It's still early, but well over half the rooms we blocked at the Radisson Center City have now been sold. I have added additional hotels for overflow and will have them up on the site later in July. The Radisson is directly across the street from the Showplace. There is an EconoLodge about 3 blocks south of the Showplace. These are the two closest hotels if you're interested in walking to the event each morning. There are two others that we'll be using as well and I'll get them up on the website as soon as special show lodging rates are finalized.

In the next two weeks, I should have the official event website (www.rodexpo.com) updated with the complete list of exhibitors and seminars.

The International Custom Rod Building Exposition is the one custom rod building event that actually supports the industry and craft of custom rod building, instead of the other way around. Everything about this event is designed to make it educational and informational for the rod builder, profitable for the industry, and a boon to the craft itself. Everything from the low admission fee, to the extremely beautiful (and expensive) Showplace facility, means that we won't make more than a few pennies (if that) but the craft will have an event that's on par with the events that other notable crafts and hobbies have.

I could charge a higher admission fee and hold the event in a less user friendly venue (cheaper on me). I could stop paying the seminar presenters. Instead of just giving all the door prizes away for free, I could sell raffle tickets for them (money in my pocket). I could forget about the vendors and whether or not they do well. But I won't. It's important to me that this craft have something of this size and scope and so I'll continue doing things this way until it's simply no longer economically possible to do so.

We've gotten a real head start organizing the event this year and I'm seeing booth sales and advance ticket sales that are outpacing all of the previous year's events. All good signs that point to an even bigger and better Expo in 2008.

Sorry for leaving the website address off earlier -

[www.rodexpo.com]

.........

It's the best rod building event in the world! I can vouch for the fact that nobody else at any other show does so much for the builders or the vendors. You really put everybody else first and it shows!

Just a super, super, super show. I made my hotel room reservations for the 2008 Expo the day they became available. I will attend this show every year from now on. Don't see how I can afford not to. I figured I saved enough on the blanks and stuff I bought last year to easily pay for my drive up and hotel room for two nights. It's really an incredible show!

Until this mega-event, all custom rod building had were the small, overpriced club shows. The clubs made money, the few vendors lost money, and the rod builders ended up being the same small handful of guys each year, over and over. The Rod EXPO has turned out to be a breath of fresh air in a hobby sorely needing one. Keep up the good work. This is the most important event for the world's rod builders.

You know Tom if you used the same sort of voodoo math that some of the clubs do you could add up all the stuff that you give away at the rod expo and say that in the end you are actually paying each person about $200 to attend. LOL!

Also thanks for the six free copies of Rodmaker I got with my subscription. What a deal!