That is how things work 51 weeks out of the year. Choose one or more of those weeks if disorganization is what you seek. But consider joining the rest of us at MOTD2007 as well.

 

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

 

And our very our Mark, who tried in vain to sell his Counterfeit MINI - had a window sticker and everything - with no takers. I think he went back to the convertible......

 

mmatarella? What a sweetie! But, the minivan is just NOT him!

 

Wow, it got kinda spooky in here for awhile. It seems to be calming down so I thought I might chime in.

I've tried to think of things that I didn't like about this year's event. The only things I could come up with were:
1) We didn't know what the tickets that came with the registration pack were for. This has since been explained. It didn't seem to be a big deal to the folks from Bluegrass Minis.
2) Screen Names on badges could be bigger. This has also been discussed and shouldn't be a problem to fix next year.
3) Rain. I don't know anyone that can control that, so I'll move on to how folks dealt with the rain. The Chili Cookoff was a bit damp, but most people seemed okay with it. The food was good...and hot.

That's about it for the dislikes.

Now for the suggestions:
Massages: I'm sure they would go over well. I know I could have used one after some of the driving we did.

Car Show: I saw this in the pages before and it was something that a Bluegrass Minis member seemed shocked wasn't happening this year. It could be a very simple affair, I think. Those that want to enter, sign up, bring their car to a designated spot (ball field if it's dry?), and enjoy. Does it really need to be judged? I don't know. I can imagine most folks would get caught up talking to so and so about such and such modification and time would just zip by. Before you knew it, it would be dark and everyone would have had some laughs, seen some cool cars, and be ready for the next event of the day/evening. Can you tell I only go to car shows to look at cool cars and talk to people?

Organizational Forum: I like the idea of a "read only" forum for organizers to plan and everyone else to just watch. Believe me, if someone sees something they like or dislike, they will post a thread about it in the general forum. And the organizers should look at the general forum and incorporate suggestions as they apply. So there's the feedback everyone wants.

I really enjoyed this year's event and many of the Bluegrass Minis folks have already booked for next year.

I hope this has been even vaguely helpful...

 

It would seem to me that some ppl didn't like what was going on. But, it would also seem the silent majority thinks it may have been fine (or are apathetic).

As any event grows larger, it must have some organization or chaos (or anarchy) will arise.

To maintain a "grass roots" effort, my suggestion is to have a Council of 33 (I counted 33 club forums on NAM). Each MINI club would have ONE rep. Let this council elect its own leader in the old-fashion American way ... vote for a Leader ... the organizer. The overall organizer only organizes ... the Council actually runs the event.

Then let that Councildo its own thing ... organize, determine events, etc. The council can draw from its own members for volunteer help as required.

This would not preclude individuals from organizing their own runs ... whatever ... they just submit them to the Council of 33 (CO33) for inclusion. Althought the CO33 may be organizers, they cannot stop individuals from doing their own things.

If you organize around a council, with democratic election for leader, all the complaining should end. Should a club not have enuff members or choose not to participate ... again, its the American way ... they can abstain but their voice will not be heard. Lots of Americans choose not to vote ... but don't complain about the results.

It would be (IMO) a mistake to organize in secret ... let the CO33 determine itself how to post, etc but the public should be able to see all conversations ... but not post directly. There should be another means to provide input to the CO33.

If the event is organized around ALL the MINI clubs, then it will be grass roots, run from the bottom up

Let democracy do its thing.

Just a thought.

 

I like the idea of a panel of organizers drawn from a number of various clubs to plan the organized portion of next year's MOTD. I also like the idea of having organizers who have had some experience planning meets, whether in their own clubs, or at previous MOTDs. Being able to share experiences, both the good and the problematic, helps planners prepare for possible contingencies better.

One thing I would like to mention is that not everybody will want to participate in every event, and to me, that is fine! For many folks, this is their vacation, and they shouldn't feel pressured into trying to sign up for everything. As we know from prior MOTDs, that just isn't possible. I help plan events every year so that, especially for those new to MOTD, there will be some fun things to do.

The first time at the Dragon can be overwhelming: the beauty, the roads, the intensity of being with all the other MINI enthusiasts. I like folks to have things to do, as well as free time for just roaming through the Smokies, enjoying the amazing beauty of it all, or just free time to hang out with the Vendors, possibly getting great new mods and MINI swag. To me, the emphasis should be on having fun and motoring safely as we reunite with our friends from all over North America and make new ones!

 

This is possibily the best idea I have gotten from this thread to date. I think it could really work and really open up the event to all clubs. As the event gets bigger and more clubs want to join in, they could nominate and send a representative.

How do we decide if this is what we want to do? How do we start?

 

Not all the 33 clubs participate in MOTD...that must be taken into consideration. I think that rather than have one club be host, that the representatives selected for the panel form what could be called The MOTD Committee (or whatever), and go from there. It certainly takes the heat off individual clubs.

 

A council or forum is what has already been suggested. However, Less than
25% of the clubs listed have ever had anything to do with organizing something
at MOTD. In addition 33 people would never get anything done. And lastly, what
makes anyone think organizing and putting on MOTD is a democracy. Sure the
involved clubs take input from everyone but, when it's all said and done, they
do what they want and hope eveyone has a good time. The idea of a closed
forum for the organizers is a good one and any club that is interested in
organizing an event or helping with everything in general should get a couple
of people access to that forum. There is really no need to make it open to
view by everyone. That is what this kind of thread is for. The organizers just
need to occasionally post their plans and progress and ask for input if they
want it.

 

The coordination of events that individuals or clubs have "committed to" has already been held "in secret". What is suggested is a step up. Those who have stepped up to the plate and are working on an activity for the event need to be able to communicate with each other better. It is not to keep it secret but to keep it on topic and as functional as possible.

 

Agreed. The individual clubs will have their planning meetings, which I guess could be called "secret," but they're just for the purpose of brainstorming and gathering those willing and able to work on the events.

The MOTD Committee could help assist the clubs that host the dinners and keep everyone up to date, so there is as little overlap as possible. There will always be multiple events in particular time-slots that DO overlap, but if everyone has an idea of what else is going on, that will help prevent duplication of effort and of menus, as well, by the planners.

Good communication between the various event planners is vital. It will serve to take a lot of the pressure off them, with the additional bonus that they will have a lot more fun, too!

 

1. The fact that maybe 25% of the clubs did anything has been taken into consideration since clearly if they dont participate, the get no say in the results. No one is forcing them to participate ... Rather, they are initially asked and if they decline, so be it
2. True, but in the end, it will probably be 10 - 12 since 2/3s will decline and that number is manageable making it a non-issue.
3. I never said the operational issues should be democracy. Rather the election of the overall "organizer" among the commitee members should be done democratically ... In that way, no club can complain that their voice was not heard. Clearly, in the end the organizing committee has to make decisions that the rest of the MINI community just has to live with ... in effect, they will be running a business and I agree with you in that not all business decision need be democratic.

As Clover points out, this takes the "heat", and finger pointing, off of one club ... there will always be people who complain ... human nature ... but next year, they complaints would be against the entire set of MINI clubs ... not one.

Organizing via democrating organizational structure (not operationally ... dont confuse the two) has benefits for all involved.

 

Absolutely correct. But "communications-wise", a huge step up.

The "council" can do whatever it wants to communicate internally. As MiniClo notes ... it coordinates activities ...

 

That is an EXCELLENT idea!!!!

 

Honestly, I would like to see a forum for 2007 MOTD ASAP, as there are plans to make, cabins to share, ideas to percolate....

 

as far as babysitting the raffle pots (the good prize idea !!) I would devote 1-2 hours.

 

That was me that suggested the council of clubs. For some reason no one commented after I posted that. But hey, Art has a way with words obviously and that's great. I think a club council is the best way to provide some organization to MOTD 5.

 

Hey Steve this sounds like a great idea and if Pitt. Mini isn't gonna get involved and ya need help, I'd be interested.

 

One MINI one vote!

But how many votes for Classic Minis?

Bit serially, folks, while I like the council idea, and agree that it would soon be down to ten or fewer people, I do not see much point in trying to conduct the council's business in public, unless we could get C-SPAN or something similar to do all the coverage work for us.

 

PassatDoTd ... I didn't read all the posts so if I stole your thunder, it was unintentional ... but clearly we think alike

Jen, if you want to make it happen ... then make it happen.

You ARE the lead at the moment. Ask Mark F to set up a private forum and each Club can, if they want, have a rep. I am sure Mark can arrange limited access to the reps. Clubs can submit the name to Mark for access. Then its up to you all to do your thing.

Just a suggestion.

 

No apologies necessary. Glad to see your post sparked some interest. To me it makes sense and solves a lot of issues. It spreads around the responsibilities to many people, who would be volunteering for it, and then no one can accuse one club of doing too much.

 

Barry,

If you want to help that's great. I just got an email about this, from someone I can not mention right now, but let me tell you, THIS IS GONNA BE HUGE!!!!

Steve

 

Would someone from Sunshine MINIs working on the Welcome Dinner, please PM me?

I have a couple of questions.

Thanks,
Steve

 

You've got a PM.