Booth at Westfair 7/25-29

[rpromaha]

The Omaha Ron Paul meetup will have a booth at Westfair Ampitheatre and Fairgrounds. The event runs from July 25-29. We will need volunteers to staff the booth. Just two or three hours is needed. We are hoping to have at least two people at the booth at all times. We are also looking for someone to be in charge of the booth's design. If you would like to volunteer just reply in this thread.

[meganhunt]

what is the event for? I may volunteer if i have more info

[Cam]

I'm willing to donate some cash to help in the $160 booth fee and am willing to man the booth on Sat and Sun.

[drew]

Barring family developments in Illinois, I can volunteer on one of the days between 6pm 7/27 and 7/29.

[paultripp]

Westfair is basically a county fair for the county Council Bluffs is in. A few years ago I worked an LP booth at a county fair for Douglas county, a few thousand people each day passed by the booth and a few hundred picked up brochures about the party's stances. If a few hundred Iowa voters pass by our booth and pick up information on Ron Paul, it will be worth it.

[chris]

I don't Know if I can help out but I can definitely pitch in $20

[chris]

So at this booth maybe we should set up a donation box and ask for peoples change or whatever they want to throw in the box. You pretty much have to pay cash at this thing right? Then we could donate a portion and use portion to help out with materials for next time we do something.

[jeff54]

New guy here. Is there a booth coordinator with names of all known area RP supporters? Besides minimum 2 in the booth at all times, I would suggest roamers in T-shirts to spread coverage. Not all pass by the booth. Lots of Slim Kim literature to hand out, yard sign sign-up sheets, posting of future rallies/meetings. Sans rain, SAT will have largest crowd. Is is possible KC and Lincoln group could make a road trip to provide roamers? Good excuse for a BBQ get together after the booth closes that night (I know every excuse to put the feed bag on). Do we know RP's Iowa manager? Nebraska's? Missouri's? Do we have guidance from the national campaign should media drop by? Any local elected officials signed on with RP?

[hawkeyenick]

New here as well, just need details

[meganhunt]

I would be happy to help for a couple of hours on several days.

[paultripp]

Jeff, definitely all things to keep in consideration. If Cam wants to print up some more shirts, I'm thinking we can offer a yard sign for a $10 donation, a shirt for a $15 donation, or both for $20. We'll have yard signs on hand (I still have about 60). What we need is a sign up sheet for the Iowa straw poll, for people who want to vote but need rides, people willing to give rides, etc.

I'm going to get in touch with Lincoln's coordinator soon. The campaign's Iowa coordinator knows about the event but I haven't heard back from him on what support he can give us. We need to have a meetup to plan this event soon, probably the week after the NE4peace rally and luis palau sign holding.

[Cam]

Selling Ts at the fair . . . I don't see them selling well. I spent the cash on the Des Moines event because I knew we would have an army of RP supporters willing to buy a shirt for $10. Westfair will be full of people who might not even know RP as of yet. I see educating them as our first priority. I can't justify the risk of not selling the t-shirts.

Iowans are politically savy. Every 4 years a bevy of presidential hopefuls descend on the state. These voters have seen all these campaigns handing out free literature, signs, t-shirts and the such. Iowans know most candidates will fall by the wayside 3 weeks after the Iowa Caucus on the new Super Duper Tuesday. They might support your candidate, but not in the same way campaign workers do.

The National, if they want to win, will have to give the campaign workers support in Iowa. Grassroots is fine, but, there comes a time that without a coordinating effort and support from the National Campaign we are wasting time. We have only a month till the Straw Poll.

We should right now, have a list from the National of all the people in Western Iowa and Eastern Nebraska that have shown an interest or contributed to the campaign. The Western Iowans would be the start of the list of people we would be offering to drive to the Straw Poll for free. (But, remember it is $30 per Straw Poll ticket) Also, we should be offering to come to their homes to personally stick a free lawn sign in their yard and speak to them about the campaign.

This is the way Iowans have seen it done for years. It would be a mistake to do anything less.

[meganhunt]

I want to donate money to set up the booth and print off materials, if it's needed. I am also willing to come help man the booth. I can bring one person with me. I am a communication/marketing major!! I am stoked to work this crowd

xoxo
megan

[meganhunt]

I am working on a kind of chart of people who are willing to work on which days.
If you would like to volunteer to help, please say what days you are available and if you have a preference of working in the booth or roaming, or if you don't care.
Also let me know if you are willing to donate money, because I am noting all of that too.

As the date gets nearer we can flesh out the time slots and stuff.

Also thanks Paul for getting in touch with the Iowa/Lincoln groups. I will keep them in mind and hopefully we can all collaborate!!

thanks everyone!

[paultripp]

We may not run into a whole lot of die hard Ron Paul supporters, but we may convert a lot of people to become supporters. We could maybe buy bumper stickers in bulk and offer them instead.

We're going to have another meetup prior to westfair, maybe there we can discuss paying for bumper stickers and/or t-shirts. Are you still taking orders for shirts if our members/volunteers would like one?