Mr. Butler on Planning a Show

Northern Advocate, 26 June 1937, Page 14 (Supplement)

Mr. Butler on Planning a Show

and Troubles of Being an A. & P. Secretary

y you attend the Whangarei Winter / Exhibition, and see everything running smoothly and according to schedule, pause and think of the tremendous amount, of organisation which must' have been necessary. MrC. P. ~ Eutler, the secretary of the Whangarei A. & P. b- Society, who has had years of experience in running and organising shows, has written below a short article in which he gives an r . T fnsight into the methods employed, by the .". Whangarei Society.

The constitution of its committees is unique—but let Mr Butler tell the story:—

Sound Foundation Needed. In planning for a show it is necessary, as in all structures, to have a sound foundation, and in this, I think, the Whangarei. A. & P. Society is indeed fortunate. This sound foundation is due, in ray opinion, to the unique constitution of its committees. You will note that each section of the Exhibition is allotted to a chief steward. »The advantages of this system have been proved over the past two or three years, to be as great as anticipated. Each steward is directly responsible to the Committee, as a whole, for his or her section, and automatically takes } a seat on the Committee to which he is responsible.

This means that, in any matters which a chief steward considers of sufficient importance to bring before the Committee, advice-of the whole is available, but the meeting is not burdened by the consideration of details appertaining principally or wholly to any one section. Great Saving in Timer

The work of a show secretary is entirely different from that of the secretary of a company or trading organisation, as an exhibition is composed of such a vast number of facets, and it is sometimes difficult, to steer a smooth course through the sea of wants of exhibitors, judges, and stewards, to say nothing of the president and vice-president. On one occasion, a lady exhibitor gave me a half-hour's lecture on the impertinence of a judge who had dared to open her jam exhibit. On the same day, I had another exhibitor complain, at length, that all her jams had not .been opened,, and this by the same judge. •,

At one time we used to have some difficulty over the rental from sideshows, and I was once confronted with a weeping damsel offering to leave me a dozen or so of priceless rings (?) as

To the chief steward this is a decided advantage, as he ' has only ’ the executive officers—president and vice-president—to consult with, which nfeans a’ great saving in time. The resultant rivalry between the various stewards ensures that each is constantly on the qui vive to improve his particular section. A steward also has a personal, responsibility to the exhibition, and responsibility brings interest and results. So much for the foundation. The planning of the superstructure consists of keeping in constant touch with each section, conferring with each steward as to that particular section of the schedule, appointment of judges, ordering of necessary material, and analysing the correspondence to see that any sectional letters are seen, if necessary, by the steward in charge of that section.

Different Type of Work.

Of course, over and above this is the necessity for seeing that matters of general interest to the exhibitor are not neglected. They in turn must be coordinated to finally make a harmonious whole.

an evidence of good faith. On finding me still hard of heart, she departed, to return in ten minutes with a roll of notes almost sufficient to buy the show! Three Thousand Exhibits.

When you consider that at this exhibition we shall have some three thousand exhibits, and that each single exhibit is, and rightly so, the most important article to the owner in the whole show, it will indicate in some small measure, the necessity of constant watchfulness to ensure smooth running.

However, in spite of difficulties and mistakes, the running of a show has its lighter side, and with the system that I have outlined, in operation, it is_ a pleasure to be associated with the committees of what promises to be the largest and most Degressive A. & P. Society in Northland.