Wild West WinterFest Wrap Up
(March 17, 2005 Meeting as Approved at the May 19, 2005 Meeting)
ATTENDANCE: Darrell Andersen, Sue Shockley, Debbie Holwegner, Al Lien, Skip Hougland, Sonja Berg, Connie Garrett, Bill Montgomery and Misti Andersen.
CALL TO ORDER: Darrell called the meeting to order at 6:15 p.m. and added financial and election of new officers to the agenda.
MINUTES: Sue moved to approve the February 10, 2005 minutes as presented. Bill seconded. Motion carried.
FINANCIAL: A profit and loss report was available for review. Sue stated we made $12,712.63, plus income from some food vendors that hadn’t paid yet. We made money without the bull riding and it appears that WinterFest is going in the right direction.
MARKETING: Sue reported we do not have an accurate attendance number because a couple of the gate shifts did not count people coming in. It is estimated that we had between 9, 000 and 10,000 people visit over the three days. It was suggested to do some type of promotion for the craft show, possibly rename it so the public get a better idea of what the WinterFest Market is. Get the tab out earlier.
WAGON RIDES
· The kids and teachers loved the wagon rides.
· The signs were good for directing them in the right direction.
· Change the pickup point a little and have the wagons available all the time for the kids when leaving.
McLIEN’S FFA FARM BARN
Farm Barn
· The FFA kids did a great job this year.
· Moving the Farm Barn to Livestock Barn #2 turned out to be great.
· Kids liked the branding; will use paint on cloth next year.
· Some displays didn’t show up; will try to get the cannulated cow for next year.
· Needed a few more animals in the barn.
· Not much use of the hand washing station.
· Next year have FFA or 4H kids bring in their animals and talk about them.
· Need better scheduling of things coming in for setup.
· Need someone present all the time to talk to the kids in the barn.
· Set up a place for the kids to have their photo taken with the animals.
· Setup a small petting zoo for the kids.
· Change the theme for next year … possibly forage.
Mini Ag Seminars
· Had great speakers, good topics and good material handouts.
· Seminars were poorly attended; lack of advertising? Lack of interest in topics?
· Maybe hold in conjunction with the dog activities or other events.
· Ask schools to do activities in exchange for some type of extra credit.
· Move speakers to the Sale Pavilion and try to make it fun.
· Decorate the area where speakers are located to make it more appealing.
OFFICIAL BEVERAGE CONTEST:
· Turned out well; Cheryl Caton was very excited about winning and receiving the trophy.
· The Zebra serving the winning beverage was good.
· Will do this contest next year.
INDOOR/OUTDOOR EXHIBITS:
· Best turnout of indoor exhibitors ever.
· Need more outdoor exhibitors.
BUILDING SETUP:
· Kids activities should be in a different location … to close to the entertainment.
· Dog pet tricks and conformation did not work well in building #2 … too small of area.
· Some vendors liked the activities in the buildings, while others did not.
· Good idea to keep activities in the buildings as long as they do not obstruct vendor booths.
ENTERTAINMENT:
· MT Blue, Ringling 5 and cowboy church were good.
· Maybe end entertainment a little earlier next year.
BOZEMAN LIONS:
· Someone from their group needs to come to WinterFest meetings so they are aware of what’s going on.
FOOD CONCESSIONS:
· Vicki Taylor could have used more help.
· Need more of a variety of foods.
· Food prices were too high.
· Need food in the Indoor Arena on Friday night.
· Sheriff’s Posse will probably do Indoor Arena concessions next year.
KIDS ACTIVITIES:
· Cookie decorating and sandy candy art went well, very few did coloring.
· The balloon guy was the main attraction … kids were waiting in line.
· Need to come up with some other type of activities.
CHILI COOK-OFF:
· This event went very well.
DOG KEG PULL CONTEST:
· Good event; people had fun, good weather, great track.
· Sponsors were happy.
· Need a few more people to help with this event.
· Shorten registration time.
· Do not give out kegs next year, but rather cases of beer.
· Have a BBQ outside when event is going.
AG IN THE CLASSROOM:
· Had a good turnout with close to 500 kids in two days.
DOG EVENTS:
· Events went great.
· Too crowded in building #2 for pet tricks and conformation.
COWBOY CAMP:
· Had a lot of traffic through camp.
· Good turnout for elk bugling contest.
· With some changes, the food bank could be better.
ATV ICE RACING:
· Only had six entries.
· Maybe we need to let this event go, unless Dave and Sheri want to continue with it.
CHILDREN’S ART SHOW:
· Display looked great.
· Not as many entries as last year.
· Need to number each entry to make voting/tallying votes easier and correct.
PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW:
· Good turnout but not as many entries as last year.
· Need to number each entry to make voting/tallying votes easier and correct.
QUILT SHOW:
· Entries were down.
· Need to number each entry to make voting/tallying votes easier and correct.
KNIGHTS OF THE GALLATIN:
· Interesting and people really enjoyed them.
· They let the kids try on their armor.
· Couldn’t hear them; next year have someone do the announcing for them while they perform.
HORSE SALE:
· Had a good turnout of horses and spectators.
· Sara Vaessen is not going to continue doing this sale due to the costs required to stay incorporated in Montana.
· This sale is a huge part of WinterFest and we need to find a way to continue this sale.
AUTO ICE RACING:
· Entries were up and spectator numbers were down.
BAHA HOCKEY TOURNAMENT:
· Some problems at the gates with the players not having their buttons.
· Need to get a list of the players and have that list at the gates.
RABBIT AND POULTRY SHOWS:
· Had over 100 rabbits and close to 100 chickens.
· Auction went well.
· Need to get the word out to the rabbit and poultry people that they have to purchase a button. Need to put this info on their entry form.
HORSE PLAY DAY:
This got off to a late start.
This event takes a long time. Need to speed it up, maybe race two people at the same time.
It was suggested doing an open horse show.
TACK SWAP:
Needs some major revamping and need to look at changing fees.
WORKING HORSE & DRIVER CONTEST:
Jennifer did a good job of announcing.
Because of safety reasons, need to change location of signup table.
Need to keep kids out of the arena.
Starting this event earlier worked out well.
KIDS BOZEMAN ROUNDUP:
Had a lot of kids participate and went well.
OTHER BUSINESS:
Sue reported that Corral West, a major sponsor, was left off the list of sponsors by accident. Their sponsorship will be extended through Fair. Comments that we received back from the WinterFest survey are attached.
ELECTIONS:
Bill nominated Skip Hougland as Chairman. Sue seconded. Bill withdrew his motion. Bill nominated both Skip Hougland and Connie Garrett as Co-Chairman. Sue seconded. Vote taken. All were in favor. Motion carried. Debbie Holwegner will remain the Secretary.
NEXT MEETING DATE: Thursday, April 21 at 6 p.m.
ADJOURNMENT: Meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.
| 
