[NCARC] HAMFEST - MY FINAL POST

[Charles]

A couple things before I begin:

 

1.     I would have had the opportunity to attend the several Hamfest
committee meetings (as Tim pointed out I did not do) had I not been
traveling out of state to watch my Mother die, help make her funeral
arrangements. and deal with her affairs.  Excuse me for not attending the
meetings.  I must have incorrectly assumed that the committee could function
in a responsible manner without my input.  I'll try to do better the next
time.



2.    I apologize to Ed.  I agree that the reflector is not the place for
disputes to be conducted between members.  Unfortunately, it was necessary
to bring this issue to the general memberships' attention and this was the
only way to accomplish that.  And this is not a dispute between members by
the way.



3.    I do not fault the current Hamfest committee for their decisions nor
for their direction.  They are without guidance (as was my tenure as Hamfest
chair) so they will do and are doing what they feel is best.  I applaud that
effort.

 

My frustration really is with (are you ready?):  YOU!  The members.  Your
lack of participation in the club is appalling.  These things occur because
you fail to become involved.  Ask yourself, what have I done for this club?
Have I put in my time to help support who we are and what we do for our
community?

 

The Hamfest struggles along because, like all we seem to do, there is no
real direction to the effort.

 

Ask yourself these questions:

 

1.    What is the Hamfest?



2.    Why do we have a Hamfest?



3.    What is the Hamfest's role in funding and furthering the efforts of
this club?



4.    How can / should the Hamfest change to support our mandated role and
to further the fun of Ham Radio?

 

Last year's Hamfest was somewhat less than the usual success; we had empty
tables, higher expenses, less than satisfied attendants, and less of a
profit than the previous year by a significant amount.  The decision to move
to the bigger, higher priced venue was made by a very small group at the
tail end of a Saturday morning club meeting without any feasibility cost
analysis being done and likely because we had just been told there was a lot
of money in our bank account

 

Now the Hamfest committee has decided to raise door entrance fees, and to
raise and complicate vendor fees as well.  My question is why are these fees
being raised?

 

Would you go to a Hamfest with an $8.00 entrance fee?  Not sure I would.

 

If money needs to be raised to cover costs and increase our profits, there
are other ways to do that without slapping our attendees and vendors with
higher costs.  And why do we think we need to raise more money if that's the
case?  Based on what expectation for the Hamfest?

 

I have done this, stirred this up and made these postings, for one reason
and one reason only:  I care about this club.  Period.

 

Some things need to change people:  get involved, ask questions, and
volunteer to do something.  I know I am not alone in my feelings about these
things and I intend to continue to support this club in all ways that I can.
What we do, who we are, and what we mean to our community is important.

 

I will not post again on this subject.  Thank you for taking the time to
read.  73 and have a great week

 

Charles Hess - KD0GMW
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