Albany Gun Show 1/22-23/11 AAR

[nyrasgt]

Outstanding show (largest in this part of the state) - some 400+ tables.

Background:  Mark A/ADOM purchased 2 x 6 ft tables.  These were located on "the stage," the highest of 4 terraced lelvels of the Empire State Convention Center, opposite the entrance, but backed with solid, black wall, on which two of the large AS banners were hung - visible from everywhere at the show.
                  Mark was contacted by the show's manager, and told that the two adjacent tables had not been sold, and offering them to AS  for no
addl cost.  Perfect. He and I had some conversation about being able to fill 4 x 6 ft tables, and for future reference of other gun show Appleseed
table staffers, here's what we decided:

Table 1:  The Library.  Books (e.g. Paul Revere's Ride, April Morning, etc.) on The Day and associated material.  It was surprising how many people
                               stopped and looked at, or through, some of the books.  We also used a 3 x 3 dry erase board to welcome folks to our area.
Table 2:  The LTR table.  Had 2 to display, along with various accessories.
Table 3:  The CMP rifles.  Had M1 Garand, M1 Carbine, M1903A1 Springfield, and CMP Target model Bushmaster AR15, plus Topcat's M1A, along with
                              our most popular give-away, the CMP catalog.  We had one of the AS CMP participation forms to show that AS shooting
                              does qualify for rifle purchase through the CMP.
Table 4:  The forms table.  Everything written for Appleseed; schedules, lists of what to bring, free targets, the Ayoob article, the NYSR&PA paired
                             sheet, among others.
Miscellaneous:    We had two NYS maps with the current AS locations marked with push pins.  Now I need to number the push pins and create a
                         legend for the map, so the specific ranges are identified.
                        We also had Mark R's (R1sgx2) 3 pound cannonball, retrieved from the Gettysburgh battlefield.  It will go nicely with my 8 pounder,
                        though I believe that Gage's artillery consisted of 6 pounders.

The Good:  gave out tons of AS materials, including probably 25 Host apps for members of clubs where we aren't - yet.  Was also visited by members of
                NY Natl Guard, whose booth was very near us.  Met their recruiting Sergeant, also a shooter, and did serious 7th Steppage - was
                impressed by the military training  Appleseed has already done to elements of various active and reserve units, most recently elements of
                the 10th Mountain Division.
       
                  Many of those stopping at our tables were female, be it unaccompanied, with a significant other, child, or parent. There were times when
                 our tables were two and three deep, and all AS personnel were engaged with multiple parties.

The Bad:  the honking and bugling.  Let me explain.  Despite our outstanding location, the one goose in the ointment was the presence next to our
              area of a vendor selling game calls, which he demonstrated loudly and frequently, treating us to volumes of quacking, honking, prey calls, and
              what sounded like elk, moose, mammoth or velociraptor....at times we were unable to communicate with attendees at face-to-face distance.
               Hearing protection was a distinct possibility.

The Ugly:  1)  see...the Bad.
               2) fending off wishes to purchase the display items (rifles) from our tables.
               3)  the prices, both of firearms and ammunition.

Personnel:  Saturday - madMark/nyrasgt, then Michael/CAP Shooter, followed by Mark ADOM having returned from the BF IBC.
                 Sunday:  madMark, SB Mark R/R1sgxs2, and Tom K/Topcat.

              Would use a similar set-up for other shows (e.g. Saratoga Springs, next weekend, Jan. 29-30) as it seemed to work very well
       attracting lots of people to the tables.  The people were evenly divided between those who had, at some point, heard of Appleseed, and those
       who never had, until this show.

   As Mark R pointed out, remains to be seen how much actual promoting will occur as a result of this show - there's always the incubation period.
                 However, if we gain one addl shooter at each coming Appleseed, and even one additional range, we're waaaaay ahead, except for the
                 geese.

Excelsior,
madMark

[Another D.O.M.]

Thanks for getting this up on the NY forum Mark.

My impression is that we spoke with at least 10 to 20 times as many folks this year as we did last.  I spoke with several from out of the immediate Capital District area, including two from Hunter NY and three or four from the Mid-Hudson River Valley region.  Many of the folks I talked with from out of the area seemed very eager to bring Appleseed literature back to their own ranges in an effort to have AS events closer to where they live.

FWIW, the fellow next t0 us apologized several time for his loud game calling.  He stated it is quite difficult to sell game calls without demonstrating their features, and I agree.
MJA

[R1SGx2]

I was a Sunday worker of the Show with Topcat and Mad Mark.
Mad Mark worked both days of the show and opened a bag of
Oval Lapel Pins and sold a few. Mad Mark -  
Total dedication. Topcat and I got there early Sunday and
Mad Mark was already set up.
Engaged a lot of show goers. At times two or three at once.
And other times talking with one person and others were
pretending to be looking at the displays, but you could
tell they were listening.
A/DOM and Mad Mark did and excellent job with 4 tables
with displays.   Promoted the North East with
hand outs. Bennington and Proctor spoke a lot Sunday as well.

The Bad:
The Goose calls
And no photos to show off the tables.
4 tables - as many as the largest vendors there. Very much to be proud of.
At times three people working the tables wasn't enough.
AND if we had a female Appleseeder there, I know would of made a difference.

Thank you to A/DOM and Mad Mark for taking the lead.  

[Josey Wales]

..Thank You for a great job presenting The Appleseed Program to other NY Citizens, Thanks to all who worked this event, all your hard work and dedication is appreciated..

.......Strength & Honor.................................Josey Wales.............................

[Another D.O.M.]

I think I'll make up a Certificate of Appreciation and send it off to the NYS Arms Collectors Association to show our appreciation for them hooking us up with three free tables at this show.  The extra tables made a huge difference!  There's little doubt in my mind that the promoter read the tri-fold flier I enclosed with the payment check and she liked what she saw.  The extra tables could have been offered to anyone, but we were first on her list.  That's fantastic support of our program.
MJA