The Convention that's JAM paked with extras!
It's a Wrap by Wally Lowe :
Red Cross Blood Drive: According to the letter I received today from the Red Cross, 22 people signed up to donate. with 14 Productive Units being received. The rest were not allowed to donate for various reasons. $115.00 cash was also raised for them thanks to the 501st Star Wars Legion's Stormtrooper Helmet raffle and the Jail and Bail they ran.
Portage Food Pantry: received 600 pounds of food and $367.00 cash from a combination of $5.00 admission and $115.00 from the 501st Legion's raffle and Jail and Bail (their proceeds were split between the Red Cross and Food Pantry).
Vendors: Only a few cancellations. Less than 5 reported not making enough money to cover the costs of transportation and table fee, although they did say the networking contacts made up for it. Over all everyone had a good time. Everyone also wanted to be included in next year's Jam.
501st Legion: their first ever "Jail and Bail" was a great success. Everyone had fun, and they were happy with the money raised. Even better was the reaction of the winning raffle entry: a 10 year old boy who looked like he had just gotten the best present in his whole life! That was a "Best Jam Moment" for me as well. It was the perfect example of how I wanted the Jam to be.
The Bad Part:
• One (of 2) Guest of Honor cancelled completely. One arrived 3 hours late.
• More than a few guests and vendors got lost in Portage, with delays running from 20 minutes to 1 1/2 hours. This was my fault. I had signage promoting the show around town, but no signs to direct out of town guests to Woodland Park. Didn't even think about it until an hour before the show...
• the Hangmen were so involved about playing the games, they didn't invite the public to join in. This resulted in the public not wanting to 'intrude' on the games being played.
• Nino doesn't like 'walking tacos'. It's been a week, and he's still talking about how he dislikes them.
• There was a slight shortage of tables. it was corrected, but things could have gone smoother.
My Over all Long-Winded and Biased Viewpoint:
It was a success. I (and everyone I've tallked to during and since) had a blast. I didn't get to talk to a lot of folks as much as I wanted to, but the host of a party doesn't get to relax like a guest at the party. My job was to make sure stuff went smooth and 'put out the fires.'
As a friend of mine said, "You'll learn more with every one of these you put together, but for a first time, you did really good." Hopefully I learned a few things to make next year's show smoother, better and more organized (translating into a bigger public turnout...).
I'm still catching my breath, and I figure it will be at least another week before I have everything caught up enough to 'put this baby to bed' once and for all. So much to cover, and so little time. I took about 100 pictures. I made some copies on disks to send to the other partners of the Jam. Although I still haven't heard from a few Parks people or the Kiwanis members, I'm pretty sure they were happy with the show as well.
It's a little strange, but it is weird. Putting a show like this together meant having 100 million things running through my mental-rolodex non-stop for the last few months. Now that it's over, the quiet is a little discomforting. Although i'm still exhausted (but recovering ) my brain's already slowly beginning to work on next year's stuff (I may be hooked...) sure there were problems. Large hurdles. I think not knowing what I was in for, (coupled with an insane amount of luck bestowed from a guardian angel) worked into carrying off a decent event.
As with so many endeavors, NONE OF IT would have happened if it relied only upon my efforts and connections. Much like my re-entry into professional comics, The Jam would not have happened without Inter-fan and it's members. Doc in particular. Without everyone's help and talents, this would have been a show cancelled by January 15th. Instead, we have entered our own page in I-F history. Now we can add the Jam's Tales to the ones we tell whenever we get together at other events.
The trip was hectic, hazardous, and I wouldn't (or couldn't ) have made it without you. It was definitely a road worth travelling for me.
Until we assemble at the Jam next year...
Red Cross Blood Drive: According to the letter I received today from the Red Cross, 22 people signed up to donate. with 14 Productive Units being received. The rest were not allowed to donate for various reasons. $115.00 cash was also raised for them thanks to the 501st Star Wars Legion's Stormtrooper Helmet raffle and the Jail and Bail they ran.
Portage Food Pantry: received 600 pounds of food and $367.00 cash from a combination of $5.00 admission and $115.00 from the 501st Legion's raffle and Jail and Bail (their proceeds were split between the Red Cross and Food Pantry).
Vendors: Only a few cancellations. Less than 5 reported not making enough money to cover the costs of transportation and table fee, although they did say the networking contacts made up for it. Over all everyone had a good time. Everyone also wanted to be included in next year's Jam.
501st Legion: their first ever "Jail and Bail" was a great success. Everyone had fun, and they were happy with the money raised. Even better was the reaction of the winning raffle entry: a 10 year old boy who looked like he had just gotten the best present in his whole life! That was a "Best Jam Moment" for me as well. It was the perfect example of how I wanted the Jam to be.
The Bad Part:
• One (of 2) Guest of Honor cancelled completely. One arrived 3 hours late.
• More than a few guests and vendors got lost in Portage, with delays running from 20 minutes to 1 1/2 hours. This was my fault. I had signage promoting the show around town, but no signs to direct out of town guests to Woodland Park. Didn't even think about it until an hour before the show...
• the Hangmen were so involved about playing the games, they didn't invite the public to join in. This resulted in the public not wanting to 'intrude' on the games being played.
• Nino doesn't like 'walking tacos'. It's been a week, and he's still talking about how he dislikes them.
• There was a slight shortage of tables. it was corrected, but things could have gone smoother.
My Over all Long-Winded and Biased Viewpoint:
It was a success. I (and everyone I've tallked to during and since) had a blast. I didn't get to talk to a lot of folks as much as I wanted to, but the host of a party doesn't get to relax like a guest at the party. My job was to make sure stuff went smooth and 'put out the fires.'
As a friend of mine said, "You'll learn more with every one of these you put together, but for a first time, you did really good." Hopefully I learned a few things to make next year's show smoother, better and more organized (translating into a bigger public turnout...).
I'm still catching my breath, and I figure it will be at least another week before I have everything caught up enough to 'put this baby to bed' once and for all. So much to cover, and so little time. I took about 100 pictures. I made some copies on disks to send to the other partners of the Jam. Although I still haven't heard from a few Parks people or the Kiwanis members, I'm pretty sure they were happy with the show as well.
It's a little strange, but it is weird. Putting a show like this together meant having 100 million things running through my mental-rolodex non-stop for the last few months. Now that it's over, the quiet is a little discomforting. Although i'm still exhausted (but recovering ) my brain's already slowly beginning to work on next year's stuff (I may be hooked...) sure there were problems. Large hurdles. I think not knowing what I was in for, (coupled with an insane amount of luck bestowed from a guardian angel) worked into carrying off a decent event.
As with so many endeavors, NONE OF IT would have happened if it relied only upon my efforts and connections. Much like my re-entry into professional comics, The Jam would not have happened without Inter-fan and it's members. Doc in particular. Without everyone's help and talents, this would have been a show cancelled by January 15th. Instead, we have entered our own page in I-F history. Now we can add the Jam's Tales to the ones we tell whenever we get together at other events.
The trip was hectic, hazardous, and I wouldn't (or couldn't ) have made it without you. It was definitely a road worth travelling for me.
Until we assemble at the Jam next year...
