Try missing dinner on Thursday.... Went to Marrysville at dusk (GREAT RIDE) and back at like 10:30 though I SERIOUSLY forget the time. We did have the sobering moment of seeing the MNI that just got pulled off the side of the mountain on the way back, but save for that both runs to and from were excellent.

Want a night run, go have dinner in Marrysville, we found a good Italian place called "the Gondolier" if I remember it right. There was also a mexican place calling out to me...

 

We did not communciate well about when those tickets would be used. Already noted as a needed improvement for next year.

Welcome dinner raffle was only for those attending the dinner.

Farewell dinner raffle was open to everyone at the ice cream social. We handed out tickets at the event to those who had not registered for the dinner so they could participate too.

Raffle is an area we know we need to improve on and lots of good ideas for those improvements have been posted here.

 

I was thinking about the raffles. There seem to be 2 complaints:

1) Many people were ineligible to win because they did not purchase dinner/ice cream tickets.

2) Raffles took up too much time
a) because there were so many prizes
b) because there were so many ineligible tickets drawn

So if I can think out loud here, I have a couple ideas:

1) Instead of tickets on a roll, print tickets with usernames so that winners could be posted publicly after the drawings. No re-drawing of ineligible tickets would be necessary.

2) Because there are now a LOT of various events and because MOTD will only grow, it might be a good idea to distribute some of the raffle prizes to the organizers of more than just a couple of the events. A lot of time will be saved at the big events and smaller events will gain some added interest if they have a few raffle prizes to distribute.

Edit: I just counted 17 events that took place, but I believe only two of them had raffles. If 3-5 prizes were distributed to each of the smaller event organizers, it would save the need to call out 75 or so prizes at the big dinners.

 

The events needed to be cheaper after the payment of the reg packet. Also, more driving events, maybe a rally. Over all I loved the event, and will be back, but it cost so much to do the dinners and things, I feel for the family.

Another note about the dinners, having all the food on one place wasn't good, alot was wasted. Having a menu where participants had to pick food from before would have saved money and would cut down on waste.

 

The prices for the meals were very reasonable...remember, the area is isolated, so I think the prices were quite fair.

As for rallies and driving events, those happened in the past, but due to liability concerns, they were dropped from the "official" event calendar for MOTD2006. However, that didn't stop individuals from planning "unofficial" events that were posted in threads right here in the MOTD forums, along with sign-up lists.

Think about this: how much do concert tickets cost? I mean, going to a 3-day event in the mountains and only paying $40 for a deluxe registration with nice MINI swag is more than reasonable. Trying to feed 300+or- people from a menu would be logistically very difficult.

 

Not a full menu, limited. I am not saying change what food was offered, but no need to put it all on the plate. For many that appeared to be to much food.

I knew there were events listed right here, I was just thinking more official events.

 

Re: official events, see the comments on liablity throughout this thread. A real concern is folks who are NOT part of the MINI community having an accident with a MINI, then suing all of the MOTD organizers.

Whether a rally/drive is official or not, does it really matter if it is fun? There are usually so many things planned for each MOTD that it is impossible to participate in all of them.

Too much food on the plate? Folks do not have to eat it all. If you've ever planned a meal to feed 300+ people (I co-organized the MOTD-2005 Welcome Dinner), to have someone say "too much food" is actually a kudo!

 

I understand, I am just trying to see where money could be saved so I have more mod money to spend with the vendors. I do understand the difficulty organizing everything, and the liablities. I am not trying to attach either. However, being it was my first time down, the lack of "official" events made planning the weekend more difficult. But now that i know what to expect, it will be much easier.

 

Pam and I are looking into hosting a "MINI Monte Carlo" night, probably Thursday night after the welcome dinner, while the cigar salon is going on outside. We are already in contact with a company in Knoxville that does casino night events. (Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, 5 card stud and Texas Hold'em, etc.) Your winnings would be used to buy raffle tickets for prize drawings at the end of the night, the more you win, the more tickts you can buy. The raffles would be Chinese auction style. (Drop your tickets in the bucket only for the prizes you want/need.

Does this sound like somehing you all may be interested in?

Steve

 

This sounds fantastic, Steve! A BIG YES! Those needing breaks from gambling can come enjoy a cigar with us! However, I would love to see some of the proceeds support some charity.

 

That was the thought, as it is really the only night that would work, especially with the Brew Swap and Chilli cook-off on Friday, and Farewell Dinner and other events on Saturday.

Steve

 

I edited my post...please re-read it! And cigars and gambling are so simpatico!

 

Over time, you will get to know more and more people who are there every year and the "official" events become less and less important when you are just hanging out with your friends. Event registrations and official events certainly do make it easier on new folks, but one of the charming aspects of MOTD is that it has always been very grass-roots and free-form. Someone has a little idea like the brew swap or the OT band jam and they run with it.

I greatly appreciate the work that DCMM has done to provide a basic skeleton structure to the event that gets fleshed out by all the others who want to volunteer to make something happen.

 

I'd suggest having enough seating for the dinners. There wasn't enough seating at the Chili Cook-off, and my husband and I had to stand while eating. So maybe have enough seating (or more) for the number of tickets sold?

 

No real money at the games though. There would be a fee, maybe $5-$10/person to cover the event company, and snacks and soda. BYOB! (If it's allowed, or Fontana Cash bar)

For that you would get say $10,000 in fake money to gamble with, you would get 2 raffle tickets to start, and then could buy more @ $5,000 each at the end of the night, capping the tickets to 20/person.

Although we could work some charity in somehow.

Steve

 

Sounds like fun! I wonder if there would be any legal issues for Fontana re: gambling? I suppose that the event company has that well in hand.

 

Since the gambling is not for real money, there are no legal issues.

Steve

 

This has been bandied about quite a bit and I just don't agree. There are
cheaper alternatives to a $20 per person dinner, even in the remote
wilderness of western North Carolina. What we need is clubs to jump in
and volunteer for each of the dinners next year. They can then explore
the possibilities and come up with something new and exciting for MOTD5.

I thought that was the whole purpose of the insurance we all paid for.
My impression is that no one wanted to step forward and organize the drives
in advance. As a result, a few commendable individuals set up their own
drives and invited folks to come along. There were logistical problems with
some of the drives last year and some folks who had organized drives in
the past decided to take a break from it this year. This is another great
opportunity for a club to step forward and do something for the community
at MOTD5.

MOTD is a spontaneous community event and for it to continue there will
have to be more involvement by the various clubs, both near and far. How
many clubs did we have represented at MOTD4? How many were actually
involved in some sort of organized activity?

 

I think we need to take down this thread. You guys are getting me all worked up and excited for MOTD 2007 and I have to wait a whole year.

Hey Steve, I like the Monte Carlo idea and agree Thursday is the night.

As far as organized events, I thiink with all the new people that showed this year, we will have plenty of people stepping up to the plate for next year.

 

I really think far too much time is spent worrying about being sued, and that more time should be spent thinking about more ways to have a good time.

 

After running a construction business for the last 19 years with my bro. I realize that those thoughts are a necessary evil of todays society. After you've been dragged thru the system for some ridiculous item that seemed like common sense you'll understand.


How bout a Mexican welcome Dinner

 

I've been a lawyer for about 25 years, so I know my around parts of that system. I also know the importance of deep pockets to keep PI lawyers interested in getting 'justice' for their clients. A local MINI club has no such pockets.

If folks are truly afraid, then they could create a small corporation for the sole purpose of collecting registrations and advertising events.

 

I actually like the idea of Miniusa being invited as a vendor but not a sponsor...... they could answer questions etc but have no say in policy..... they could get marketing input for future "improvements" what better way to communicate with your customers and for those of you who don't like them we will make as a condition of their participation that they sit in a dunking pool....you know where if you hit the target the guy goes in the tub.....

large meals planned are necessary as the area does not have the food establishments to accomodate large groups...(just what you know) .....

technical seminars would be good.....

a sound system for the jam band would be nice..... I personally like the congestion as it ads to the festival atmosphere..... possibly active wrench vendors in one area and static display in another which was sort of how it was.

large names on the badges is a must....

a community board where you can leave messages and post your plans in case others who want to hook up with you would like to (cell phones don't work) I can think of a lot of people I missed that I would have liked to have met/seen....

vendors like M7 debuting new products was very cool..... It would be nice to keep that tradition alive rather than SEMA

Overall I thought it was great and I am thrilled with how it went...again thanks

 

I was responsible for the touring rally the last two years. I declined to organize one this year for two reasons. For one thing I was ready for a change of pace so I hosted the autocross this year instead, with insurance provided the the local SCCA group putting it on. For another, a driver lost control of their car at legal speeds last year and did severe damage to the car. It made me rethink the position I was putting myself in. I had been given some indication by event hosts prior to organization that driving activities were covered but really had no idea if this was true, still don't.

I, too, am a construction business owner who has been the focus of a few amazingly stupid lawsuits. I carry a personal liability umbrella policy that might look attractive in the right (wrong) circumstances.

I see no major problem with organizing a drive like Snooter or agranger did without insurance that covers drive organizers. They are exposing themselves potentially but the risk is pretty low. I have hosted those types of drives for the Dragon myself in past years and will likely do them again. I would suggest anyone doing this provide a simple waiver that indicates that participants are responsible for knowing and following laws regarding the use of their vehicles. I wouldn't recommend an activity using the MINIs that is a contest or awards prizes for an event of this size without specific knowledge of whether or not, and how you are protected.

My 2 pence on insurance and suggestions for next year.

Happy MINI-ing
Donna

 

I don't understand people's annoyance with the waivers. They only take a minute to fill out and provide some protection for the organizer. While it doesn't prevent lawsuits it does show attorneys/judges that the person was aware of the risks associated with the activity.

Yucca, I had a raffle at the Brew Swap and like the other raffles had so much stuff to give away it would have taken all night. After giving out a lot of things I then just told anyone with a ticket to line up and first come first served. We still had a few items left after all those people were taken care of. I'm already working on a different system from next year to avoid repeat issues.

There will be NO karaoke at the Brew Swap. But I think if we could start it a little earlier then a DJ/Mixer party afterwards would be a great idea.