Ghost Diva’s Step Down; Dianna Avena & Chad Calek Take Spot

State College, Pa. – Tonya Hacker and Tammy Wilson, better known as “The Ghost Diva’s” have dropped out as 2008 UNIV-CON hosts earlier this week in a mutual decision between the popular radio hosts and the conference committee. In their place are two prominent and up-and-coming figures within the paranormal community.

UNIV-CON is pleased to announce the final Grand Hosts for 2008: Dianna Avena and Chad Calek.

Chad Calek is the host and director of American Ghost Hunter and is also involved in the upcoming Steven Spielberg supernatural project, Rising, due out later this year. A filmmaker from Iowa, Calek gained recognition after releasing a series of web-documentaries known as TerrorNormal. His unique filmmaking style, along with his raw and honest passion for the unexplained earned him an online fan base.

“Chad is perfect for UNIV-CON because he represents the passion and energy that we feel this community needs,” said UNIV-CON Founder Ryan Buell. “And he’s funny as hell.”

Partnering with Calek is Dianna Avena, is a widely respected woman within the paranormal community. She and her husband founded the group, Roswell Paranormal and own Roswell Ghost Tours, both based out of Georgia. She is also the co-host for “After Twilight Radio.”

“Dianna is a beautiful and energetic woman with integrity,” said 2008 UNIV-CON Manager Topher Young. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to have Mrs. Avena be a part of UNIV-CON.”

Calek and Avena will formally open and close the conference, as well as introduce grand speakers. They have the honor and responsibility of representing the goals and mission statement of UNIV-CON. And lastly, they will entertain the eager attendees at various functions throughout the four-day weekend.

The original 2008 conference hosts, Tonya Hacker and Tammy Wilson (aka the “Ghost Divas”), came to a mutual and amicable decision with UNIV-CON organizers to not host this year’s conference.

“We would prefer to be speakers of the event this year, because we feel that people are not sure to what we represent and what we offer to the field of paranormal research” said Diva, Tonya Hacker. “We would like to consider hosting in the future but right now we would much rather utilize the UNIV-CON platform so people and teams can be aware of the issues that are affecting the field; it truly is time for a change.”

The Divas will still be attending the conference as workshop presenters and educating the attendees on what they feel are important aspects in the paranormal. More details about their workshop and presentations will be announced in the coming weeks.

“UNIV-CON SEVEN: The Undiscovered Country” will take place September 11^th – 14^th, 2008. For ticket and event information visit www.univcon.org.