[TheForge] Conference Suggestion

[Dan Crowther]

After going to a couple of Conferences I was surprised that ABANA 
seems to generally ignore the public where the Conferences were 
held.  My wife and I were stopped no less than 10 times in Richmond 
by members of the public asking what was going on, and how they could 
see it.  Unfortunately we had to tell them ABANA limited Conference 
entry to members only.  How many of those people would have become 
ABANA members and future blacksmiths if they could have participated 
in some capacity?  Remember the Conference is really ABANA's only 
shot at public exposure; the mags aren't sold in 
bookstores/newsstands, and I'm not aware that they do "community outreach".

I suggest opening various sections of the Conference to the public 
(for a reasonable admission fee).
    * Have people there specifically to demonstrate to the public the 
basics of what a blacksmith is and what they do.
    * Give the public access to all the galleries to see the end 
results of people who are blacksmiths. Especially the "Walk-In" 
gallery where "Average Joe" blacksmith displays their work.
    * Open a special Green Coal area for them to make a "J" hook, and 
get them "hooked".
    * Have ABANA and Affiliate tables easily accessible to the public 
so they can JOIN and/or spend their cash the ABANA 'gizingas'.
I'm sure there are other ideas for involving the public at 
Conferences but those were the ones I came up with.


Dan Crowther
http://www.oakandacorn.com
http://www.celticclans.org