In 2008, we had more than our share of exhibitors who showed up at the fair, without having an entry in the database. They fell into 3 categories: they THOUGHT they entered the state fair but didn't (maybe entered open classes on line instead); they completed the paper entry, but somehow that record never made it into the entry database; or they completed a paper entry and even that paper entry was misplaced in the county office before it got to the state office.
Understandably, this creates a less-than-acceptable experience for the youth and parents (and the livestock crews, truthfully!!) Although a summary sheet prints from the database, listing all entries for the county, it may be that it's not being used to proofread as much as we think it is.
Fo r2009, I'm thinking about creating a webpage, similar to the results pages, that will list all the exhibitors and the contact info that we have about them from each county. I would create it in the first few days after the databases are due here, and would also include a link for someone in the office to verify that they had seen and proofed this list. If used properly, that should eliminate some of the problems where we have a paper entry, but the kid isn't in the database. It might also trigger county staff to double check that there weren't any more kids out there... that there isn't a wrong address, etc.
What do you think? Is it worth everyone's time? Most years, I would have said "no". We normally have one or two kids show up at the fair with no entry recorded. But this year, there were lots more than that, and it really causes a logistical challenge, as well as the distress for the kid & parents. They've not received any exhibitor letters, we don't have an exhibitor number or T-shirt for them, no records for their animal, etc.
Anyway, comments. I know that we all think we're accurate, and that we double-check things the way we're supposed to. At least I believe that I do... until I'm proven wrong (again). If this system would catch even a couple of those kids before the fair, it would be worth it to me. Is it burdensome to expect someone from each county to go to a web page and click on a "verify" button to indicate that they have seen and checked the list that I have here?