Fixed or Random National Meet Locations.

[glenn in camino]

I really like visiting different cities for national meets and installation banquets.

 

[Ken Ehrenhofer]

The problem with a fixed location is if the location is too far to travel now it will be forever to far to travel. If the location rotates around the country it gives a greater chance for the different people to attend at least one meet in there lifetime.

Our region looked into hosting something here in South Florida. The trouble it there is no "guidebook" for those that never ran something this big to be sure all the avenues are met. Another problem for a South Florida national event it the lack of "model A" roads. Any one that has ever been here knows there are little "scenic" routes to be taken. The last and possibly greatest disadvantage is the distance one has to travel to get here. It is several hours from the top of the state to the Fort Lauderdale area. The northern part of the state actually has hills, while the only hills here are overpasses.

Hi Mike,
There is a Meet Guidelines book available from the National to help explain things. Also we have had several National Meets in Northern Florida...Yes I know it is a long way down to you guys......but maybe you could use some of the guys and gals from St Petersburg and Jacksonville to help out even if it is just for thier experience.....How about hosting a meet around Disney world.....It does not have to be in your backyard......Just some thoughts

 

[BadgerA]

Will. I applaud your approach to tackling your new position! Having known you for a relatively short time and seeing your level of enthusiasm and sense of caring,, I am anticipating great things moving forward. That being said, I share the opinion that there are far too many complainers and not enough doers. Perhaps a bit of history might be in order to illustrate. Our chapter "The Nickle As" in northeastern Wisconsin has now hosted four national meets. Having only been into model A's and a club member for about five years I can only speak of our Oshkosh meet last year. As a result of going through that experience I absolutely refuse to accept the excuse from any club that hosting a national is too hard! Our club only has about 100 members. Out of that membership only about 40 of the members were actively involved in putting on last year's meet. Yes it takes time (about two years) and yes it takes dedication on the part of the participants. But if planned methodically, it is NOT difficult to do. Again, our club and others have hosted multiple meets and we will all be more than happy to share our story with anyone curious about what to do and how to do it.

Certainly we all hope that those who attended in Oshkosh had a good time. But from a purely selfish point of view, I can honestly say that hosting the meet left me with a far deeper and fulfilling experience than I have had "just attending" a meet put on by someone else. You meet a lot of very nice people, the bonds of friendship you make are priceless and for a lifetime.

Repeating, I have only been in this "hobby" for a few years. Yes the cars are fun to own and use,,, but if that is all there would be, I would no longer be part of this "family". It is the friendships I have made with total strangers from all over the country that has been my motivator to continue. Model A people are a unique breed and the best!

Frankly, I have concerns for the future of the hobby and our national club if more people don't step out of their comfort zone and commit to hosting a meet. If we leave it up to a few and settle for a limited number of host sites, I think we will see the end of our organization sooner rather than later. Just take a look at the membership roles. It's not a pretty picture. The age is increasing and there is very little new blood entering the hobby.
yes, national meets are for the members to be sure. But if we do not openly invite outsiders to see what a wonderful hobby we have by letting them see the cars,, and if we do not "move the experience around" so a greater audience can partake, we will settle into complacency. If local chapters do not step up and offer to host a meet,,, then IMHO they do not have a right to complain about repetitive venues, time of year, etc.

It's time to step up people. Challenge your local chapter to host a meet. The benefits to all will be immeasurable. Enjoy the journey. Thanks for listening.

Steve in Wisconsin

 

[frank55a]

Will, Steve, and some others are right on. I could write a book on this issue.

The Membership meets and National Tours are not that difficult to host. Our Region hosted 3 Membership Meets within 11 years. The last Membership Meet we hosted had 3 days of tours some what like a National Tour. While the National Meets take more work they can be hosted by a small group and still be successful, i.e., 2009 National Meet I believe the host Region had 9 members.

In the end when the BOD has tried everything and time is running out with no other choice, then you get what you get.

As several others have stated earlier in various ways, quit your complaining it is time to stand up and do something about it or live with the conseuences.

 

[Arlen]

I'm with a lot of the others on here. I only have so much time off from work and only so much money to spend during that time. I wouldn't be interested in going to the same place year after year unless it was a really special place (rocky mountains, Yellowstone, etc). Your talking about 2014-2015 but what about 8-10 years down the road? I was on the board of directors planning the 2008 mafca/Marc joint meet and just completed chairing the 2013 mafca national tour. The blue ridge is a beautiful drive but I couldn't expect to organize a tour down it every year. The number of attendees would drop to half after the second year. Another case of been there done that.

 

[Mike V. Florida]

Second, while you are correct that a meet could indeed make lots of money, IMHO that is NOT the purpose of these meets!! Matter of fact, it should be just the opposite. You have already heard complaints regarding costs. Suggesting these events need to be a 'cash cow' would be very detrimental to MARC Meet attendance.


.

I went to the joint meet in Dallas and when it was over the host club returned some excess money to the attendees by way of a gift card.

 

[MikeK]

Timing is everything. I agree with Scott NY. Neither I nor my family members are ever available to travel in June. Try the last three weeks of July or the first two of August. Mixing it up a bit may bring some new faces to the meets.

 

[Mike V. Florida]

How about a poll with the question to get an idea of what the general forum member thinks in one post.

Not meant to be a hijack but whatever is decided, please get event insurance and invite the general (non member) public.

 

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

I went to the joint meet in Dallas and when it was over the host club returned some excess money to the attendees by way of a gift card.

Yeah if you recall, only after I began raising Holy Hades about the money they made!



Funny about this is I hear folks complain they would not return year after year to the same place, ...but I also see a pattern where it is the same few groups that must re-host multiple times. I can't seem to get it out of my mind that it is a "Well since they can't find anyone else to do it, I guess we better do it again!" mindset that 20% of the folks are doing 80% of the work in hosting these venues. I wonder what would happen if it was a mandatory requirement that ALL chapters/regions had to host at least one National Meet???


.

 

[Richard Wilson]

Brent, I know that you are an officer in one of the national T Model Clubs. What do they do as related to some sort of national meet or tour? Do they go to the same location every year for their "national meet" and/or tour, or do they do different locations? Either way how does it work out for the members?

I wonder if the T Model clubs had similar questions back in the 60's and 70's? I think lessons may be learned from what happened with the national T Model clubs.

 

[Chris in WNC]

national clubs should re-think the mid summer requirement when meets take place in areas guaranteed to have oppressively hot weather......

Alice and I explored the idea of hosting a national meet in Asheville. it would be a GREAT venue. but NONE of the clubs in the area have any interest in doing the work. here's where the National Meet Region could be helpful.

we vote for always having meets in small cities (French Lick, Marquette, &c) rather than major metro areas- more charm, less traffic.

 

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Brent, I know that you are an officer in one of the national T Model Clubs. What do they do as related to some sort of national meet or tour? Do they go to the same location every year for their "national meet" and/or tour, or do they do different locations? Either way how does it work out for the members?

I wonder if the T Model clubs had similar questions back in the 60's and 70's? I think lessons may be learned from what happened with the national T Model clubs.

They travel to different areas. I do think there has been more Model T clubs willing to step up to host them than what I am hearing is happening with Model-A events.

With that said, there are some other differences in the two. Our 'perceived value' by attendees is much better since our club guidelines state that any financial excess of $2,500 from the event must be equally returned to the registered car owners, or given back to the national club. As the Treasurer of the Nat'l club, within 90 days after completion of the meet/tour, a thorough accounting must be submitted to me for audit and presentation to the board members. Comparatively, I find the Model-T events are generally less money to attend for what one receives. I do feel that is huge with respect to attracting members to attend.

Will and I have spoken several times over the past month or so regarding the future of MARC and what can be done to aide in this. He has shared with me some things that I feel if they can implement will definitely be some positive changes.

national clubs should re-think the mid summer requirement when meets take place in areas guaranteed to have oppressively hot weather......

Alice and I explored the idea of hosting a national meet in Asheville. it would be a GREAT venue. but NONE of the clubs in the area have any interest in doing the work. here's where the National Meet Region could be helpful.

we vote for always having meets in small cities (French Lick, Marquette, &c) rather than major metro areas- more charm, less traffic.

Chris, I personally do not believe it takes a club to host one of these venues. Pennie, the kids, and myself hosted the Model T Clubs Annual Tour/Meet in Johnson City in 2009 with just the 4 of us. In some ways I think it was easier this way as we did not need to worry with club politics when we made decisions. While we were constrained not being able to make a profit, that did not restrict us from hiring people to handle duties for us, -or reimbursing us for out-of-pocket expenses. My point is I think doing a MARC meet would be even easier to pull off as there is less things to organize when you can hire people to do the things you can't.

I DO agree with you that you can delegate duties to Board Members and I feel most of them would assist you in finding volunteers to assist. I am co-chairing an event in 2014 in Boone, NC but after that date, I would be willing to help you two if you wanted to host one.

One other comment that I want to say tongue-in-cheek is that the mid summer dates that I hear others complain about, or that a meet is too far to drive are somewhat generally comical to me. Generally when we stereotype a typical Model-T owner, we think of an old man & woman. The Model T club's event is always held the 3rd week off July (usually hotter then than in mid-June) and we travel to far-away places (2009 - JC, TN; 2010 - Rapid City, SD; 2011 - Rochester, MN; 2012 - Rutland, VT; 2013 - Kanab, UT; 2014 - Boone, NC) and these event always fill up. That is why I think it has more to do with making it where it is enough of a family value that folks don't want to miss it.

.

 

[WTSHNN]

Ok, some real quick geography...

I have been to 13 of the last 15 MARC National Meets, starting with Jacksonville in 1998 and missing only Lancaster in '99 and San Diego in '11. I am unable to attend Lexington next week due to work commitments and don't plan on attending French Lick either of the next two years.

For kicks, I created this Google Map based on this thread.
Click Here for the Map

The map is interactive and you can move it around and zoom in and out as you please.

I plotted each MARC National Meet from 1996 until 2016, these are represented by the green pushpins.

I then went through this thread and plotted where each person who posted was from. If an exact location wasn't known, I tried to pick what looked to be the geographic center of their state. I then figured out the driving distance from them to French Lick. These are represented by the blue dots.

I did not plot Membership Meets or National Tours.

12 out of the 21 meets were held in what I think most people would consider "the Midwest."

FWIW
-Tim

 

[Jordan]

Every once in a while it's ok to repeat a location. But I would not go year after year to the same place...but that's just me.

 

[Richard Lorenz]

I suggest that we try French Lick for a fixed number of years, say 3. This will give it a good trial, then MARC can decide.

I would like to see more good technical seminars, not those that describe what meets the "Standards". That type of seminar just repeats what is already in the Judging Standards. The meeting with the best "how to" seminars was the joint meeting at Tacoma.

I have given seminars on shock repair (Grand Rapids) and the electrical system (Williamsburg). I might be able to provide a technical seminar at the next annual. The only subject that I can think of now would be details on the ignition system, including electronics. I am getting old and slow, but I might be able to do it if it is desired.

 

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

I suggest that we try French Lick for a fixed number of years, say 3. This will give it a good trial, then MARC can decide.

I would like to see more good technical seminars, not those that describe what meets the "Standards". That type of seminar just repeats what is already in the Judging Standards. The meeting with the best "how to" seminars was the joint meeting at Tacoma.

I have given seminars on shock repair (Grand Rapids) and the electrical system (Williamsburg). I might be able to provide a technical seminar at the next annual. The only subject that I can think of now would be details on the ignition system, including electronics. I am getting old and slow, but I might be able to do it if it is desired.

Jeez Richard, even better than these two???

.

 

[Richard Lorenz]

Brent: If you could only move your shop to a national meeting location. I believe that you did take part of it to Nashville or somewhere one time.

The Tacoma seminars included the classic on speedometer repairing (printed version is now available), carburetor repair by the man from Seattle whose name escapes me (Baetke maybe), an outdoor sheet metal demonstration like you might have done, and others.

 

[Mikeinnj]

Timing is everything. I agree with Scott NY. Neither I nor my family members are ever available to travel in June. Try the last three weeks of July or the first two of August. Mixing it up a bit may bring some new faces to the meets.

I disagree....

French Lick Indiana is a 1722 mile round trip from my home here in the New York Metro area.

That equates to sitting behind the wheel of my Model A for about 43 hours of non stop driving averaging 40 MPH. Figure in a bit more time for layovers, rest stops, gas stops etc.

That alone precludes my family from making the trip, as they are the
"Are we almost there yet ? " kind of passengers, who dislike riding in an
non-air conditioned vehicle in sweltering hot weather.
For this reason I vote MOVE THE EVENTS AROUND and hold them in the spring or fall. I know some of you have school age kids but MOST members do not, so the hot summer months are not desirable to most owners.
EXAMPLE - I attended the 1988 National meet in Sturbridge , Ma. held on the hottest week of the summer. It was so damned hot and humid all week no one even wanted to go out to the parking area to view the 400 cars on display except in the evening when the temps receded to the high 80's. Never again !

 

[spdway1]

Whoever recently called a member in our club was told "NO WAY", to bad because that is the feeling of few in our club and it was brought forward in a monthly meeting AFTER the fact. Some of us feel the wrong person was contacted, a topic like this should be brought up to the president first, not a random person.

The two National clubs should think about how a National Meet is operated, Take a look at AND MEET WITH the Goodguys Club and the American Truch Historical Society and make changes, yes changes. These two show formats would lessen the burden on the area host club, after all Model A members are not getting any younger.

What do I know, I am just a dumb young guy here.

 

[Gary Karr]

I have been watching this thread from the start and have enjoyed all of the comments. I along with four other truly dedicated individuals formed the Pacific A’s Region of MARC for the sole purpose of hosting the 2011 MARC National Meet in San Diego. Two of us were from the San Diego Region, two from Harbor A’s in Los Angeles, and one from Capo A’s in Orange County. We all felt that it would be a wonderful idea to have a West Coast MARC National Meet. Before we formed our own region, we went to a couple of the MARC Clubs here and asked if they wanted to host a meet and were turned down, mostly because they did not want to potentially suffer the possible financial losses associated with hosting. Our board of five came with some of the most incredible talent and organizational skills I have ever seen. We were able to bring in some of the greatest volunteers and workers to pull off the meet. It takes a lot of manpower and that can sometimes be the biggest struggle.
Our feeling was that our meet would be greatly attended by many MARC and MAFCA member through the Southwest. That however was not the case. We heard every excuse from “I’m not a MARC Member and won’t join another Club to attend your meet” to “The economy is too bad and I cannot afford it” to “This is MAFCA Country!” Because there was no possibility for another national meet from either National Club to be held in Southern California at least until after 2016, we felt that we had a good chance of attracting a lot of people that would not otherwise travel across country to attend. We booked a wonderful hotel with tons of space and over-guaranteed room nights, thinking we would get max participation from this part of the country. That ended up costing us money that we had hoped on making at the event. It is a real craps shoot on figuring how many hotel rooms to guarantee before the registration forms even go out. Keep in mind that the number of room guarantees decide how much meeting space the host hotel is going to give the group.
Planning a National Meet is a lot of work but a lot of fun. I would do it again (I can’t speak for the other four though!) I also have no problem traveling across country to attend a National meet, especially when I have a Model A to show in Fine Point. To me, the Meet can be anywhere, as I spend most of my time at the swap meet and out in the parking lot kicking tires. Choose a host hotel with a great large parking lot to display the Model A’s and I’m there! I do think that it is a great idea moving National Meets around the country. I would even like to see a Meet in a cooler location such as Montana, Colorado, Idaho, or other places around this beautiful country. Even though there are no MARC or MAFCA region ins some of those locations they could still be coordinated remotely.
To all future Meet planners, thank you for all of your efforts. They are all a blast and I hope to attend as many as I can.