The Northeast HamXposition and New England ARRL Convention would be delighted to have more collegiate clubs at this year’s convention. Our goal is to attract more youth of any age into amateur radio, but also to highlight the local colleges that have amateur radio clubs and perhaps interest youth in staying in the hobby through their college years.
What’s in it for us?
You get exposure and recognition from the ham radio community, perhaps bringing in alumni who are delighted the club is still going, perhaps attracting some donations of equipment and funding.
You get to show off your club with a pasteboard or banner, handouts, whatever you like, for free.
Your members who attend will have free admission for all days and activities.
Your members can take turns staffing the table and attending the flea market, seeing the emergency comm trailers, attending the forums, or just hanging out and meeting other attendees. (Maybe you want to meet some of the top brass of the ARRL, or one of the guest speakers who is often a VIP?)
What can you do to help us with our display?
We can provide a draped 6-foot table and two chairs for your club in a high-visibility area, most likely centrally located in the Atrium where most of our youth, collegiate, and family tables are located.
We can help you with promotion, if desired, print documents during the event for you (at cost), and provide a safe location to store any valuables at night if you can’t take them in and out each day. (We recommend not getting too elaborate and expensive with the display. But if you have a box of giveaways that you want to lock up at night, we can do that.)
How can we make a really big splash and get people to notice us?
(1) Give a talk. How about an expert in your club who talks about something awesome, a how-to, or promotion of something that distinguishes your collegiate club? Prepare something short and to the point, 30 minutes of PowerPoint, 15 minutes of Q&A, and done!
(2) A demonstration at your table. Make or do something at your table that brings people to you. Demo a new gizmo, 3-D print a handy item, teach people something cool, you name it. Our youth/family club sponsors a soldering workshop with kits our students invent. You could, too. How about a small wave experiment that demonstrates waves (water, light, sound, radio), anything STEM-related.
(3) Take out a small advertisement in the convention booklet.
(4) Sponsor a “Games Night” table on Saturday evening before and/or after the banquet – D&D? Magic?
(5) Join a Collegiate Banquet Table on Saturday night – maybe up to 8 of your members, or join in with other colleges (sorry we can’t give you this free, but the camaraderie and awesome guest speaker makes it worth the admission.)
Is there anything we CAN’T do?
Raffles or gaming activities. Or sell stuff unless you have purchased a booth as a vendor. (You can ask for donations to reimburse for supplies at cost.)
We would love to work with you to help you make the best impression and have the most fun. Contact Bob Phinney, K5TEC, HamXposition Chair of Youth and Collegiate Activities. You can text Bob at 617-529-0532 or call at 508-720-4179.
We look forward to talking to you soon.