This was the first year I worked at the ScannerMaster HamVention booth at the Greene County Fairgrounds. I had read about some of the issues from 2017 and the improvements they made. Here are a few observations from a vendor perspective:
Vendor Access: In a word, PHENOMENAL! Once we realized the gate we were supposed to use it was easy to get to each day. We were able to park almost next to the door to our building which made for easy loading in both directions. They had the same security guard at the gate all 4 days we were there and she was great, she recognized us the last couple days and had a great attitude about it all. We passed her a couple water bottles as we went thru the gate and she appreciated it.
We stayed in Springfield, half an hour away and drove down US-68 to get there. It turned out great as there was very little traffic there and we were able to get right into the gate. There was a McDonald's right up the street for a quick breakfast.
I do not know how access and parking for the flea market and non-vendor folks were. I didn't hear any complaints from the masses anyway.
Venue and Facilities: Having spent many days in and around the old Hara Auditorium over the last 30 some odd years and enduring the septic tank that it was anything would have been an improvement. The Greene County Fairgrounds were a definite improvement. While I didn't get to spend as much time outside in the mud as I would have wished the inside exhibits were fine. Yes, it was hot and humid inside and out but that is to be expected in mid-May in the Midwest.
Utilities: These days Internet access is as important as electricity. We ordered wired internet and brought a WiFi router and after a request at the office it worked fine. Electricity was from ceiling drops, but since it is a livestock building (a "wet building" as we call them) that was to be expected. I was the only one tall enough in our booth that could reach the drop and ended up helping a couple neighboring booths get plugged in.
Restrooms: The restroom facilities were adequate, between the outhouses (of which there were plenty) and inside facilities (if you knew where to find them) the lines were never too long.
Food and beverages: There were plenty of food vendors on the midway and I partook of several. There was one right outside Building 3 where I was that had great burgers and sausages. I also had a couple lemon slushies and a few dozen bottles of water. They were even open Thursday as we were setting up.
Other things: The booth size and location were perfect for us. As a small vendor we bought a single booth and it was right on a corner of a fairly busy section so we got a lot of foot traffic and were able to slide some folks off to the side for longer conversations. None of our stuff was disturbed overnight as we understand they had inside security overnight. The folks in the office were busy but accommodating and we got what we needed from them quickly. They even had a donut lounge for inside vendors. Nice touch!
Improvements: As always there are things that could be improved upon. Some are practical and some are not...
I would have preferred fewer but larger buildings. Each day I discovered another building with vendors I didn't know where there.
The Flea Market area was kid of cut off from the rest of the venue. I looked for it Saturday but only found the one area to the east of the buildings, I never noticed the main area on the racetrack until Sunday and by then most of them were gone.
I did see hay and cinders set out to help alleviate the ponding that occurred so at least they were trying to make it better. I don't know how they could improve on this however.
Weather: There is nothing anyone can do about the weather, it is what it is. I know that they moved it a few weeks later in the year some years ago to avoid the April snow that the area occasionally got. I don't recall a HamVention that didn't have rain at least 2 of the 3 days. Short of moving it to a large inside arena then weather is an issue that will need to be dealt with. A larger paved area for flea market vendors would help.
Next Year: I will remember to bring a small trash can for the booth. We were finding empty water bottles everywhere. I will also bring a roll of paper towels. We already bought a few plastic totes for supplies and stock to replace the cardboard boxes that we have been using.
Vendor Access: In a word, PHENOMENAL! Once we realized the gate we were supposed to use it was easy to get to each day. We were able to park almost next to the door to our building which made for easy loading in both directions. They had the same security guard at the gate all 4 days we were there and she was great, she recognized us the last couple days and had a great attitude about it all. We passed her a couple water bottles as we went thru the gate and she appreciated it.
We stayed in Springfield, half an hour away and drove down US-68 to get there. It turned out great as there was very little traffic there and we were able to get right into the gate. There was a McDonald's right up the street for a quick breakfast.
I do not know how access and parking for the flea market and non-vendor folks were. I didn't hear any complaints from the masses anyway.
Venue and Facilities: Having spent many days in and around the old Hara Auditorium over the last 30 some odd years and enduring the septic tank that it was anything would have been an improvement. The Greene County Fairgrounds were a definite improvement. While I didn't get to spend as much time outside in the mud as I would have wished the inside exhibits were fine. Yes, it was hot and humid inside and out but that is to be expected in mid-May in the Midwest.
Utilities: These days Internet access is as important as electricity. We ordered wired internet and brought a WiFi router and after a request at the office it worked fine. Electricity was from ceiling drops, but since it is a livestock building (a "wet building" as we call them) that was to be expected. I was the only one tall enough in our booth that could reach the drop and ended up helping a couple neighboring booths get plugged in.
Restrooms: The restroom facilities were adequate, between the outhouses (of which there were plenty) and inside facilities (if you knew where to find them) the lines were never too long.
Food and beverages: There were plenty of food vendors on the midway and I partook of several. There was one right outside Building 3 where I was that had great burgers and sausages. I also had a couple lemon slushies and a few dozen bottles of water. They were even open Thursday as we were setting up.
Other things: The booth size and location were perfect for us. As a small vendor we bought a single booth and it was right on a corner of a fairly busy section so we got a lot of foot traffic and were able to slide some folks off to the side for longer conversations. None of our stuff was disturbed overnight as we understand they had inside security overnight. The folks in the office were busy but accommodating and we got what we needed from them quickly. They even had a donut lounge for inside vendors. Nice touch!
Improvements: As always there are things that could be improved upon. Some are practical and some are not...
I would have preferred fewer but larger buildings. Each day I discovered another building with vendors I didn't know where there.
The Flea Market area was kid of cut off from the rest of the venue. I looked for it Saturday but only found the one area to the east of the buildings, I never noticed the main area on the racetrack until Sunday and by then most of them were gone.
I did see hay and cinders set out to help alleviate the ponding that occurred so at least they were trying to make it better. I don't know how they could improve on this however.
Weather: There is nothing anyone can do about the weather, it is what it is. I know that they moved it a few weeks later in the year some years ago to avoid the April snow that the area occasionally got. I don't recall a HamVention that didn't have rain at least 2 of the 3 days. Short of moving it to a large inside arena then weather is an issue that will need to be dealt with. A larger paved area for flea market vendors would help.
Next Year: I will remember to bring a small trash can for the booth. We were finding empty water bottles everywhere. I will also bring a roll of paper towels. We already bought a few plastic totes for supplies and stock to replace the cardboard boxes that we have been using.
