Trade Show Fee

["Joan Dowis" <jdowis@foothill.net>]

Nancy, you have hit the nail squarely on the head.

Joan Dowis

> Date: Sun, 19 Dec 1999 10:43:53 PST
> From: "Nancy Mitts" <mitts_n@hotmail.com>
> To: ridecamp@endurance.net
> Subject: RC:  Trade show fee (long)
> Message-ID: <19991219184353.45719.qmail@hotmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed
>
> I see 4 main problems with the fee. 1. It was "sprung" on people too close
> to the event. 2. It was disguised as a donation. 3. As presented, funds
will
> be collected prior to a plan for disbursement. The public is sick & tired
of
> seeing money thrown into a black hole.(This applies to everything from the
> school board to national govt., not just AERC.)
> 4.Possible impact on vendors was ignored.
>
> The BOD has made great strides over the last 3 years in running AERC like
a
> business. This needs to continue. What I would like to have seen was
> something like this, which would address the first 3 concerns.
> AERC proposes to become actively involved in trail preservation. To
> accomplish this goal we will:
> 1. establish a web site to work as a clearing house for trail issues.
> Start up cost estimate will be $XXXX. Annual maintenance fees estimated to
> be be $XXXX.
> 2. Grants will be given to provide funds for trail maintenance
> projects/materials.  Criteria to apply for grants will be XXX.
> 3. Grants will be given to delegates to various trail symposiums. Amounts
> will be limited to $XXX/ event. Criteria to apply for grant will be XXX
> All monies available will be divided equally between AERC regions. Unused
> funds may be reappropriated to needy areas by (i.e.BOD vote, committee
vote,
> some mechanism to be decided upon.)
> Proposal for funding:
> Donations to be accepted from individuals and corporate/business sponsors.
> Donation table to be set up at convention trade show. Investigate
viability
> of charging an admission fee at next years convention trade show to go
into
> the trails fund.
>
> NOW to the vendors concerns. Have you noticed that the long time EN
> advertisers & vendors have a personal interest in the sport? That's
because
> the cost of advertsing to such a small group is disproportionate to the
> return. Sure they made enough to stay in business, but the margin is not
as
> great as catering to other equine activities. (Less than 1/2 our business
> comes from endurance, yet we choose to spend money for ads to support the
> sport.)
> When we went to the Kentucky convention I didn't realize the trade show
had
> not been widely promoted to the general public. Some of those who just
> happened to be there for another event were dissappointed & said they knew
> lots of people who would have come. They were intrigued by the different
> products and in the sport itself. It would have greatly reduced our "cost
> per eyeball" if non endurance people had come to shop! And AERC may have
> eventually picked up more new members to boot. I'm not sure how much an
> admission fee would cut into attendees, but if one is charged, I believe
> part of it could go towards advertising the show. Especially if there are
> demonstations & displays of general interest, not just products for sale.
> Perhaps $3 to trails, $2 for advertising. Or the admission could be
dropped
> to $3 & advertising could be wrung out of the $20,000 to $30,000 profit
the
> convention generates. After all, that's why we have been told the
convention
> can't be held away from the west more often. AERC needs that profit, and
the
> eastern conventions (even sans ice storms) only made about $10,000 profit.
>
> Whatever is decided, please give the membership & vendors time to discuss
> these proposals before they become "law". This was not an emergency issue
> that had to be decided quickly.
>
> Nancy Mitts
> Central Region rider,
> Custom Iron Workers, Inc., advertiser
>
>



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