Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1062752
DECEMBER 2018 I DESIGN007 MAGAZINE 17 of November—so it's very predictable for people to put it on their calendar. Cosentino: Now, as the president of the Designer Council chapter, I'm less interested in the treasury and marketing because that's not really my bag. I'm very interested in networking and edu- cation. Without the show, I think this area would be worse off for it. Olive: It's definitely put the area on the map for sure. Shaughnessy: Yes, but this is good. Olive: We're actually growing at a rate of 100 attendees every year. How much more can we grow? We really don't want to move from this facility. The McKimmon Center is ideal for us. Cosentino: We keep our fees reasonable, and the McKimmon Center helps enable that. Our fees cover all of our costs with a little left over to afford to bring in speakers for our chapter meetings the following year. Olive: Yes, and those fees are put to good use. When you register and show up, you get a badge, tote, T-shirt, show guide, pen, and koozie. And don't forget, we feed you all day. A hot breakfast, outstanding lunch with bar- becue, brisket, fried chicken, and banana pud- ding, and the evening reception is coming with more food and craft beer from local breweries. Cosentino: We are grateful to have some spon- sors cover some of the major costs. Better Boards covered the breakfast, Mentor, a Sie- mens Business, covered the costs for the eve- ning reception, and PalPilot donated the grand prize—a 65" TV. I hope the winner brought a big truck; not kidding. Olive: If we look forward, we'd like the attendee count to grow, and I believe that we're getting very close to fully tapping the local market, but I don't mind if we draw from nearby states and grow that past 1,000 registrations next year. Faucette: What we don't want to do is leave this venue. We love being at McKimmon Center. The staff are awesome to work with, and the caterers are great. We are filling this space though. We've expanded the showroom floor and the number of tables several times. We're maxing out the number of tables for exhibitors. One of our challenges is assigning the tech- nical schedule. The four classrooms are not the same sizes. We try to put what we think will be the most attended sessions in the largest room, but you just never know what will happen on show day. Is it the topic or the speaker that draws the crowd? We also don't want compet- ing topics at the same times. We try for an elec- trical track, a mechanical track, a manufactur- ing track, then usually a miscellaneous room (compliance, testing, PCB 101, etc.). We have a converged on a good formula for PCB Carolina—a large vendor exhibition, mul- tiple technical sessions, many attendees, food all day, and giveaways in a great venue. The cost is reasonable for vendors, and the event is free for all attendees—even parking. What more could you want from a trade show? Shaughnessy: Cool. Well, thank you all for doing this. Faucette: Thank you for the opportunity. Cosentino: We appreciate it. Olive: We'll see you next year. DESIGN007