Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1062752
16 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I DECEMBER 2018 to the industry, and get to attend technical pre- sentations. When a vendor on the floor says, "This is a great turnout, but there are a lot of kids here," I say, "Well, that's great, isn't it?" These are college students who are going to replace us later; it's a good thing! Shaughnessy: And doing it at NC State has all kinds of benefits. Cosentino: Absolutely. Since 2012, we've grown from filling the exhibit hall and maybe one classroom to now having four classrooms with technical sessions in each room. We've rented out the entire building this year, and we've overflowed out of the exhibit hall into the lobby. It's quite a nice growth, and we have been able to sustain it. This is in the continu- ing education part of NC State's campus, and they like having us here. We had 16 technical sessions, not counting the IPC Technical Edu- cation classes and CID certifications, and we have two hands-on soldering workshops onsite as well conducted by Circuit Technology. Faucette: NC State's McKimmon Center is focused on continuing education, so they like our event as much as we like this venue. Since the costs are reasonable, we distribute the costs back out, so that the vendors get in at a very affordable rate. Even with all the free food, T-shirt, giveaways, and t door prizes, it all works out to be a very affordable opportu- nity for both exhibitors and attendees. Shaughnessy: How do you have the show set up? Are you a nonprofit? Olive: It's completely run by the RTP chapter of the Designers Council, which is a nonprofit group. The more exhibitors that we have and the more revenue that comes in, the more we're able to purchase better quality food, T-shirts, and printed guides. We have a few subcontrac- tors—photographers, and caterers, etc.—but we pay all the bills and try to put a little bit of money back into our chapter so that we can pay to have speakers come in for the quarterly chapter meetings. Shaughnessy: So, it's all via the RTP IPC Design- ers Council Chapter? Olive: The finances for the show flow through the chapter, which is why Randy was so involved for many years being the treasurer of the RTP chapter. I started in 2012 with Better Boards. Tony was hired in 2013. Better Boards does do a lot to help make sure the show stays in production. We find a lot of value in executing this show. As I described this to someone, even though Better Boards does work very hard, we see this as an effort to "rise the tide" for our area not just in Raleigh, Durham, or even Charlotte. It's beyond even North Carolina now. I can't tell you how many people I've met who came up from the greater Atlanta area at this show. Shaughnessy: A few companies exhibiting came from California. Olive: Absolutely, so people are starting to come from farther distances because they real- ize the gravitas that PCB Carolina has created is now worth making the trip for. Shaughnessy: It's not just local reps. Olive: That's right. It's a good and necessary mix. Due to the event's success, I think more things are starting to be scheduled adjacent to our event so that people can travel and have multiple benefits. Shaughnessy: The CID class was here last year. Did you do that this year? Cosentino: Yes. The CID certifications were held during the four days following our show—three days of lecture, and the fourth day is testing for CID and CID+. Olive: I use the word gravitas. When IPC wants to do an event the night before, and there's a training exercise the day after and a solder- ing workshop during the event, it's like moons around a planet. We do this show at a very pre- dictable time of year—usually in the first week