posted 08-07-2006 05:28 PM            

I’m attending the UACC show in San Antonio this weekend (it will be my third show – I attended DC and NJ) and I finally have something that others may benefit from (especially people who haven’t been to one of these shows before).

This is an amazing event – just to see and meet all these heroes we grew up with. I wanted to pass along a few tips/suggestions that I learned from my first two shows. Hope these help… and maybe the real experts can add to this! I think someone else earlier posted how the show works, and rough ideas of autograph prices, so I won’t rehash those. But here are some tips…

Have a Plan
-----------------
1. I put together a spreadsheet of all the astronauts and what I’m looking to get signed by each one. This helps me plan my day (and budget) – and help to prioritize.

Talking to the Astronauts
-----------------------------------
1. It’s taken me two years to realize that all these astronauts are really just real people (ok, legends, but deep down real peole!). I was almost ‘scared’ to talk to these legends my first year (it was more a of a yes sir, thank you sir, stand in awe that a man who walked on the moon was shaking my hand…). Last year I realized that they are genuine, and have the most incredible stories to tell. The stories, to me, are worth so much more than the autographs!

2.Read up on the Astronauts before you get there. Know a little about each one. And think of one or two questions to ask them about their specific mission or role in the space program. They seem to appreciate that you know them well enough to ask about a detail of one of their missions – and they really opened up to me when I talked to them.

3. Don’t forget about the support folks. People like Gunter Wendt, Bill Dana, Cece Bibby, etc all have fascinating stories with a different perspective on that time in our history!

4. Don’t forget the Russians! They are really interesting, genuine, and seemed to enjoy sharing some really great stories from the other side of the space race!

Autographs
----------------
1. The line forms early in the morning to get into the show, but the crowds seem to thin out later in the day. I got there at 0-dark-30 in the morning last year, and got my first autograph or two quickly, but then the lines got very long. I waited and waited. But by early afternoon, the lines were much shorter. Something to consider.

2. For personalized requests, I handed each Astronaut a post-it note with what I wanted personalized. My name, “Albrecht”, isn’t the easiest one and they really appreciated my having it pre-written for them.

3. Realize that things may not go perfect, and sometimes the unexpected turns out to be the best! Last year, I had a replica of a Mercury capsule door (from Geraths Design) with the Sigma Seven logo. I asked Cece Bibbe to sign it. She had never seen one (they are really cool, by the way) and signed it “Mercury Artist”. I then took it to Wally Schirra to sign eager to get his trademark Sigma 7 logo. He laughed when he saw how Cece had signed it as “Mercury Artist” – and Wally said “Well, guess that puts me in my place. See how she likes this… and he signed it “Mercury Crew!” – and told me to take it back to Cece. Both got a huge laugh over it – and I bet I’m the only one with Wally Schirra’s autograph labled “Mercury Crew”!!

Dinner
-----------
1. The Banquet is an AMAZING event. If you’re in town, and debating on spending the money to go, GO! It’s great to have one of the astronauts captive at your table, and to hear some of their stores throughout the night is priceless. Well worth the monies.

2. Bring at least a Blazer (and tie), or suit. My first year (remember, I was young and naive), I didn’t even think about the dinner being a dressy affair and I felt really underdressed. (I actually went to the gift-shop and bought a tie… cost me the price of two Alan Bean autographs as I recall…)

Vendors
--------------
1. Bring some extra spending money for the unexpected. Every year, there are some treasures that either the astronauts bring themselves, or their sponsoring companies, or some of the great vendors that are lined up. I picked up a few nice items last year that I hadn’t planned on (a beta cloth, a cover, some books, etc). Fortunately I had some extra money saved up!

2. Books – Don’t forget to buy books and have them autographed by the astronauts. If you haven’t been following, many of the astronauts have been writing books the past few years and this is a great chance to get them autographed! There should be at least one book dealer there.

Steve/Nolan
-----------------
1. Find Steve and Nolan and introduce yourself. I again was ‘nervous’ to do this – I’m just a newbee and they are legends! But over the past year, I’ve had the pleasure of talking with both of them thru Farthest Reaches and the UACC show, and they are two of the nicest people.

Cameras
-------------
1. Bring a camera! I finally pulled mine out at the END of the show last year and got just two pictures of me (both at the dinner) with Jack Lousma and Binnie/Mellville. I really treasure those shots, and wish I would have had it earlier. Most of the astronauts don’t seem to mind asking to have your photo taken with them.

Question to the Group
------------------------------------
1. A question I have for the group – I always hear after the show about the great stories ‘in the bar’ in the evenings after the show (e.g. Fri and Sat night). I saw a group around Wally and a few of the others last year – and I’m sure that the real ‘experts’ in the group are probably the ones who are there with these legends. Are these generally ‘private’ gatherings, and it is inappropriate to try to join? I’m not the most outgoing type, and certainly wouldn’t want to interrupt or be rude.. Just curious!

Sorry for the long post, but hopefully this helps! Looking forward to seeing you there!
Regards, Albrecht

posted 08-08-2006 03:38 AM              

Thanks for taking the time to write this guide up. It is my first time and this information is valuable!

posted 08-08-2006 08:26 AM               

Same things holds true at breakfast. I'm sure that Doug and Noah can offer a few stories from last year's show.

As someone who is a tennis shirt and jeans person 99.9% of the time [much to my wife's chagrin], I think the banquet is a little more than business casual. A jacket and tie should be required - at least a jacket.

posted 08-08-2006 08:07 PM               

If anyone has some experience with this I would appreciate it.

Thanks,