Show Statistics by Patty Fultz The following information was compiled from those who filled out the door prize information. (Many people wrote their names in order to be included in the drawing for door prizes, but did not answer the other questions.) Where did people come from to attend our 2008 Pearl River Woodcarver Show and Championship? At least ten people came from Louisiana and two came from Memphis, but otherwise, the information gathered indicated the majority were from Mississippi, including places like Lumberton, Iuka, Tylertown and Aberdeen. Of these, 41 indicated it was their first time to attend our show and 35 indicated they had attended before. There were a total of 246 red tickets torn in half which indicated paid admission. There were 102 VIP passes purchased ahead of time by club members, but we're not sure how many people brought VIP tickets back to see the show. How did people hear about the show? Pearl River Woodcarvers (PRWCs) led the way in getting friends and family members to attend, but next in line was the Clarion Ledger and their subsidiary metro newspapers. After that, people indicated they heard about the show through our mailouts, newsletters and carving magazines. The Market Bulletin, Coffee News and website were enticements for some folks. The signs and flyers were noticed by others. (One person came after seeing a flyer at the Visitor's Center in Vicksburg!) Under the question, "What did you like best about the show?" more people answered, "Everything," or "It is all great!" or "the variety" than anything else. One person wrote, "Too much to write." Three people wrote something like, "The actual carving taking place," and two liked the way the tables had been turned differently than last year. Several people noted that they liked the bird carvings, Laird's display (the wall hanging relief works) and the bowls and turnings. A few people noted the friendly atmosphere and people, but this writer's favorite answer was, "My daddy's red ribbons." For, "What would you like to see next year?" several people answered, "more work," or "more displays." Three people requested a vendor for more carving tools, supplies, sandpaper, etc. A couple of people wanted to see progressive pieces to promote woodcarving or more work in progress. One child wrote, "The man making stuff with the lathe." This writer counted 82 carvings or turned entries from the wonderful papers John Harris devised to identify pictures he took. The entries included 7 Purchase Awards, 26 Novice, 3 Intermediate, and 46 Open class entries. We had thirteen "booths" which included relief carvings (Allan Laird), scrimshaw (Walter Mabry), bird carvings (Joey Horn), turned pieces (Magnolia Woodturners), caricatures (Mike Mayberry), carvings by George Berry, cypress knees (James Chambers), miscellaneous items (Central Louisiana Wildfowl Carvers), tupelo gum carving wood (McGruder Haslip), power carving (James Buie), carvings by Bob May, gourds by Mike and Michelle Thompson, and scroll saw carving by Larry Lewis. For those of you who were not able to attend, the Pearl River Woodcarvers' Country Store consisted of new items shipped to us by Mountain Woodcarvers in Estess Park, Colorado and used items which Pearl River Woodcarver members wanted to sell. The large signs produced and donated by Billy Phillips of Alexandria, Louisiana were great attention-getters and Renata Hunt did a magnificent job of organizing and selling the items. This writer would like to express great appreciation for all the members who worked so hard to insure this show was a successful event. We had ample and delicious food to share with our guests. Everyone graciously took turns sitting at the admissions and/or door prize and raffle table, which were not easy jobs. Willis Johnson faithfully took in and categorized all the carving entries and Bobbie Johnson dealt with all the money from many different sources. Joey Horn engaged our judges and ordered the ribbons. Kenny Long was one of the last people to leave after the set-up on Friday night and then he went home to make more stands and poles for the light shades which Harry Barkley brought back from his "emergency" run to Lowe's. Harry also put up (and later took down) all the signs in visible locations. If Danny Fultz had not helped Allan Laird put up and take down his extensive display, we would have been at the Ag Museum all night! Kenny and John Harris put their heads together to solve the problem of the possibility of people tripping on extension cords by coming up with the idea of putting the tables perpendicular to the wall and running the cords under the tables to the wall sockets. The many donations of door prizes kept people very happy with the probability of winning throughout the day; and we had not one, but two items for the raffle which brought the club some extra funds. (And by the way, both raffles were won by Billy Phillips!) Though we may not have had as many carving entries as we would have liked nor the large inventory of carving supplies to sell, we did have many people enter carvings who had not done so in a while. And our founding member, James Buie, entered his very first entry! There were eleven students who seemed quite pleased to improve their carving skills on Friday afternoon. One beginner was a neighbor of Mike Mayberry's who has desired to try her hand at carving for years. Several people commented that this was one of their favorite shows of our history! This writer did not see one unhappy person and everyone marveled at the talents and skills which were displayed. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all the Pearl River Woodcarvers for your wonderful attitudes and great help!