[SEDXC] Eclipse of the Atlanta Hamfest - continuing the Thread

[Dick Bentley]

Having been involved in the management of Atlanta
Radio Club for a number of years and involved in the
production of three "commercial" style Atlanta
HamFestivals (which was the proper name for the event
until recently), I'd like to list the factors that led
to the downsizing of the event:

1.  Steadily rising costs of hiring a hall that would
attract the commercial vendors needed to make the
event profitable.  We were competing for space and
dates with organizations that had big bucks and
eventually lost out in securing decent space on the
dates we wanted.

2.  ARC managment insistence that the HamFestival not
drain the ARC Trust fund.  In several years, the seed
money "loaned" to the HamFestival was never returned
to the Trust Fund due to losses.

3.  Absolute apathy on the part of the Atlanta ham
community with regard to helping to run or even attend
the event. One year we received numerous complaints
about not receiving a written invitation to attend in
the mail.  Some hams wanted to be invited to attend
but couldn't be bothered helping to make the event
happen. With declining attendance, commercial vendors
could no longer be promised the minimum 5,000 to
10,000 attendees they felt necessary to justify the
expense of appearing at the show.

Rather than criticizing the event, I think we ought to
be applauding the efforts of the Talipsky's KI4Y and
N3ACK, Charles W4CHG, the ARC management and
volunteers for continuing to carry the torch forward
and we ought to reward with our business vendors such
as Ham Radio Outlet, Kenwood, Wireman, Rosewood, etc.
who have stuck with the show.

Thanks for listening.

73

Dick, K2UFT


	
		
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