HISTORY OF THE PARIS TEXAS HAMFEST

In January of 2005, Richard Lenoir and a few friends thought that it would be fun to have a hamfest in Paris, Tx. They felt that Paris is in a good location for people to meet up with one another for eyeball QSO's and bring other hams in the area together. After talking to several people, they also felt that this was a good idea and would be good for the local ham community, as well as be a good way to promote the hobby. It was brought before the local established club several times for their consideration to sponsor the event, but was met with controversy and a general lack of interest. Richard and his friends were temporarily discouraged, but not for long, as they soon found a number of people that were very interested in their idea and they wanted to be a part of it and support it. Richard began holding meetings in his home to begin planning the event in March. As the planning progressed, the number of supporters grew. So the meetings then were held at the Paris Airport Conference room, to accomodate the growing number of those involved. The ARRL sanctioned the hamfest and many publications listed the hamfest in their monthly magazines. The hamfest was advertised widely on the air, as well as the internet. Several well known vendors agreed to come to Paris to help support the event. The hamfest was held in the Coliseum at the Red River Valley Fairgrounds in Paris, Tx. The fairgrounds is a large area and was chosen so that there is plenty of room to grow in the coming years, as the hamfest becomes a major event of the ham community and one to become known as a "DO NOT MISS". We had a great turn out, around 200 in attendance, which we were thrilled with, especially for a first hamfest. We learned a lot doing the first one, and are very hopeful that the next one will be even better. We will now be offering VE testing at the hamfest. The first hamfest was sponsored by private donations and donations by the McCurtain Co. Oklahoma Amateur Radio Club. Also to help fund the first hamfest, raffle tickets were sold locally, as well as on the internet. Tickets were sold in 3 countries and about 15 states in the USA. 

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