[TheForge] Conference electricity

[Grover Richardson]

	Ahh.  OK, tourist are welcome, but they ain't gonna come.  Tourists
are welcomed, in my mind, at any event.  But I have seen zero at
conferences.
	I may be wrong, but it seems to me that conferences are staged by
blacksmiths, for other blacksmiths.  The emphasis is on showing me how to do
something bigger and better than I currently am doing.  I don't know of many
other people who would pay to get into a blacksmith conference (particularly
at a high level of cost) who are not extremely interested in the subject.  
	Try to get me to pay for myself to get into a medical conference, or
to go to Sturgis (well, I'm working on that one<G>).  I certainly am
curious, but the interest just isn't that large.

ON THE OTHER HAND:::::

I have been to lots of events that had blacksmith demos.  A demo that is 10
minutes long, generally is considered almost too long.  People have a short
attention span, particularly if the wife and children are along.  Rememember
tourist.

SOOOO:::::

	At a conference, allow tourists to visit for a day fee of some
nominal amount.  Get the Boy Scouts (or the local high school or college
classes) special entry for a day to see how things are done.  Find a way to
showcase the event to outsiders.  Get the locals interested in green coal.
Some folk call this "outreach."  I call it getting the next generation
interested.  Amateur radio has a problem.  As the years go by, the average
age of the operator is going up faster than the calendar<G>.  
	So, if you give low entry fees to a certain class of individual,
there could be argument that "we" are loosing money.  Not so.  What is
happening is that new people are being drawn into the system who would not
be there anyway.  They may pay a low fee for a visit the first year, but
next year (or later) they may come back as a full paid blacksmith.  If not,
at least they have exposure and will have some knowledge of how things are
done if they wish something hammered in the future.

	Though outsiders may not spend a lot at the conference, they will
probably like what they see, and buy from one of us at a later date.

Woof

-----Original Message-----
From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Jerry Frost
Sent: Thursday, March 15, 2007 4:13 PM
To: Sponsored by ABANA
Subject: Re: [TheForge] Conference electricity


From: "Grover Richardson" 
<grover.richardson at gtri.gatech.edu>


>
>
> I have watched different organizations over the 
> years.  When you go to a pow
> wow, they bring in tourists who have money, therefore 
> not excessively taxing
> their specific subgroup.  This we can't do at a 
> conference.
>

While I don't agree that we must have exact or even 
close estimations of power requirements that's not what 
I'd like explained.

Please explain to me why tourists aren't welcome? 
Please be specific so we can resolve these issues and 
allow tourist dollars to attend. Personally the ONLY 
serious market a smith has is the public, excluding 
them from an event showcasing our craft seems like a . 
. . Bad idea.

Thanks.

Frosty
-------------------------------
If it ain't forged
it ain't real.
Wrought iron is.
The FrostWorks

Meadow Lakes, AK.

http://www.artmetalradio.com/

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