Who can resist a carnival ride and junk food fall festival? To add to the fun, include an intriguing ‘spin the wheel’ booth game manned by MOCOS (Missouri Convention of States) District Captain Patti Siegel and a few dedicated patriots ready with leading questions. The result – an ‘Article V learning experience’ and a boost in COS support.
MOCOS' presence at the recent Manchester Homecoming Festival proved quite a success. “There were more than 100 people of all ages who came through our booth,” says Patti. “We had 65 petition signers, 28 of whom were from my district.” Yet, Patti’s success formula didn’t come easy. “We had a booth in 2019, and I learned you just can’t stand there and hand out pamphlets,” she says. “You have to make your booth fun.”
Armed with a few marketing tips and the determination to generate interest this year, Patti started planning a COS booth for the Manchester Homecoming Festival in early spring. Her aim – to build a booth with an incentive for people to come, and to grow awareness of the Convention of States Project.
So, working with members of the MOCOS management team, Patti gathered resources, decided on a Q&A booth game that would generate conversation, promoted and held a region wide COS ‘meet and greet’ two weeks prior to the September 10-12 festival, listed the upcoming event on the MOCOS blog, invited COS supporters in all the surrounding Missouri districts, and built up her list of new volunteers and contacts.
For the festival COS booth, she not only included a ‘spin the wheel’ game, but also drew interest and a constant flow of ‘wheel’ players with free tickets to a basket raffle, which included gift cards, some handsome candles, and other goodies donated by COS supporters.
Patti’s recipe for success can be yours as well: draw people to your COS event with an incentive, make it fun, be prepared to generate and answer questions, and make it a kid friendly time.
Editor's note: Patti Siegel is an accomplished artist and retired art teacher and she created this coloring page for the kids: Article V Coloring Page
Do you feel you need to learn more about the COS Project before you prepare to spread the word about the solution as big as the problem? No worries, start right here: Missouri Information Page
