- At almost anytime of the
year, there's normally some activity going on somewhere. The
regional clubs have their meetings; there are annual swapfests
at various locations; and, there is national convention held
each year. (see Convention Central at the RMS web site)
-
- Meetings for the regional
clubs vary in frequency. Some meet monthly; others meet bimonthly;
one or two only meet once at one or both of the conventions during
the year; and at least one club doesn't have any meetings at
all! Club meetings, normally held on weekends to make them more
accessible to local members, are typically characterized by a
business meeting, some type(s) of cover exchange, perhaps a small
auction, some show & tell, games, and refreshments. The meetings
usually last a few hours. Club officers normally include a president,
vice-president, membership secretary/treasurer, and bulletin
editor.
-
- Swapfests are smaller,
shorter, more intense versions of conventions. Organized by one
or more clubs, the swapfest, as its name would suggest, concentrates
even more so on covers--trading, buying, selling, auctions. There
are several regular swapfests around the country each year. The
UES Swapfest, held in the East, is the most well-known. The Trans-Canada
club holds one annually; and so on. Swapfest features include
lots of trading and buying, dealers tables, room-hopping, freebie
tables, auctions. Plus, there may be displays and awards. There's
also normally a business meeting.
-
- Conventions are the premier
events of the hobby. There ia one each year. The largest activity
in the hobby is the RMS Convention, held at a different location
each year, depending on which regional club is doing the hosting.
Usually, it turns out to be somewhere in the East. It lasts for
a week and is always in August. It features tours to local areas
of interest, room-hopping, freebie tables, dealers tables, educational
presentations, business meeting, displays and awards, lots of
games, a shucking contest, meetings and parties hosted by the
various regional clubs, four big auctions, bags of covers given
to registered attendees, and a big awards banquet at the end
of the convention. Collectors have attended from as far away
as England and Australia.
-
- The swapfests and conventions
take months of planning and a teams of dedicated volunteers to
handle all of the preparations. A site has to be found; bargaining
for room rates and amenities then has to be carried out. All
of the different activities have to be coordinated and scheduled.
Someone has to handle all the incoming auction lots, while someone
else has to act as auctioneer. Volunteers are needed to man the
various games, raffles, drawings, etc. Someone is needed to run
the display room; someone else is in charge of the freebie tables.
A slate of officers has to be found and elected to oversee the
next year's gathering. And someone needs to pay all the bills!
And yet, it happens every year...and it happens very successfully!
-
- All of these activities--the
regional club meetings, swapfests, and conventions--bring together
collectors to share covers, experiences and knowledge, but they
also function (especially the swapfests and conventions) to publicize
the hobby, particularly important to any small hobby. (I still
find it surprising that after some 83 years as an active hobby,
the public, by and large, is still completely ignorant of any
hobby having to do with matchcover collecting).
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