12/01/2006
Mid Day on Friday;
We had a surprise visit by the County Fire Marshall
-- on an anonymous complaint of code
and safety violations.
We were inspected and the out of date inspections
of the fire extinguishers were brought up to
code and exit signs were placed in the required
exits -- immediately.
We had, have and will continue to maintain Liability
Insurance for each and every show. This insurance
is costly. It is also necessary to protect the
shows promoters, the Law Enforcement Club, our
dealers and you -- the loyal firearms enthusiast
in attendance at our events.
12/01/2006 Friday night -
late;
Some low life covertly carried-off 18 RWGS
signs from public and private property.
(In all fairness, we learned
that one sign was removed by the Code Enforcement
officers of the city of Wilmington. We inadvertently
placed it in what amounts to a sign tow-away
zone. Our bad. Now we know. Hence forth, we'll
insure this violation will not occur again.)
Person or persons unknown took the rest.
The
best part about the thievery is that it allowed
us to generate a ton of FREE promotion!! (Instant
Karma straight at the Evildoers!) We called
the police, filed a complaint, and then we called
the media! (The media love a good hard-luck
story and so we stepped up to make the most
of the opportunity!)
Check out the stories:
- WECT6
- Wilmington
- WWAY3
- Wilmington
The news crews showed up Saturday and Sunday
and broadcast our story and details on the Real
Wilmington Gun Show all weekend long. Talk
about making lemonade out of lemons!!
Unfortunately -- due to the increased costs
associated with defending ourselves against
theft and increasing our insurance to cover
the larger than anticipated attendance -
we are increasing the cost of dealer tables
by $10.00. Even with this small increase, our
table fees are still far below the national
average. The majority of the dealers have told
us they did good to very good at the December
event, and several more said they did exceptionally
well.
Someone tried to make it a little more difficult
for us to have a successful event - and we
responded creatively and positively.
Another reminder that it's easy to get mad
and pout - but getting ahead is much
more fun!
