I have been to many state and national trade shows involving all kinds of products from toys to enrgy drinks. I have manned booths set up right next to our biggest competitors. While I am sure there is back stabbing going on I never saw one fight.
I think you have to open it up to all that want to come. We can try to keep the Ideals and McMurrays at separate ends of the building but I think they would be able to coexist even right beside each other.
One thing I haven't read on here is about any funding. I for one cannot help much financially but I will do what I can.
We should also look at placing an ad in the USA Today and maybe some farm related publications. A comp ad in McMurray's spring catalog would be nice.
We could get places like Ideal, McMurrays, Privett, and others to put something on their websites.
I for one don't see this as a time and place for the BYC people to load up their flocks and take them across the country.
I see this more as an opportunity for us all to get together and meet each other and to try and see and learn more about "Everything Chicken" with presentaions from genetics to disease control to productivity. Or whatever topics may be decided on.
The only chickens there, should probably be the ones there for the fair or show or whatever. I doubt the people that have brought their show birds would want them exposed to lets say a bird just grabbed up from the pen by some guy like me in Oklahoma.
2mnypets is right. The location and date are the two most important things right now. We can decide everything else after that.
Remember while we are shooting for a big bang event, it usually takes a few years for these things to grow. It can be a big thing but it has to be managable or there might not be a Chickenstock 2009-10-11- etc.
One other thing, are their other events like this but maybe on a smaller scale? Do different states have their own version of this. If so. maybe some of those that help organize that event could be brought on board for ideas. Seems like I saw a post on BYC about some sort of chicken thang in Louisiana.
Ok I have rattled on enough.
Monty
I appreciate the lead that you others have taken to jump start this event.