Yesterday was easier on the parking crew than Sunday, when we parked 129 RVs. I don’t think we parked more than a dozen or so more rigs.
Actually, I didn’t park any myself, the guys greeted new arrivals out front as they trickled in, and Greg pretty much led them all in and got them parked himself, while I ran around putting out fires, helping folks find their way around the fairgrounds, visited with people, and tried to stay out from underfoot. We sure do have a lot of friendly people here! Gypsy Journal rally attendees are the best!
At 3 p.m. we had our welcome meeting and vendor introductions. We give each vendor a minute or two to tell the crowd who the are and what they sell. Terry and I have been on both sides of the vending table, and we try very hard to make sure our vendors have a good show, and to let them know we appreciate them being here.
I was pleased that two different vendors who were also here last week for the Good Sam rally told us that they sold more in a couple of hours yesterday morning than they did during the entire Good Sam rally. And our vendor hours don’t even start until this morning! They made their first sales off of the people who came in to register.
Among the people here at the rally are Frank and Gloria King, who belong to a group of families who have relatives in the military serving in Afghanistan. They have adopted several units overseas and collect supplies to send to the troops as care packages. They also brought a Don’t Tread On Me flag to the rally and are going to have the crowd sign the flag, then they will send it to the unit they have adopted. How cool is that? What a great way to show our support for our troops!
We took a short break, then from 4:30 to 5:30 we had the Ask The Experts panel, in which the audience could ask questions about the RV lifestyle, technical issues, and such and get answers from several RVing experts. That’s always fun and interesting.
When that was over and the building was empty, Terry and I had abut 45 minutes to catch our breath, and at 7 p.m. we were back at it again, with door prize drawings. Greg White had collected a huge assortment of door prizes from local businesses, and since we will be giving away door prizes tonight and again Thursday night, this time around we concentrated on giving out the restaurant gift certificates. That way people will be able to use them while they are here in town.
We gave out a lot of door prizes and still have a lot more to distribute, including some biggies that include a Strongback Chair, an Amazon Kindle, and a Sea Eagle kayak from the folks at InflatableBoats4Less. Some lucky winners are going to leave the rally very happy, indeed!
Thought For The Day – Stop trying to fit in when you were born to stand out.
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!
Nick, will you be posting pictures of the rally for those of us who aren’t able to attend? If ya can, it’ll be appreciated by more than just me I’m thinking. Regardless, have fun! (like ya won’t, huh?)