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GovSec a Success?
By Jesse L. Medford, ChallengeCoinAssociation.org
Washington, DC
- Freeman held the 2008 GovSec, U.S. Law and Ready Convention on April 23rd and 24th at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
This is the first time I represented Northwest Territorial Mint's
booth since the Air Force Association event that was also held by
Freeman last September. Listening
to the vendors that attended GovSec in the past, you will quickly find
out that the crowd has gradually
been shrinking year by year. Many vendors stated that this will
be the
last year they attend. Maybe that is the reason that Freeman is
quick to announce next years GovSec show will be running in conjunction
with FOSE. Much to the chagrin of all the vendors that I spoke
with. FOSE is an IT event, not Government or Law.
That being said, I really enjoyed the two days I spent in Washington.
The trip was well worth my while. I didn't hear another
person say that they were glad to be there. I only heard
complaint after complaint when I was chatting with other vendors.
I did get to meet a lot of Challenge Coin collectors at the NWTM booth.
As usual, we had a primo spot at the show. We sell custom coins and
this time we took a shot at retailing them too. People were very
excited to see us there. Just look at the excitement on the customer's face, pictured above on the right.
Candace in the booth next to us, commented on how
our booth was constantly busy. She even mentioned how nice it was
to hear the stories people would tell us about the coins they earned,
as they bought more coins for friends and relatives. Candace also
said that she was jealous of the reaction we would get as we showed our
business cards, in the form of a coin.
Two photos above is the NWT Mint booth shortly after
setup. My favorite coin in the custom showcase closeup, is on the
bottom right. The reverse of the 3" Afghanistan shaped Challenge
Coin made for CDR Adams and 1SG Cosio of Provincial Reconstruction Team
Khost.
When I did get a chance to break away from the booth, I really
enjoyed trading my personal coin for a gift to bring home for my kids.
I love when the people behind the booth don't bother chatting me
up about their products or services. They instantly fall in love with
our product and tell me it is going right in their collection.
Two photos above you will see my Crown Royal bag
filled with coins. I just had to ask if I could see what my bag
looks like on the X-ray machine. I explained how I always get
asked what I have in the bag, at the airport. He wanted to show
me how the machine would show the detail on one of my business card
coins. You can see above where the Pentagon is lighter in color
on the oval shaped coin.
Above you will see a sample of some of the other wares that were
available at GovSec. T3Motion was also a major contributor to my splitting headache during
the first day of the show. All the flashing police lights in the DC Convention Center. Uggh!
At the farthest table from the entrance, I found Symbol Arts. I really
enjoyed talking to Scott Bennett (blue shirt) about the hobby of collecting
Challenge Coins and how SA originally got started by selling rings.
I assumed it was badges, because that is what they are now best known
for. Badges were the only thing they had on a display though, and I
didn't notice a single ring.
This show may not have been a success for everybody. Proven by the
words they said, then cemented by their actions of tearing down the
booths, long before the show was over. But I am extremely glad I was
there representing NWT Mint.
Sleeping With
the Enemy? - In the business of selling Challenge Coins,
all of our friends are also our competitors... It
is a fine line from working together to make our stores better, and
working against each other, trying to make the sale.
Read more
Challenge Coin Therapy
-
With
this coin, the hope
was to pick up his spirit... The Commander’s wife
brought the coin and “challenged” him to get
better. To find out of the "challenge" was successful, Read more.
