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FREE ADMISSION, PARKING, AND ANY OTHER AMENITIES.  YOULL NEED ENOUGH
ROOMS AND EQUIPMENT PROJECTORS, COMPUTERS, A SOUND SYSTEM, ETC.  TO
ACCOMMODATE THE SPEAKERS NEEDS.  EQUIPMENT CAN BE RENTED IF
NECESSARY.  A MODERATOR SHOULD BE DESIGNATED TO CONDUCT EACH FORUM.
THIS INVOLVES SCHEDULING, INTRODUCTIONS, CREATING A SUMMARY OF EACH
SPEAKERS QUALIFICATIONS, AND MONITORING EACH TIME SLOT.  SECURITY IS
CRITICAL FOR YOUR EVENT.  IF IT RUNS FOR MORE THAN ONE DAY, THEN
OVERNIG CLUB STATION STEPS FOR ORGANIZING A SUCCESSFUL HAMFEST
DAYTON HAMVENTION, THE LARGEST HAMFEST IN THE WORLD, IS SPONSORED
EACH YEAR BY THE DAYTON AMATEUR RADIO ASSOCIATION DARA.  IN THIS
MONTHS COLUMN, DARA CLUB MEMBER BOB NEBEN, K9BL, SHARES WHAT HES
LEARNED FROM CONTRIBUTING TO THE ORGANIZATION OF A SUCCESSFUL
HAMFEST.  MOST RADIO AMATEURS ATTEND HAMFESTS TO LEARN THE LATEST
INFORMATION ABOUT DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF HAM RADIO, EXPERIENCE
CAMARADERIE, HAVE A SWAP MEET, AND MORE.  IF YOUR CLUB ATTRACTS
SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS TO THEIR EVENT, THEN PEOPLE WILL LIKELY
ATTEND YEAR AFTER YEAR.  MANY CLUBS ASSUME THAT HOSTING A HAMFEST IS
TOO COMPLICATED, BUT ALL IT TAKES IS A GROUP OF VOLUNTEERS,
PLANNING, AND ORGANIZATION.  PLANNING SHOULD START ABOUT 1 YEAR
PRIOR TO WHEN YOU WISH TO HOLD THE EVENT.  STEP ONE COORDINATE
FUNDING FUNDS ARE REQUIRED TO PAY FOR THE LOCATION, TO PRINT
TICKETS, TO RENT EQUIPMENT IF NECESSARY, TO PURCHASE PRIZES, ETC.
UNDERESTIMATING THE FUNDS NEEDED WILL DRAIN YOUR CLUB TREASURY, AND
OVERPRICED TICKETS WILL DETER PEOPLE FROM ATTENDING.  ITS IMPORTANT
THAT YOUR TREASURER OBTAINS ACCURATE ESTIMATES.  WHEN PURCHASING
TICKETS, BE SURE THEYRE NUMBERED AND HAVE A DETACHABLE PORTION THAT
COULD BE USED IN A PRIZE RAFFLE.  THIS TYPE OF TICKET WOULD NEED TO
BE PRINTED COMMERCIALLY, WHICH IS AN ADDED EXPENSE.  IF YOUR CLUB
TREASURY IS INSUFFICIENT, THEN YOU MAY WANT TO CONSIDER PROMOTING
EARLY TICKET SALES, OR POSSIBLY HOLDING A FUNDRAISER.  STEP TWO
DETERMINE THE SIZE THE NEXT STEP IS TO DECIDE WHETHER YOUR HAMFEST
WILL BE SMALL 100 OR FEWER ATTENDEES, MEDIUM LESS THAN 1,000
ATTENDEES, OR LARGE MORE THAN 1,000 ATTENDEES.  THE SIZE WILL
DETERMINE MANY THINGS LOCATION, HOW MANY FUNCTIONS YOU SHOULD PLAN
FOR, WHAT YOUR TICKETS SHOULD SELL FOR, AND HOW MANY PEOPLE TO
RECRUIT TO YOUR HAMFEST COMMITTEES.  EACH YEAR, DAYTON HAMVENTION
REQUIRES THE EFFORTS OF NEARLY 700 VOLUNTEERS AND ATTRACTS MORE THAN
30,000 VISITORS.  FORTY ONE COMMITTEES MEET MONTHLY THROUGHOUT A
YEAR OF PLANNING.  DEPENDING ON THE SCOPE OF YOUR HAMFEST, YOUR CLUB
MAY NOT NEED TO COORDINATE THAT FREQUENTLY.  STEP THREE ESTABLISH
COMMITTEES ONCE YOUVE DETERMINED THE SIZE OF YOUR HAMFEST, YOU NEED
TO RECRUIT VOLUNTEERS AND ESTABLISH A COMMITTEE.  AT MINIMUM, YOULL
NEED 10 VOLUNTEERS TO HANDLE FINANCES, VENDORS, THE FLEA MARKET,
TICKETS, FORUMS, PARKING, MARKETING, IT INFRASTRUCTURE, CLUB
MEMBERSHIP, MAIL, TALK IN FREQUENCIES, PROGRAMS, AWARDS, LICENSE
EXAMS, PRIZES, COMMUNICATIONS, SIGNS, FENCES, SECURITY, AND
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