Alabama Gun Collectors Cancels March Event In Fear Of Coronavirus Concerns.

With no reported cases of Coronavirus in the entire State of Alabama at the time of this original article, The Alabama Gun Collectors has cancelled the March event that was and has been scheduled for 6 months over people's fears over the Coronavirus in Alabama. With days before the event, vendors started getting emails today saying AGCA was cancelling the show. Update: 03/16/2020 With now several people now showing the virus in Alabama (22) at this time, We would do not necessarily agree with Alabama Gun Collectors cancelling the show. With hundreds of vendors that booked hotels and made arrangements to be at this show, vendors may not be able to get out of their hotels reservations. With days away from the show, AGCA feels this is in "our" best interest but if you ask the vendors ....it is not in their best interest. Many vendors have expressed their total disappointment in the Hoover show getting cancelled as for many this could 1/2 to 1/3 of their annual income and many use this show to get them thru the slow months in the industry, especially for a vendor that does not do many shows. Many of vendors including myself, this is our full time job and Trade Shows are a way in life. We do on average 49 shows a year in 6 States and at this time we are a little put off by the shows cancelling as well as doing shows in States that have more affected people than we do here in our home state.

Our personal take on events cancelling is: that event organizers over the USA are overreacting to this and especially in a state where their are super low numbers of cases in our state; actually according to reports there is no reported cases in the entire USA of anyone getting corona in the children, teens, twenties, thirties. Numerous reports state this affects the immune compromised and elderly only at this time.

Small business like ours will drastically be affected by all the event cancellations and their is no financial or business relief for us in a State where there is only a few reported cases in isolated counties, according to the press releases. While the President of the United States has asked for business relief for those in affected areas,we will not get any help or relief in our family based on the type business we and other i.e. Private Contractors have.

March 14th there was a show in Montgomery, Alabama and while it was not the biggest show compared to previous shows, people still came out and felt comfortable at the venue. Hands Sanitizer and Bathroom were full of soap, paper towels and toilet paper to suit everyone's needs.

Side Note: While schools have been given added Spring Breaks, they are encouraged to go back to school to pick up their school lunches. Who besides me thinks this is absurd. Why even let them out of school if you are going to let them come back in groups well pover the 50 to eat or pick up their lunches? I am sorry but this seems counter productive in the plan to flatten the curve of the virus. Here is the Press Release Email we received 03-12-2020 from Alabama Gun Collectors:

Good Afternoon -

We have been receiving numerous calls and emails regarding the upcoming gun show.

Given the growing concerns around COVID-19 and out of an abundance of caution for the health and safety of our members, vendors and show patrons, the AGCA has made the decision to cancel the March 21-22, 2020 Spring Gun Show. This was not a decision that was made lightly. Various entities were consulted and with the cancellation of numerous events around the country, we feel erring on the side of caution, given the continued uncertainty of this virus, is best.

All reservations will be rolled over to our summer show scheduled for July 18-19, 2020 as previously advertised.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. Thank you so much for your understanding during this time. Please stay safe. For information about the Coronavirus Disease 2019, updates and steps to prevent illness, please visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

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Alabama Gun Collectors Association