of friends walked into a pizza joint. It was 1986, and David Cody, John Bunnell, Robert Dennis, and I wanted to start a new kind of convention, one that combined science fiction literature, comics, games, and rock concerts into a single, multi-genre event. It would be a place where we could never get bored and everybody was welcome.
We had about 1,200 people at the first Dragon Con, in 1987. It featured author Michael Moorcock, Dungeons & Dragons creator Gary Gygax, and Eric Bloom, singer and guitarist for Blue Öyster Cult.
Today, Dragon Con is one of the largest multi-genre pop culture conventions in the nation. Earlier this year, we attracted some 75,000 fans from across the United States and several foreign countries to come to downtown Atlanta for the five-day Labor Day Weekend to show off their latest cosplay, make new friends, and revel in nerdy fun. Fans also had a chance to meet their favorite actors, artists, authors, creators, and experts, who come to sign autographs and lead discussions. The Dragon Con Parade, featuring 3,000 costumed marchers on the Saturday before Labor Day, is internationally famous and free to everyone.
In 2026, Dragon Con will run from Thursday, Sept. 3 to Monday, Sept. 7 with events and activities across five host hotels – Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Marriott Marquis, Hilton Atlanta, Westin Peachtree, and Courtland Grand – plus AmericasMart Buildings Two and Three.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Any business that lasts for 40 years runs into struggles along the way. For the first several years, we did really well and Dragon Con was a modest success. We continued to attract new fans until we eventually filled the Hyatt Regency hotel. By 2000, though, the convention that began as a hobby shared among friends had become a full-time job – especially because all of us already had full-time jobs. Me and my wife, Sherry, who had also taken on significant responsibilities starting with the first convention, had had just about enough.
But we decided we couldn’t leave Dragon Con. It made too many people happy. So, Sherry and I decided to commit ourselves to making Dragon Con a landmark on the pop-culture convention landscape. I stepped away from the daily operations of my comic book stores and Sherry left her teaching position. The convention’s board of directors made me President, with a modest salary, and they appointed Sherry Vice President of “everything no one else wants to do,” a title that included everything from financial management to a grab bag of other responsibilities. Importantly, Sherry brought a mother’s sensibility to the convention, weighing in on programming choices to ensure the event remained inclusive and family friendly.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Dragon Con has been a bigger success than I ever imagined. We have more fans coming each year than I thought possible. And I never thought it would last 40 years. Success like that allows good things to happen.
For one, we have raised almost $3 million for Atlanta-based charities since 2014. Sherry and I are from Atlanta and we raised our daughters here. It was important to us that we give back to the city that has given so much to us. In addition to cash contributions, Dragon Con has a Superheroes community service program that has clocked thousands of hours for local charity organizations, everything from sorting food items for the Atlanta Community Food Bank to maintaining trails at Sweetwater Creek State Park. In all, over 400 Dragon Con fans and their family members have taken part in Superheroes projects.
For another, Sherry and I have had the chance to watch our daughters, Mandy and Rachel, take the reins of Dragon Con and keep the awesomeness going for a new generation of fans. Not only that, I get to watch my grandkids take an interest in the family business, too.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
The most important thing we had, the thing we had from the very start, was a vision, which is a dream with a foot in the real world. For us, it was to host a convention that let fans enjoy all the things they love. It was a radical idea at the time, but we believed in it because we were fans ourselves.
If you’re going into business with a group of friends or family members, make sure you have all the right skills covered. Trust that everyone will do their jobs but hold each other accountable.
Establish the house rules early. This includes detailing the business objectives, the cost and commitment of getting the business off the ground, and, ultimately, how everyone will be rewarded when you succeed. You should also include a fair, but non-negotiable, way to remove someone who won’t or can’t get the job done.
Leadership skills and business acumen are a must. Patience is also a requirement. It’s a paradox, though, you only acquire them through experience.
You’re going to make mistakes. Be creative: don’t make the same mistake twice.
Build to win, not to destroy. Given time, competitors will eliminate themselves.
I don’t regret what I didn’t know starting out. I think things have turned out pretty well.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.dragoncon.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dragoncon/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DragonConOfficial/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/dragoncontv
- Other: https://discord.com/invite/dragoncon
