Davie High hosted its first-ever Club Fair during third period on December 10 to advertise the various clubs at the school. Students had the opportunity to visit booths and talk to representatives of a multitude of clubs, though the turnout was lower than both organizers and clubs had expected.
The fair was organized by teachers Renee Lamb, Kerstin Steinhour, and Colonel Daniel Marks. Lamb, an English teacher who is involved with both Mock Trial and Youth and Government, made a digital flyer and acted as a “point person” to answer various questions students and clubs had about the fair. Lamb said the fair came out of a discussion about how to improve student leadership in the school. She believes that showing initiative in clubs and other extracurricular activities is essential for developing these qualities, though working to organize this event was a daunting one for the third-year teacher.
“I’ve never planned something like this before,” Lamb said. “I know that having something during your lunch can always be hit or miss, and I was hopeful that it turned out well, that we would have a lot of clubs show up and a lot of interest gathered.”
Throughout the period, the club fair attracted only a small number of students, with second lunch (held halfway through third period) attracting the largest number of attendees. While some clubs were able to capture the attention of visitors, many were unable to gain as many new members as they had hoped for.
“We were aiming for at least five to ten members, and we only got two,” Emberlynn Whitaker, a member of Junior Civitans, said. For some clubs, their booths struggled to cater to the interests of the students who visited.
“People don’t like science, so we got like, three people,” Trista Yang of Science Club said. “Unless you’re really passionate or really like doing science…you’re not going to join a club like the science club…One of the kids I talked to, he had a passion for neurology, and I think that’s what compelled him to join.”
For clubs that did attract attention, some garnered traction for reasons unrelated to their actual club. Drama Club’s booth was hounded by an influx of people during second lunch, but the crowd was more interested in the booth’s glowsticks and lollipops than information about club activities.
“It gets us out there, even to people that aren’t interested in the club,” Drama Club President Hazel Reavis said. “Drama club is not a super big club, but the more we get involved in these things, the better we’ll get out there.”
One issue that may have contributed to the low number of visitors was a lack of advertisement. While the school featured the fair on the Daily Announcements, many students said they were unaware it was happening.
“I think it could have done some more advertising, or gotten it out to the school body, because I felt like there weren’t really any posts on Instagram or just places where students would really look,” Yang said. “No one really reads the school announcements.”
To help increase the number of students present, students worked with staff to make an announcement over the intercom about the event. While they were unable to use the intercom due to cafeteria noise, they were able to get an announcement via megaphone by John Hamby-Lattimore, War Eagle Credit Union representative, which led to an increase in visitors.
“First lunch, it didn’t go very well,” Lamb said. “I know that second lunch and third lunch went better because there was an announcement made, you know, telling people about the club fair. I do wish we would have had more clubs sign up. We had about twenty sign up, and only fourteen showed up.”
Despite the lower-than-anticipated attendance, the club fair wasn’t totally unsuccessful. In some cases, the event introduced students to clubs they were previously unaware of. Clubs like the International Students Club and the Rock Climbing Club were able to garner interest from large groups of students. For the International Students Club, which previously had only five members, raising awareness was particularly beneficial.
“We have had plenty of people,” club member Daniela George Perez said. “Some actually seemed interested. Some just came for stickers, but that’s fine.”
For other groups, the fair being in the small gym gave them a unique advantage. As a representative of the Rock Climbing Club, sophomore Arjey Teper was particularly grateful that the group’s table was positioned right in front of one of their climbing walls, which he said attracted a number of visitors. According to Teper, while the fair was not without its successes, it still did less than expected.
“I think it helped. Not as much as it probably could have,” Teper said. “People definitely came. But again, not many people knew about this. Heck, I didn’t even know about this.”
Even with a less-than-expected turnout, the club fair laid a foundation for future events to be more successful.
“I’ve realized a couple of things that we missed that we will need to include next year as the information goes out, but I think it could have been more successful. But overall, our first time trying something like this–just three people, you know, being involved in planning something for the whole school–I think it turned out pretty well.”
