Crossroads Hamfest held March 15, 2008
Dispite an unfortunate equipment problem, things went pretty well this year. Attendance was down slightly, but you couldn't tell it by the crowd. Lots of big ticket items went out the door, so at least hams are trying to jumpstart the economy. The Hamfest Chair, Stephanie Halbert W8AEZ, and Co-Chair Bob Kingsbury KC8PRL, both did a great job this year. Start planning for next year's event on March 21, 2009. More details will be posted as soon as they are available. A few vendors have already confirmed for next year and everybody is encouraged to get their reservations in early. Contact info on the bottom of the page.
A few comments from Stephanie Halbert W8AEZ, the 2008 Hamfest Chair:
Well, folks, we did it! The 2008 Crossroads Hamfest and Radio Swap is now history.
Sunny weather and good road conditions helped to bring over 1,130 people to our event - a slightly smaller crowd than last year's, but a respectable showing nonetheless. We had many out-of-state attendees at our event as well:
Indiana = 93
Ohio = 16
Illinois = 7
Wisconsin = 3
Alabama = 1
Colorado = 1
Texas = 1
Oregon = 1
Despite the last-minute challenges posed by the gym equipment failure, our table setup crew succeeded in devising an alternate plan which minimized the impact to our vendors. Feedback from several of the attendees has been overwhelmingly positive, and it was suggested that the change in the table layout on the right side of the gym seemed to improve the traffic-flow.
Co-Chair Bob Kingsbury and I would like to thank sponsoring Marshall High School teachers Kelly Williams and Jim Hendershot, the SMARS Club Board and Advisory members, and the many fellow SMARS members who donated their time and talents to make the 2008 Crossroads Hamfest a success. Special kudos to Nancy Sheldon for organizing yet another Friday night buffet for the setup volunteers - thank you, Nancy!
Winners of the doorprizes:
KC8QQN - Clairus Keep from Howell, Mich - winner of the Vertex VX-150 VHF transciever
NG8E - Jim Brooker from Royal Oak, Mich - winner of the Samlex America Switching DC Power Supply
KA8HZU - David Francis from Litchfield, Mich - winner of the Tram Dual Band base antenna
The 2009 Hamfest is now in the planning stages. We look forward to seeing you there!
73 de W8AEZ
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Email: smars.w8df@yahoo.com