Matthew Maaske
Please note that I now have a full beard and am enjoying walking up to people who have not seen me since the beard and watch how they act not recognizing me. I started Gamefest seven years ago as a way to meet chicks. Hey, it worked in a round-about way. I am the owner and operator of Matt's Pastimes, which the real-life, physical manifestation now exists in Grand Island in T.R. Towers but is really mainly an online endeavor. My gaming preferences are ranked in the following order: tabletop rpgs, miniature wargames, board games, ccgs. My favorite RPG is, of course, one that I designed with my brother-in-law called Weird War Two: Crusade for Europe. Otherwise I play D&D, Deadlands, and Savage Worlds variants. I have been playing D&D for 29 years. I am going to use this opportunity to brag that I have a gamer girlfriend who is not imaginary and loves Deadlands. Bootleggers is the best board game ever made because it has paper money. I am currently engrossed in making wargame terrain out of pink foam, paint and hardboard. I am a huge fan of Doctor Who.
Casey Petersen
Pictured here with his favorite people in the world (wife Joele, son Nick and daughter Brenna) stands Kearney's oldest board game geek. He enjoys all board, card and war games, reading history and mysteries, good sci-fi TV (X Files, Firefly--did anyone see the last "Big Bang Theory" episode where Sheldon listed the FOX channel's owner as the second biggest traitor ever for cancelling Firefly?), fishing, and geocaching. He is a Special Education teacher at Kearney High and an umpire on the best football officiating crew in the state (King O' England!). Favorite games include Dominion, Bohnanza, Carcassonne, Tigris and Euphrates, and Ra.
Steve Lush
I am joined in this photo by those closest to me (my wife Rebecca, daughter Kaylie,and my other two babies Spike and Lacey). I'm the one in the suit. I have always had a competitive nature. I love board games, sports, poker, D&D, and other social activities. I enjoy a good mystery, sci-fi, and history. I am involved with gamefest to meet and compete in gaming nirvanaook . Some of my favorite games are Dominion, Settlers of Catan, and Shogun.
Landon Hanna
Hi, my name is Landon. I enjoy long walks on the beach, watching the sunset over the darkening horizon...oh, wait, wrong profile. I am a machine operator at Baldwin Filters by day, assistant daycare provider/Dad at night. On weekends my family enjoys going on Geocaching excursions, though they are fewer than they use to be, they are more enjoyable now...something about seeing a 3 year old tromping through snow and mud to find a cache is just plain awesome. When I am not spending time with my wife and children, I can be found playing "old school" video games, wasting time on adultswim.com, or just basking in the awesomeness of my collection of wrestling figures. I am pretty new to the gaming scene, but try to play when time permits. I pretty much have loved every game I've played. Favorites would have to include Settlers of Catan, Dominion, Ticket to Ride, Wasabi...just about anything, I play to play. Winning doesn't matter, just have fun!