ATC '04 Successful at New Site

Not 'Perfect,' but Fixes Will Be Easy

by Steve Smith, ATC Convention Director
Photos by John Lawitzke


Hi all! Here's the numbers and such from Advance The Colors '04. Moving to a new venue, I was unsure of how it would go and how we would be received, how would the members like the new place, would the space work for us, would we even break even! All this and more was on my mind in the days leading up to ATC, this year (especially the break even part)! But the potential benefits to our hobby and Society were worth the risks. A historical minis con in a historical museum, the chance for outreach to people outside our niche but with historical interests, and working with another non-profit outfit for mutual benefit, these were worthy goals and also are in our By-Laws as part of our mission statement.

Doug Johnson's 'Battle of Piqua' game that ran in the lobby.

Thanks to our great GMs, our Board, our volunteers and the staff of The Heritage Center, we had a great time in Springfield -- and more than broke even! Not that everything was perfect (it wasn't), but it showed us where we need to do more work and also what went right. Some of our problems were:

  • The main game area was LOUD!
  • Extra parking areas were not well known or well marked.
  • Some folks had trouble finding The Heritage Center.
  • The gaming and dealer areas were not well marked in the museum.
  • We had trouble filling the dealer's area, again.
  • Table crowding was sometimes a problem.
  • Plenty of Ancients/Medieval/Renaissance, not enough ACW & WW II.
  • Total attendance was down from last year.

    We have fixes for most of these. Getting the word out about the location, signs and maps -- those are easy fixes. There is more room at the site for gaming that we didn't use. That would ease crowding, and some of the noise problem. I know plenty of you guys run ACW and WW II -- hey, come and run some games! And get your local buddies to go along with you!

    DBA Tournament in the Main Hall

    The dealer problem is the tough one. The Board has and is working on it, but this is an area that we need help from the membership. Who do you want, and will you ask/beg/badger dealers that you want to come to ATC? That will do more than anything to bring dealers to us. But be realistic! Brookhurst Hobbies is not going to come from California, no matter what we do! Think about it...work dealers at other shows (or when you order from them)...mention ATC. Every little bit will help!

    Some of the positives:

    • Great ambiance!
    • Best Raffle ever!
    • Plenty of room for the flea market.
    • Secure Dealers area. (While I'm on this one, I want to thank the dealers who showed: Band of Brothers; Barb's Bunkers; Imperialist Enterprises; Melees Gloriosus; Navigator; Outland of Pennsylvania; Star Books and Games. Thanks to you all!)
    • The staff -- they were great! They had one guy who was on the Utah at Pearl Harbor, and another who landed in Normandy on D-Day! All were knowledgeable and interested in history of all kinds, and helped us out whenever they could.
    • A theater that ran movies for us on Friday and Saturday nights. We had "Master and Commander," "Battle of Britain," "Zulu," and all three "Lord of the Rings" films. They will play any DVD movie we give them (within reason -- no "Debbie does Springfield" or anything!

      (Editor's Note: Nor "Santa does the Lady's Room"?)

    • Great hotel accommodations.
    • Good food on-site.
    • Reasonable hall rental fee.
    • Lots of people in the museum checking out our hobby.
    • Lower admission fees for GMs and students.
    • We made a profit -- even with lower attendance and lower fees (my main worry!).

    The numbers I have right now:

    WWI Aircraft dogfight.

    • Total paid attendance: 180 (with more than 25 "Guests" looking around).
    • Total profit: $1,383 (includes $962 in Membership dues).
    • New Members signed up: 13
    • Renewed Members: 68
    • Members present at Membership Meeting: 38, plus 5 Board Members (i.e., about 15% of our total members).

    At the Membership Meeting Sunday morning, everyone there seemed to like the venue, and said they had a good time. This is what I had wanted to hear! I will post the Minutes of the meeting on the Group list soon, there was some good discussion about ATC '04 and '05). That was what we worked so hard to do: Give our Members a good time, at a nice venue -- a wargamer's party! So, unless we find a better, cheaper location by October, ATC '05 will be at The Heritage Center again!

    I know I learned a bunch about running a convention, as this was my first time doing the contracts, events, scheduling and delegating jobs (thanks to everybody I stuck with jobs to do!). I will do my best to smooth out the rough spots for next year, as I will pass on the Director's job after ATC '05. We need a local person, "boots on the ground," so to speak, to do the job right. I can't do that, living 250 miles away. Luckily, we have a local guy who will be just the right man for the job!

    My thanks to everybody who made ATC happen -- the GMs, the players, dealers, the Board of Directors, the staff at The Heritage Center, Mike Demana, Mike Stelzer, Joe Cairo, Jeff and John Chattin and my wife Leslee, who endured my living on the computer and phone for two months!

    Till next time, watch your flanks, dudes!

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