If you or your club plan to have a show and sale, there are numerous tips we would like to pass on. Our club is in the process of planning our third annual, and we are still learning, but have found the following items of great importance.

1. Have a hall or building large enough to accommodate your tables, being sure to leave plenty of aisle room. This is essential to keep down congestion, as well as the hazard of breakage.

2. Have plenty of lighting and electrical outlets for displays. Recommend to anyone displaying to have at least 15' extension cord.

3. When setting up tables make sure there are openings no more than 4 tables apart and large enough for dealers to get through carrying rather large boxes.

4. Have all tables assigned to dealers in advance. In this way the dealer can look on a chart and find his location without running all over the hall.

5. Have a loud speaker. There is no way to overcome noise for announcements without a loud speaker.

6. Have your show hours to fit the area. If you keep too long hours, everyone is tired.

7. Have food accessible. You can either have catering trucks or, as we do, have a service organization serve. We have a group of young girls from a charitable organization come in and sell. They furnish their own food, serve it and clean their designated area. In this way no club members are tied up with food. All proceeds from this sale are for the service organization. Examples of organizations you might contact are: Job's Daughters, Girl Scouts, Horizon Clubs, Rainbow Girls, Campfire Girls and many more.

8. When sending out advertising, include motels and hotels and a list of trailer parks that will take overnighters. Some building locations, such as fairgrounds, have trailer and camper parking.

9. Get all the local advertising you can. Put posters in grocery markets, dry good stores; and if you have a local radio and/or T. V. station, they usually have some coming event advertising offered without a charge.

10. If there is a sales tax to be collected, have an area set up at the end of the show with one person to take the tax. We have sales books for those who do not have their own.

11. A sticky gum-backed label with dealer's name and home town is also nice. In this way, when you walk up to someone you can say "Hello" and call him or her by name.

12. Security guards are necessary. Most all who display and sell demand that there be someone to remain in the building at night.

A final small suggestion. Please don't let any one dealer create a carnival-type atmosphere that disturbs and disrupts the dealers around him. It is very hard to talk above the noise of ringing bells, noise makers, etc. Every dealer should be considerate of his fellow dealers and try to help, not hinder. When two fellows are dealing, never break into the conversation unless asked. The person in charge of the show should squelch all, unnecessary racket and noise. A happy smiling dealer can accomplish as much as can the noisemaker.

We hope these hints are of some help. Have a show and sale in your area and have some fun!

Irma Conrad