Harassing Arena

[Chip Fetrow]

Here's the skinny on that.  The Trootwood Hamvention is, by FAR, the  
biggest thing to hit the Dayton area every year.

Yes, more people show up for the Air Show, but they just come in,  
watch the Air Show, and leave.  They don't book and use hotel rooms,  
and they don't visit restaurants -- except for some possible fast food  
visits.

The Trootwood Hamvention brings more money into the area economy than  
any other event, by a long shot.

So, it is not amazing that some authorities look the other way at  
problems like toilets -- after all, few people get sick! <g>


 From what I have seen, the food vendors are actually very clean.  The  
bad side of them is that DARA sees not one cent from those  
concessions!  Those churches have a deal with HARA and only HARA gets  
a cut.


The other very odd thing is that while most people thing the Trootwood  
Hamvention is run by DARA, it is not.  It is run by DARA's Hamvention  
Committee.  The Committee doesn't report to ANYONE.  They do not  
account for expenses or income!  They never release any verifiable  
accounting, nor do they actually announce any real attendance  
figures.  It is just one great big slush fund, and just wrong.  The  
Committee should at least report back to DARA with verifiable and  
audit-able accounting, using best practices.  Keep in mind that they  
have lost money many years.

I am not trying to infer that there is any monkey business going on,  
but how can they prove it isn't?  You do that by having an open and  
proper system.

--chip

On Jul 31, 2011, at 7:07 PM, tacos-request at amrad.org wrote:

> Message: 1
> Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2011 13:28:31 -0400
> From: Mike O'Dell <mo at ccr.org>
> To: Tacos AMRAD <tacos at amrad.org>
> Subject: Harassing Arena
>
> Maybe somebody should "drop a dime on them" and
> lodge a formal complaint with the local and state health departments?
>
> There are actual laws and building codes about working toilets for  
> large venues
> which can be enforced.  if there is any food-service in the building  
> with the
> busted plumbing, those can be shut down for multiple sanitation  
> reasons.
> You could also file a formal complaint to block their event permit
> because of unfit conditions. A few letters to the editor of the  
> local news rag
> wouldn't hurt either, as well as CQ & QST.
>
> One could make their life difficult without too much trouble.
>
>         - mo