Well folks it is time to start seriously planning the 2003 National Meet and the 2003 Regional Meets for the West and the East. People need to start stepping forward to make these events happen!
NATIONAL MEET
Location and Date: August of 2003 in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Planning will have to be made so it DOES NOT occur during the national Harley Davidson Rally in Sturgis. South Dakota is an ideal location for NORTH AMERICA supporting our Canadian members and offering easy access via US-90 to both east and west coasters.
What's Involved: If you're even thinking of signing up as the coordinator please realize you are signing up for a fulltime job for around four to six months. The pay stinks but the rewards are many. Major work items include:
Western Regional Meet:
Location and Date: Last weekend in June in Moab, Utah. A "traveling route" that will go through the National Park country of Utah including plenty of off-road opportunities from Arches National Park west back over to Zion and Cedar Breaks. Optional extra day to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.
What's Involved: Basically everything that is involved for the national meet without the requirement of a scouting trip and less of a time commitment. Vendors also will not be necessary. One person could manage the planning and logisitics by themselves. Living in the general area is very helpful.
Western Regional Meet:
Location and Date: Last weekend in June in Moab, Utah. A "traveling route" that will go through the National Park country of Utah including plenty of off-road opportunities from Arches National Park west back over to Zion and Cedar Breaks. Optional extra day to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Moab and the surrounding area is truck heaven - period.
What's Involved: Basically everything that is involved for the national meet without the requirement of a scouting trip and less of a time commitment. Vendors also will not be necessary. One person could manage the planning and logisitics by themselves. Living in the general area is very helpful.
Eastern Regional Meet:
Location and Date: TBD but discussions are on going with a focus on the Great Smokey Mountains or the South Carolina coastal area.
What's Involved: Basically everything that is involved for the national meet without the requirement of a scouting trip and less of a time commitment. Vendors also will not be necessary. One person could manage the planning and logisitics by themselves. Living in the general area is very helpful.
So you want to sign up? Please send an e-mail with a subject line to business.development@chevyavalanchefanclub.com -- Again, if you're signing up really think about the commitment. BTW, there may be some of you with spouses with are active in the club but stay at home - this might be an outstanding project for them to manage so if you think you have a family member who could do this, talk to them. We REALLY need to get planning going on all of these, especially the national event.
Attendance targets are as follows:
East Coast: 56 Avalanches
West Coast: 56 Avalanches
National: 112 Avalanches
This represents 1% attendance at regionals and 2% attendance at nationals. Understand if you sign up you'll be coordinating keeping 56 vehicles and roughly 150 people for regionals, and 112 vehicles and 300 people for nationals entertained and fed (this is why logistically there needs to be multiple events at the same time, especially at the national meet.
Now, even if you can't sign up to be a coordinator there is other work to be done. Coordinators need help - there needs to be people willing to be a support vehicle (carry spare parts and supplies in case of a break down). There needs to be people willing to be convoy leaders and tail vehicles. At the national event there needs to be people who will run the separate events when people have a choice of activities. Help at the national event is going to be critical.
I want to see this happen, I wish I had the time to do it all but I just don't (just ask the folks cursing me waiting for their club decals). Well - I'm done ranting - if you want to sign up for any of it you've got the e-mail address. LETS MAKE THIS HAPPEN AND MAKE 2003 THE YEAR OF THE AVALANCHE!
NATIONAL MEET
Location and Date: August of 2003 in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Planning will have to be made so it DOES NOT occur during the national Harley Davidson Rally in Sturgis. South Dakota is an ideal location for NORTH AMERICA supporting our Canadian members and offering easy access via US-90 to both east and west coasters.
What's Involved: If you're even thinking of signing up as the coordinator please realize you are signing up for a fulltime job for around four to six months. The pay stinks but the rewards are many. Major work items include:
- Planning the events and route. National meet should last three days "officially" with an early arrival day. Events should be laid out for on-road and off-road adventure and seeing various sites. Events should also be available for both adults and family as well as non-Avalanche related events (balloon trip, rafting, mountain bike tour, horse back riding, Native American, etc. This is the key of a successful event. Unlike the Regional Meets the national meet should have a static location and then explore the surrounding areas. This is very possible in the Black Hills of South Dakota. I'm very familiar with the features and attractions in the area and can provide a lot of advice and support.
- Scouting out the locations. Yup, you'll need to go to Rapid City and scout out the route and potential meeting places. The Chevy Avalanche Fan Club of North America will pay for your flight, hotel, and reasonable costs to go on a scouting trip (not bad ehhhh). Scouting will include meeting with local Chevrolet dealerships, meeting with National and State park people, officials at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, BLM and National Forest officials, as well as restaurant, hotel, and campground owners. Because many of these sites are closed until Memorial Day or the weekend before, the trip will have to occur close to the meet. Further you'll have to be able to scout out possible routes and get information on 4-wheel drive opportunities.
- Lining up suppliers and vendors and finding sponsors. This meet won't happen without sponsors and vendors. What self-respecting vendor wouldn't want to hook up with more than 100 Avalanche owners from across the country! This will require finding contacts, sending letters, e-mails and making phone calls. Again the club can reinburse for REASONABLE costs in this area.
- Organizing the attendee list and all communication. This is actually the hardest part. This includes preparing the packages, putting together the trip plan, maintaining a list of attendees and their guests, managing the headcount for planning, communicating this to vendors and venues, sending out the packages. The cost of this is covered by the attendance fee paid by the visitors.
Western Regional Meet:
Location and Date: Last weekend in June in Moab, Utah. A "traveling route" that will go through the National Park country of Utah including plenty of off-road opportunities from Arches National Park west back over to Zion and Cedar Breaks. Optional extra day to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.
What's Involved: Basically everything that is involved for the national meet without the requirement of a scouting trip and less of a time commitment. Vendors also will not be necessary. One person could manage the planning and logisitics by themselves. Living in the general area is very helpful.
Western Regional Meet:
Location and Date: Last weekend in June in Moab, Utah. A "traveling route" that will go through the National Park country of Utah including plenty of off-road opportunities from Arches National Park west back over to Zion and Cedar Breaks. Optional extra day to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Moab and the surrounding area is truck heaven - period.
What's Involved: Basically everything that is involved for the national meet without the requirement of a scouting trip and less of a time commitment. Vendors also will not be necessary. One person could manage the planning and logisitics by themselves. Living in the general area is very helpful.
Eastern Regional Meet:
Location and Date: TBD but discussions are on going with a focus on the Great Smokey Mountains or the South Carolina coastal area.
What's Involved: Basically everything that is involved for the national meet without the requirement of a scouting trip and less of a time commitment. Vendors also will not be necessary. One person could manage the planning and logisitics by themselves. Living in the general area is very helpful.
So you want to sign up? Please send an e-mail with a subject line to business.development@chevyavalanchefanclub.com -- Again, if you're signing up really think about the commitment. BTW, there may be some of you with spouses with are active in the club but stay at home - this might be an outstanding project for them to manage so if you think you have a family member who could do this, talk to them. We REALLY need to get planning going on all of these, especially the national event.
Attendance targets are as follows:
East Coast: 56 Avalanches
West Coast: 56 Avalanches
National: 112 Avalanches
This represents 1% attendance at regionals and 2% attendance at nationals. Understand if you sign up you'll be coordinating keeping 56 vehicles and roughly 150 people for regionals, and 112 vehicles and 300 people for nationals entertained and fed (this is why logistically there needs to be multiple events at the same time, especially at the national meet.
Now, even if you can't sign up to be a coordinator there is other work to be done. Coordinators need help - there needs to be people willing to be a support vehicle (carry spare parts and supplies in case of a break down). There needs to be people willing to be convoy leaders and tail vehicles. At the national event there needs to be people who will run the separate events when people have a choice of activities. Help at the national event is going to be critical.
I want to see this happen, I wish I had the time to do it all but I just don't (just ask the folks cursing me waiting for their club decals). Well - I'm done ranting - if you want to sign up for any of it you've got the e-mail address. LETS MAKE THIS HAPPEN AND MAKE 2003 THE YEAR OF THE AVALANCHE!
