Re-titled: this ino longer and official ESTN event idea

[servicerifle]

Garry said it.

#1 reason is because I couldn't stand to look at my four walls due to issues in my life at the time.

That said, I do have some experience with starting clubs and such, I also founded a large 4WD club in Colorado which is still going strong on my original set of by-laws.  I do enjoy being an organizer, and when an organizer's personal life goes to hell, well, if works if he has an outlet.  I'd do it again, even with a stable life though.  

A good team helped.  Members Sprint_ST and MCH assisted with maps and we blind-verified the gpx files to make sure they actually worked.  MCH and I developed a large spreadsheet that tracked attendees, their dinner/hotel/t-shirt reservations to include size and color of shirt, how many dinners, everything.  Once we got that working error free it was pretty easy to just read the tally at the bottom.  T-shirts were so easy, they had a 1 week turn around I think.  Sprint_ST used the plotter at work to print D size prints of our routes so people could pore over them after dinner.  The hotel let us use their dining hall for all of one evening, which gave us a "ride organization area."

Most surprising was that we'd planned to use the extra $1 per entry "slush" on beer if we had any $$ left over. People didn't drink all the beer!  I was flabbergasted.  

I'm not sure if I could beat the bushes for door prizes again...who am I kidding, I would in a heartbeat.  Some parts sucked, but we got some good stuff.  Still can't believe we had a SET OF TIRES donated.

[Mrs. DantesDame]

So in a nutshell I think people value being directed to the best roads the area has to offer (local knowledge required), the group dinner is a plus if it can be pulled off because it's more time to mingle and BS without riding somewhere, and prizes make it extra fun after the dinner. Who doesn't like to get free stuff? Picking a hotel with a banquet room that could be rented/used was key to pulling off the group dinner.

So pretty much "what's been done for the Nationals"  

[garry]

I think the group dinner w/ prizes and a T-shirt helps make it feel more like an event than just having 50 or 60 people descend on the same hotel for a couple days. But it's much less work to organize a "show up and ride" gathering.

[Oilhed]

I think the group dinner w/ prizes and a T-shirt helps make it feel more like an event than just having 50 or 60 people descend on the same hotel for a couple days. But it's much less work to organize a "show up and ride" gathering.

In Lake Placid a bunch of us got together in the parking lot for Fri dinner, for Sat ride and for Sat dinner.  It was three different groups for me so I got to meet a lot of people and it was much more social than a big dinner.  I like the parking lot full of bikes, riders and beer on Sat night.  It's only second to a big campfire.

[Mrs. DantesDame]

In Lake Placid a bunch of us got together in the parking lot for Fri dinner, for Sat ride and for Sat dinner.  It was three different groups for me so I got to meet a lot of people and it was much more social than a big dinner.  I like the parking lot full of bikes, riders and beer on Sat night.  It's only second to a big campfire.

To me, those are the best meets. Sure, the Nationals can be fun with the prizes and banquet halls, but I'm more into the whole "get together for dinner and then hang out in the parking lot" scene. But hey, different bikes, different ideas of an ideal Meet, right?

[maddjack]

In Lake Placid a bunch of us got together in the parking lot for Fri dinner, for Sat ride and for Sat dinner.  It was three different groups for me so I got to meet a lot of people and it was much more social than a big dinner.  I like the parking lot full of bikes, riders and beer on Sat night.  It's only second to a big campfire.

Its the best type of meet for me, get to meet a larger group of folks and socialize even more than an organized dinner thing. Its easier to move around the knots of people that way

[Mr.Awesome]

Are there any real plans in the works for an ESTN this year? Rolling rally or fixed meet. I see Chris has locked the original ESTN 11 thread. I would definetly be game for a S/E OH or KY meet as was suggested before.

[servicerifle]

Colleen, luckily our venue for ESTN 07 had both.  The parking lot was a great meeting place and was really the focus of the "gatherings."  There were usually 30+ people in the parking lot talking bikes and BSing.  Having the banquet hall (and we actually ate out back in their bbq area) just gave us a place for the caterer and big prints of maps.

[Mrs. DantesDame]

Are there any real plans in the works for an ESTN this year? Rolling rally or fixed meet. I see Chris has locked the original ESTN 11 thread. I would definetly be game for a S/E OH or KY meet as was suggested before.

Chris and I thought that we could do a Run instead of a standard Meet, but it's not going to happen. I've unlocked the ESTN 2011 thread for continued planning. This thread will hang around in case Chris and/I get off our butts and plan a run (as a stand-alone to the Meet)