[Ambassadors] Report: Upstate SC Hamfest

[Thomas Chung]

On 5/10/07, David Nalley <david at gnsa.us> wrote:
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> At the last moment I acquired a booth at the Upstate SC Hamfest
> (upstatehamfest.org). This is the largest amateur radio event in South
> Carolina. It typically draws a couple thousand attendees. Unfortunately
> a torrential thunderstorm dampened attendance a bit, and I would
> guesstimate there were around 1,000 people present. I partnered with the
> local LUG to come help, talk with people and be a place that individuals
> could go to for local help.
>
> I gave a short 15 minute impromprtu presentation on how similar F/LOSS
> and Amateur Radio are - people that like to build antennas, modify and
> build radio transceivers, and even more imporantly, understand how the
> internals of their electronics work are a natural fit for open source,
> because they can tinker, build, or just look at how it works.
>
> The response was relatively good, we distributed about 150 DVDs, mostly
> x86, and made some nice contacts, including the ARRL (national amateur
> radio association) Assistant Section Manager who offered us booth in two
> upcoming hamfests in North Carolina in the fall.
>
> Overall it went well, we should have asked for better booth placement -
> and it would be really nice to have some Fedora videos along the same
> lines as the RH 'Truth Happens' video. But, live and learn I suppose.
> Partnering with a LUG gave some 'tangible' warm fuzzies, and a local
> group to ask for help with items.

Thank you David,
I'll submit the event report to FWN.
Regards,
-- 
Thomas Chung
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/ThomasChung