SOA wins best participation game award at Salute today

[RichT]

There's an informative interview from the show with Mark (I assume he also has a surname but I don't know what it is!) here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2bPUlo6FGg

(A few seconds in from where this clip starts). All good SoA publicity.

[Imperial Dave]

Fab work and great advert for the  society

[kodiakblair]

There's an informative interview from the show with Mark

In the time allowed I think that is very good interview.

Rules, figures, extras get a mention then the lad holding the mic asks the important question

"Can folk easily join SOA and can they do so online"

Mark answer and covers the main points Slingshot, research vs gaming etc.

I'd have been flustered and made a right hash of things but kudos to Mark for his composure 

[Imperial Dave]

Yes it was really good to get the plug in and get it in well

[Erpingham]

More kudos to the team at Salute, as the first member they signed up to the Society has already joined the forum (see introductions section for more details).

[stevenneate]

That's a positive to hear. Best participation game at Salute is, to me, the most important prize given and the one to win. Congratulations to the team who put it on.

[CarlL]

Dave

RE "However it is a little odd that there was no publicity on this forum on the team from the Society and the battle they were taking "

I think the answer is ORGANIC to how the SoA survives, as alluded to by Richard Jeffrey-Cook, it is organic in sense that over the years many members have taken the 'banner' (not always literally) of the SoA to their local show(s) to raise profile of SoA and as volunteers (rather than this being a centrally organised event) while many times SoA goods would be provided by a SoA committee member to support this venture and any subscriptions raised passed on (obviously mostly re website days). The same principles still apply hence my labelling it as organic in terms of how volunteers run our society, as pro-active members.

The only advertising might be a notice in Slingshot or in later years on the website of the organisation whose show the volunteers attended. Many committee members have done this on top of 'committee' roles (Phil Steel perhaps being the most obvious one - but apologies to all those others who have attended over the years..) In Lancashire (as was) myself, Phil Halewood and Martin Charlesworth did a similar regular participation game spot at the 'Phalanx' show for many years. You probably only met other SoA members in this way outside of SoA events, like the AGMs / conventions or the AGMs held for couple of years as the Leeds Armouries museum.

Of course the Forum helps widen our contacts, but most of those I have spoken to here I have never met face to face, so the volunteers become that face for some national or local events.

CarlL