Which vendors are exhibiting in Chattanooga?

[Brown Mule]

Be sure to see the national "Tow Truck" museum while in Chattanooga. INTERNATIONALTOWINGMUSEUM@COMCAST.COM" target="_blank" target="_blank

[Brown Mule]

I'm sorry, Joe, most of us in the south never went beyond 3rd grade. As Mark Elrod says in his book( in quoted essay) on page 112, the most intelligent and ambitious play Cornet-----so you know where that leaves me----the Tuba Player. I'd better pass on trying to spell the state below you.

[cjk]

Nice product placement in the Chris Vivio photo!

[DavidJMills]

If yall are coming to my ancestral homeland, the land of the Zorn's,make sure to visit the Tennessee State Aquarium.Chattanooga is a great city. David(Zorn)Mills,Charlotte

[Brown Mule]

Joe, I did speak with Lee Stofer by E'mail about a couple horn problems and in conversation he stated that he would be in Chattanooga.

[Mike Finn]

I'd really like to see some specifics. I'd like for vendors to post here and state, I'm bringing this, this, this, this, this, and this...etc.

Not to hijack the thread, but I wonder if any non-ITEA members are put off by this:

All participants at SERTEC, including attendees, competitors, presenters, and artists, are required to register for the conference and be members of the International Tuba/Euphonium Association.

Oh, and if I do exhibit, I'll be bringing the new MF BT-70 Bass Trombone mpc with me.

[cjk]

Not to hijack the thread, but I wonder if any non-ITEA members are put off by this:

All participants at SERTEC, including attendees, competitors, presenters, and artists, are required to register for the conference and be members of the International Tuba/Euphonium Association.

If being an ITEA member is a requirement, then I'm not sure I will attend. This is really a shame, as Chattanooga is fairly close to me. I wouldn't mind being a member of ITEA and have been in the past.

Being a member of ITEA wasn't a requirement for the SERTEC at the University of Georgia a few years ago.

[bort]

Note #1 to Mike.... Any chance of that 32.7mm "H" being at SERTEC? (Crossing fingers)

If that exists, my check is in the mail!

But, making membership mandatory to attend a conference? I think they may be shooting themselves in the foot with that decision.

In my professional life, one of the conferences I regularly attend has the same requirement. But, the hook is that membership is built into the conference registration fee. So either go and become a member, or become a member, and maybe (or maybe not) go. I don't know if that's common or not.

[Brown Mule]

Come on venders----lets get to blokes original question--------who's coming? To get you started with specifics when loading your truck, The Brown Mule is looking for used Besson 983 and a good Mirafone 186(with an f). When in chattanooga, don't forget to try a "moon pie", the gourmet cookie which originated there.

[CMRO225]

I've really been wanting to play a Willson 3050. Maybe someone will have one there? It's on my short list of horns that I want.

[brianf]

Originally, I was set up to exhibit and do a Jacobs presentation in Chattanooga.

What has happenned is that someone at the University made a rule that no sales can be made by exhibitors. Kenyon has been trying to get them to reconsider but to no avail. In my case there is a brass festival in Chicago that weekend that allows sales so I bowed out of Chatanooga and will stay home for the show in Chicago.

Sorry!

[Ferguson]

The problem with being a vendor at a show like this is that the travel/hotel/freight costs are so much that even if I sell 2 tubas, I just break even. If that's all I can do, then it's easier to stay home and crack a beer. Sure, there's the long term advertising/goodwill, but it seems to be an expensive way to do it, considering the sweat equity at least. Anyone have a better idea?

SF

[Brown Mule]

Geeez I'll bet if the university was having a basketball game, they would welcome every T'shirt and POM-POM vendor in the country sell on campus! Suggestion------maybe a building near campus could be set up for vendors.

[tclements]

Man, I'm with Steve on this. Even for LOCAL shows, between the fees vendors have to pay, expenses, the inevitable damages that will occur, traveling away from home, it's HARDLY worth it. Steve, crack one for me, too!

[brianf]

it's HARDLY worth it

This could be the line of the year - and the year just started!

In 2003 when the regionals strted, I cashed in 100,000 frequent flier miles and did five regionals. I filled my suitcases with as much as I could (checked for free) then traded an exhibit space for a Jacobs lecture. Along with a Priceline hotel and a cheap rental car, I was able to break even but met a lot of people - wrote it off to customer relations.

Last summer I went to the ITA show in Austin. Traded a Jacobs show for an exhibit table, cashed in milage, did the Priceline thing. Took a couple hundred dollar hit mainly because of shipping. The airlines have started nickel and diming everyone and everyone else is doing the same. What was a free flight 10 years ago now costs over $200! I have rented cars downtown to aviod airport fees. Travel is a bitch but we have to live with it!

What has to be controlled are exhibitor fees. I have done IHS regionals where a table costs $25 - and they even buy lunch! ITEAs run anywhere from $300-400 with the justification that all an exhibitor has to do is sell one horn. Maybe that is true for a expensive new horn but for small guys like me, making this fee up is almost impossible - no wonder large publishers never come to brass shows. The slack is being made by the small guys. This is the future of brass music and show hosts must encourage them to come by having a cheap rate like they do in the horn world.

I enjoy doing shows and meeting people, it is good for everyone - a show is not a show without exhibits.

[Michael Bush]

What has happenned is that someone at the University made a rule that no sales can be made by exhibitors.

I smell an accountant in an academic business office. I'm sure they pet their dogs and love their children and all that. But conversations with them never improve my day.

[Ferguson]

I've been asked to attend a number of shows as an exhibitor, but the cost has seemed too high. Since then, I've been trying to come up with an idea to grab some business and also support the shows.

I'm thinking about this: What if we split the cost of a plane ticket for any attendee of the Chattanooga regional conference who flies to Burbank to play test and then buy a tuba, and we would also offer them free shipping home for their new tuba?

If the plane (or train) ticket is $400, we'd pay $200, plus $250 worth of shipping for free. I can arrange airport pickup and lodging. This could help support every attendee who buys a tuba to the tune of $450+/-. That's a lot cheaper than my going there with a dozen instruments. So I'm thinking about it. It's not as convenient as meeting Lee Stoffer or whomever and playing tubas they brought along, but if you need to play something that's not there, this could help subsidize it while encouraging attendance at these events.

I'm interested to hear your thoughts on this.

Best,

Ferguson

[Lee Stofer]

Yes, guys and gals,
I will be there, as I have committed to doing so.

I did not hear of any issues with the University administration until reading this post this afternoon.

I intend to have instruments and mouthpiece there for trial, capability for limited repairs, and will be happy to make estimates for repair or restoration of instruments that you might bring in. Rest assured that I intend to meet the needs of my customers, and will do what it takes to do so. Otherwise, I would not be a businessman.

I plan to have the Zigmant Kanstul tubas available for play-testing, which are the reincarnation of the J.W. York & Sons tubas. These tubas are available in CC as a 5-valve instrument (model 90), in EEb (66-T or 66-S) and BBb (33-T or 33-S) as 4-top-piston or 5-front valve instruments. The model 33-S is available as a 4-front-piston tuba by special order. Kanstul has also introduced the model 80 F tuba, a 5-front-valve tuba that is so much fun that I bought one myself. I also plan to have Kanstul euphoniums, which are world-class and the best ever made in the US, available for play-testing. I plan to have the model 985 and 985L euphoniums, and two version of the 975 - one with all the options, and one old-school 3+1 compensating, the way I like it.

In other instruments, my tentative list (always-changing) includes a Mirafone Premium 181 6-rotor F tuba in yellow brass, a Cerveny ACB-681 compact kaiser CC ( no longer made, but customized with factory-original r/h 5th valve), a very nice old Mirafone 184-4U BBb with wheeled hard case, a 1925 Conn BBb helicon, a 1933 Holton short-action raincatcher sousaphone with a unique engraving and a gold-plated bell(inside and out), an Alexander 163 BBb, a tweaked Conn 56J CC, a tweaked new-style King 2341 BBb and hopefully a Yamaha YCB 621, a rare 5-valve model, as well as anything else that becomes available between now and then.

By the way, do not be surprised if the exhibit area is rather subdued - I did my first exhibit, anywhere, at the SERTEC of 2002 at the State University of West Georgia. I was called and asked if I would, because they were having trouble getting enough vendors to even have an exhibit. I'll say that it is hard for the smaller conferences to have a full exhibit hall, just because of the economic realities of the situation. I probably should have my head examined, as I could work 8 hours in the shop that week and take the rest of the week off, and make a much better profit. But, God works in unusual ways, and I've been surprised before.

For those that want to do some touristy stuff, Chattanooga has a lot to offer, too.

I'll be delighted to visit with old acquaintances, and make many new ones in Chattanooga - hope to see you there!

[Michael Bush]

I think the problem is likely to be in the business office, rather than in any academic office like a dean or a professor.

My guess is it's either the fact that the rental fees charged to the vendors will generate unrelated business income, therefore creating work for the business office accountants as well as a tax bill, and/or that the building the conference is being held in was built using tax exempt bonds, in which case facilities rental is an unqualified use of that tax exemption, also generating work for the bean counters and a tax bill.

Obviously these issues are fair enough. But business offices are notoriously weak on clear and polite communication even when their issues are legit.

If my guess is right, it would take a decision from above, perhaps as high up as the president's office, to decide the work and tax implications would be worth it for the sake of the mission.

So I suspect the letter needs to be written to the the VP for Operations (or whatever the title is) and/or the President.

[Lee Stofer]

Thank-you so much for your offer, Bloke! I'll probably travel a more direct route, but that is much appreciated. This is the kind of spirit, displayed by tuba players, that constantly encourages me.

Talleyrand, the two instances of issues for university administration that you mention involve possible difficulties incurred by them, or ITEA, making a profit off of the vendors, which they will surely do. However, that has nothing to do with vendors making sales, which is a completely different issue. I think that it will all work itself out, though.