I will volunteer for info booth also. What better way to meet & greet & socialize and be right in the heart of all the action. Some of the larger conferences I've attended had bulletin board for anyone to post notices so people can connect, works great.

Why not some of the clubs or groups sponsor or put together some simultaneous runs. With so many activities, great places to go in different directions if one run is full move on to the next. We missed the parade, but later did the run ourselves along with a few other stragglers, was just as fun and exciting.

We stopped at the observatory above the Fontana Dam and drove across, awesome view, big parking lot there for a short run.

Would have loved to have been able to see groupings by state and where everyone came from. I loved all the Mini's, each so unique and different, showing off the personalities of their owners. We will be there next year.

 

You're so close to what is being kicked around right now that I'd swear you were at our meeting.

Totally agree. Manning the info booth is a great way to meet folks. And now that you mention it maybe us people in the know can all get hats that would identify us as "knowledgable". I don't want to do shirts because I like wearing my tees.


I'm certainly not going to flame you. But I will say that having to drive down to Robbinsville and then back up to the Village after isn't very appealing to me. In addition, if the format of the dinners changes as expected then the dinners won't be as much of an event. They'd be more like, "hey guys, I'm hungry let's go grab dinner".

Not a bad idea but not one the organizers should undertake, in my opinion. Instead why don't people get their userID in a READABLE size put onto their MINIs before they come. That's my plan next year (along with the Brew Swap logo on my baby).

 

The photographer didn't win me over with his attitude either. The bad thing is that many people really like doing these photos so I doubt we can just skip it and him next year.

 

mininana - you have a PM.

 

[quote=ozarkroots;1516114]


Another thought concerns trying to ID certain cars that we might be interested in looking at. Some of the cars this years had numbers displayed as per autox. Would it be possible for each registered MINI to be assigned a number so that the caretaker of that MINI could post on the car if they desired. That way I could tell which CR I wanted to talk too. I wouldn't care if my name was on a list which people could check but some might.
quote]

There was a sticker in my bag courtesy of Aesthetic Creations with my username on it which I assume was meant just for this purpose. Didn't everyone get one?

 

----------

Please remember that the "MOTD mixer" ALSO coincided with the Cigar Salon on the porch. We had around 60 people out there, in and out all night after the Welcome Dinner...the last ones leaving after 12:15 AM. Perhaps many in attendance also thought that our event WAS the mixer, or perhaps no one wanted to go back inside that stuffy room during such a pleasant evening. Bottom line: both venues were free, and both venues did what they were intended to do...bring in people to sip, smoke, chat, mingle, meet new friends, see old friends, etc.

The Cigar Salon WILL return next year, and will remain a FREE event to those who just want to relax with a [LEGAL] smoke after a long day's drive and mingle...remembering that, "we ONLY exhale".

Jeff

 

Yeah but those are small and you wouldn't know whose car it is until you were right up on it. It'd be nicer to be able to spot them from at least a short distance.

You won't miss mine next year if all goes to plan. Muuuahhhaaaa

 

Possibly. But given the relatively low percentages of smokers these days, I really doubt it - since the non-smokers would have sought out other non-smokers. ...or maybe the non-smokers were 'scared off' by the sight of so much smoke at the entrance? Since it also seems that folks were unclear on what was going on where, it may have just been a heap of uncertainties working together.

Well, not really. The cigar salon, yes (I enjoyed what time there I could ). The mixer was - unfortunately - pretty much a bust, quite contrary to one of the more common complaints about not enough opportunity for socializing.

 

The only thing that scared us off were the $4-$5 drinks when I had a fridge not 300 yards away packed to the gills with beer.

 

---------

The "mixer" was a late add-on...like maybe less than 2 weeks before the Dragon was to take place. Perhaps not enough "press" was given to the event, or, as I stated before, maybe people just didn't want to spend any more time in that stuffy hall.

That said, I feel the mixer idea was a good one and should be considered for next year, but with the right amount of advance notice of what it is, what it is supposed to accomplish, etc. However, since the Cigar Salon IS at the beginning of the Dragon, maybe the mixer could be held some other evening, when the excitement of the first day has died down somewhat and there reall IS nothing else going on. It wouldn't need to go on all night...just a few hours, so no one would feel obligated to stay. Just a suggestion....

 

Does that mean the salon will be moved to Wednesday night this year?

 

Man!! this thread cooks!!!
it is unbeleivable the number of posts in a short time.

Some else mentioned the Saturday pic at the damn. I say that because there was no excuse for the cop and his act. If we do this next year this problem needs to be addressed with the right people or look for a different pic location.

I am encourage that the next MOTD will be fantastic. Motor On

 

There are others. We've used the same one for MME for years.

 

I think the Cigar Salon and the Mixer should be separated. If 60 people enjoyed the cigars it could be deduced that 740 people did not want to eat smoke or smell like smoke in order to attend the mixer.

 

Can't control the cop. That's TVA property and they hold all the cards. Might be best to find an alternate location.

I'll leave that decision up to the people who take part and buy the photos.

Everything depends on scheduling. Things are being looked into for the mixer.

 

I can see I am outvoted here, so I will give this one up soon, I promise. A booth staffed by volunteers will see information quality change every two hours, and it will not see the sort of continuity of knowledge gained when one or two persons are consistently responsible for vetting and distributing information. The other problem with volunteers is that they do not always show up.

Still, a volunteer run info booth will be light years more informative than the whiteboard has proven to be over the past few years, and I am down with that.

 

C. Don't bring in non-MINI folk. Just have someone there on a somewhat continuous basis during daylight hours.

D. 'Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished. From reading further down in this string, I wonder if perhaps the solution is to put a UPC code on the lanyard-borne ID card, and scan same for admission to the dinner. Dunno just how portable and inexpensive that technology might be, but its a thought.

 

It's not a matter of voting. Tell you what, you find two people who are willing to sit in that booth for 6-8 hours a day, for free, and we'll welcome them with open arms. It's not an issue worth spending money on since people CAN get the information befoe they arrive at Fontana.

And yes, volunteers are not always reliable. I would like to incentivize (oooh love that word but pretty sure it's made up) volunteering and to get people to show up. I am willing to offer free admission to the Brew Swap for the people who volunteer for the info booth and ACTUALLY show up. I may also see what other stuff I can get to bribe people to make sure they show up.

The information CAN be uniform as long as everyone is informed. The problem stems from the previous people not filling the next shift on what's going on and/or people showing up to work the info booth without bothering to know what's going on. We can make up fliers for the events to have there with all the info. We can do all sorts of other things to make sure all the info is there no matter who is at the booth.

 

On this note, we were talking about how expensive the photos are. If they were cheaper, lots more people would show up for it. Make people pre-order and pay in advance so they show up as promised, but find someone who can print the shots at a lower price. We were on top the the dam when they were lining up, and with a long lens and some photography know-how, you could get a GREAT shot from up there. Just face the cars toward the dam. There HAS to be someone with some photography experience and talent who would be willing to do the shot for us. We opted out because of the price, as did most everyone else who chose not to do it.

 

Re: The mixer, drink prices, and coolers full of beer just up the road.

I don't think I even once heard about the mixer this year. I did not arrive until Friday, so my attendance was always in doubt, but I did try to pay attention to what was going on every day, and this was another thing that went right over my head.

Now, lots of things go over my head, and there seem to be more of them all the time. Still, this highlights the need for a centralized information source. We are seeing lots of folks willing to man an info booth. I wonder if it would be possible instead for a single MINI club to take this booth on as their pet project? That might provide a little more continuity than would random volunteers.

Meanwhile, back at the mixer... Is it considered poor form to BYOB to such events? Does FV bar such practices?

 

We've ALWAYS been right after the Welcome Dinner. I do not see that as changing, but you might run any porposed changes by MINIclo first, too, since she IS my co-host.

 

Although I know that sponsors drive much of what is the Dragon I would like to suggest that the sponsors again have the area where the Detail Area was this year....in previous years I loved being able to step out of the Adventure Center to admire the cars of "the people"/the enthusiasts- which is what the event started as. I understand fully the necessity of sponsors but would love to be able to socialize and kick tires with the actual enthusiasts is all. I found myself having to drive all over FV in order to admire some of the MINI's and Mini's owned by real people. (i.e. not $50,000 project cars).

 

I am NOT looking to make any changes to what you guys do. Just wanted to know which night so as not to overlap anything in that immediate vicinity if we don't have to.

As I said earlier though, I don't think next year will have the traditional style welcome dinner as these last few years.

 

I stopped attending the photo shoot after MOTD3, but if it is still a panoramic shot from a cherry picker, there is no inexpensive way to do it. There is a lot more to it than megapixels.

 

*sniff sniff* I smell someone who hasn't read this entire thread.

I think it is safe to say that the suggestion/complaint/desire to have the parking lot and road in front of the adventure center back has been duly noted. If it can be worked out, it will. If it can't, then everyone needs to make do with what's done.

And is it really such a chore to drive around and see MINIs?