and the
Pate Swap Meet
By Richard Bailey Pate Swap Meet Director
This information is mainly for the new members but will be a refresher for older members as well.
The Northeast Texas Region AACA, a.k.a., The Greenville Antique Car Club, was organized in
1973 by seventeen local individuals, some who are still active including Bob Thomas;
Ronald Holley: David Gish Sr" Bob Cartwright: Ronnie Green; Don Cartwright (inactive);
Bob Bramlett (inactive); Hershel Moore (inactive); O.W. Thomas (deceased); and several
other whose names are not available to me.
In 1972, The Pate Swap Meet was started and then in 1973, after the charter of the Northeast
Texas Region AACA was complete, Bob Thomas present the credentials to the Pate Swap
Meet Officials, and asked that the Greenville Car Club be made a member. After all was said
and done, The Pate Swap Meet Association had seventeen (17) members, which to my
knowledge still exist today.
Having now been amed a member of The Pate Swap Meet Association, the Greenville Car
Club would share in the profits made at The Swap Meet. The Swap Meet was set to begin
on the last Thursday of April at the Pate Air Museum in Cresson, Texas. Bob Thomas was
appointed to be the first registrar. The remaining members were given other duties during the
meet.
In order to share in the profits of The Association, each club would furnish volunteers to work.
The first year, they sold approximately 200 spaces, the second year approximately 300, the
fourth 450. The Pate Swap meet continued to grow.
When I joined the Car Club in 1988, I volunteered to work. Our job, at that time, was to
assist in what was called the "STAKEOUT". What is a "STAKEOUT"? In order
to sell spaces to vendors, the spots had to be marked off, so that everyone knows where they are supposed to put their parts to sell. That's what we did back then. We would leave home around 5A.M., stop for breakfast, and be at the grounds at 8 A.M. We would complete the "STAKEOUT"and then leave for
home some time after 2 P.M. We continued to do the stakeout until 1998, when the Association had to find another place to hold the meet.
We still have to furnish volunteer workers. The task that we have, for the time being, is to man
the "INFORMATION CENTER". We are now responsible for manning two (2) of the six (6) Centers This usually takes about thirty (30) workers over five
days, starting on Wednesday. These workers will expend about 165 man-hours, not including the man-hours that I work as the Director.
Although the Swap Meet starts on Thursday, the vendors are allowed in on Wednesday. During the normal course of the Swap Meet, we sell about 7000 - 9'X18'
spaces. These spaces are all in the asphalt parking area on the West side of the Speedway.
If all goes according to plan, the Association usually, but not always, will or should have a net
income of about $110,000 for distribution. Our percentage of this, usually with a membership of
around 105, comes out to be around 5.5%. Also, if you put a calculator to those figures, you will
find that it equates to between $40 and $50 per hour worked. Not too bad for a few hours of work, you think? This is how I've been coming up with the
estimate of our annual income from The Pate Swap Meet. However, due to additional expenses that I wasn't aware of at the time I made my estimate, our income
for the past two years was down about 27%. I do hope that for 2007 our income will be back on
track.
I hope that this will enlighten you as to how and why we are in The Pate Swap Meet Association.
One item that I've left out is that if you will look at your Roster and put an age to all of the current members, you will see that the average age will
probably be around 65, maybe hight. We are not alone. All seventeen clubs have the same problem. One Houston club is thinking about getting out of the
Association As in most clubs, about 25 or 30% of the total members do all of the work that has to be done.
If we wish to continue to thrive as we are doing, then we need to stay as a member of The Pate Swap Meet Association and do what it takes to get the job done,
using volunteers.
It is getting close to both the Greenville and The Pate Swap Meets. At the next Club meeting, I will have a worker's schedule for volunteers for the
Greenville Swap Meet Parking duties. We've had this duty for the past couple of years. for this task, I will need a minimum of 22 people. I will also have
the worker's volunteer schedule for The Pate Swap Meet at the next meeting.
See you at the next meeting, or where ever our paths should cross.
Happy Motoring
Richard Bailey