Words from another Clubhouse co-founder: The one person I credit for the existence of the Clubhouse is Mark. He was the person that put in the hard work and dedication to create this community that survived these long nine years. He set the standards that allowed the Clubhouse to stand the test of time. He fought the battles and the Clubhouse stands as a testament to his determination. Everyone in the community owes a debt of thanks to this man. There would be a lot less styrene and resin in the world if not for Mark Mitchell. He is a generous soul. He has been and always shall be my friend.

— Harry “Spock”

“Friend” has taken on a new, sometimes peculiar meaning in the 21st century. How many of those people sharing game scores through their Facebook pages do you really know? Some of them, yes, and maybe all of them strike you as folks who’d be interesting if you could just take a little time to acquaint yourselves … which is probably never gonna happen.

Lots of people who call Mark Mitchell “friend” have never seen his face in person, never heard his voice, might not know him if they passed each other on the street. But they’re friends just the same, and they share more of their lives with each other than many of us do with our next-door neighbors.

I consider Mark my friend, part of a special group of people with whom I’ve interacted only through various hobby forums and e-mails. He used to type more words of encouragement in a week than I could read. He also pissed me off from time to time, and I know I did the same to him.

I’ve known him about seven years.

Third Clubhouse co-founder: Hi, fellow modelers,

I just want to say a few words about my old buddy Mark Mitchell. He was there in the beginning when I first started my Yahoo group Marvel Model Club back in the late ‘90s. We were a couple of superhero comic geeks! But Mark was a DC guy, so he decided to start a DC modeling group. Then the next thing you know Spock invited us to move over to his Clubhouse and as the saying goes, the rest is history (read about it here).

In those early days of the Clubhouse, Mark was an administrator and a driving force that helped turn it into a premiere modeling club. Our hobby wouldn’t be what it is today without Mark’s kindness and generosity. Mark worked his ass off for the Clubhouse. It took a tremendous amount of his time and energy, we all… Read the rest