Space Symposium is a pack rat's delight

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Apr 1, 2004 | by PAM ZUBECK THE GAZETTE

Need a new ink pen, a ball that lights when it bounces, a mouse pad or a travel golf set?

How about a coffee mug, lanyard, ruler with American presidents on it or a necklace made of shells from Hawaii (from the Maui Economic Development Board, of course)?

All those things and more can be found at 136 vendor booths at the 20th Annual National Space Symposium at The Broadmoor's International Center.

It's a haul that would get any pack rat's juices flowing. Conveniently, it all fits into one bag -- and take your pick: Hewlett- Packard, Navy, Kodak, Honeywell, Air Force Research Lab, to name a few.

If pens are your thing, pick from at least 20 -- in blue, white, maroon, black, turquoise, silver, and red -- or take them all. And remember those big defense contractors every time you write: Digital Globe, Boeing, Space Dynamics Laboratory, Raytheon.

But get real. Who needs more pens when you can cop a set of golf tees from ATK Alliant Techsystems, or a water bottle from Swales Aerospace, or a triangle-shaped highlight marker from MTC, or leather, yes leather, coasters from Northrop Grumman.

Then there are keychains -- from the Air Force, Army and USAA.

A tape measure from Wyle Laboratories. Memo holders from ARINC and ASRC Aerospace Corp.

And, the favorite of many -- a red plastic dart shaped like a man with a gummy head. Toss it against a wall when it's hard to stick to the job.

Whatever the item -- useful, clever, inexpensive all -- they're important, booth tenders say.

Jennifer Wohlleban, a marketing consultant working for a Seattlebased data storage company, said her golf-putting kit draws crowds, and "Yes, it gets our name out."

Nothing costs more than $19 --to comply with government policies barring bureaucrats from accepting gifts worth more than $20.

But if you're lucky, you'll be seen as one of those $19 big shots for which pens, keychains and coasters aren't enough. For you, they pull out the "premium gift."

At Space Gateway Support, it's a fold-up pullcart -- the perfect thing to tote away your haul.