Attendence down for ST Meets G2G?

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Rich & Rich, very well said. I know that I helped with the 2nd annual meet and it is a lot of "leg" work for the little bit that I did. Making phone calls, getting dates put together, number of attendees, how many rooms to get blocked, etc. I can only imagine the MAJOR things you had to take care of. As Thumper's mother says, "If you can't say anything nice...don't say anything at all."



Kudos to you, Rich as always you have gone over and beyond for this website and the National Meets.:)
 
Rich I am sorry if you feel I blasted you directly in any way, This is not the case, you have done a great job with this site and I believe the amount of time you have spent trying to organize a huge meet of that size was great and an inconvenience at times, But by reading your last statement :



Since you feel strongly about it, I suggest you step forward and become part of the group that will plan the meets going forward.
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I feel your pointing fingers at me directly, and that is not necessary.



I posted my feelings, weather wrong or indifferent, If I am wrong and do not know enough of the behind the scenes stuff to make an accurate statement, then I am wrong and will admit that.



As far as me organizing any thing that big, I am simply a pee-on on this site and to any bigger company or corporation that I would have to deal with. I can not simply call them and say I am a member of a site, they are going to want to deal with a president or the owner of a site such as this... I tried this with the Mustang II club I belonged to. We simply wound up doing a national meet at the All Ford Nationals in PA. We used another big event to display our club and cars.



It seems most members here want a "bone" or Carrot as you said in a way earlier post to even show up to such an event, and They just don't have the same enthusiasm as the others here such as my self. Believe me I am not complaining in any way that I could not go, I was pissed that plans where not as nice as I guess I would have liked them, Is it partially my fault I missed the meet, Yes, But it is not completely mine either.. Money was never the issue, the mileage and the time off work where. The mileage I could have worked around, But my job requires advanced notice of vacation, and my fiancé had no more time either. But that was MY problem, not the meets issues...



EDIT: add on.. I am saddened to see there will be no national meet, BUT I would be willing to be on a committee of SERIOUS members that would like to organize something next year, But I know I could not do it alone like you have in the past, nor do I want to be stuck with people that are serious in the begining and then dwindle away like most did with dallas. I found the post with 117 replies about dallas, A quick count showed almost 50 people going... I would be frustrated also after the turn out and not hold another meet of that size again....



Sorry you feel this way,

Todd Z

 
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Thanks again, Rich! I really did enjoy everything over past few days and appreciate all your effort. It was disappointing that so few of the DFW area people did not attend. I am in Amarillo tonight wondering what I can do in the future to help things be better. Perhaps a meet in Detroit will improve attendance.
 
Todd, my choice to not plan these any more has nothing to do with your comments, and I am simply telling you what I think needs to happen. If there is to be a national ST meet in future years, a group of volunteers will have to take the reigns. You have a chance to make a difference by being part of a group that plans these events. Ford is willing to work with a volunteer group that represents ST owners.



The national meet can still be promited via this web site, and I will support the marketing of the event via the web site.



Get'r done.
 
We agree that Rich Stern deserves all the accolades & more. And, also to Brian Olson from Ford who came back to HoJo last night & went to dinner with us as well as came out to the lobby for conversation & watch the ball games. Brian did say that he will be in his present position for about another year. I know that he is behind us 100%, and feel that he had a good time hanging out with us after his duties were done. Brian suggested the possibility of the '06 meet being in Dearborn, Mi., and would have more access to other Ford products. :D



I personally was disappointed with the low turnout for the Dallas meet :(, and it was an outstanding meet :D. As I see it there were two reasons that Ford insisted on moving the National meet from Louiville to Dallas: 1) They stopped production of the '05 ST last June, & 2) They wanted to give us an upclose & personal look at the new '07 ST (not Adrenelin) which will be available in March '06.
 
Rich,

That is good to know and a good start. Lets see if others that are serious do step forward. I am also sure that we can count on you for the contacts ( email, phone, names, numbers, and any other information and guidance ) needed to
Get'r done!
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It would have to be an official group with specific tasks and such, Don't know if some members here would be willing to work in that type of setting. Since this would be long distance, people would have to be willing to front money, time and perseverance and would have to sacrifice them To make this thing happen.



As stated before I applaud you and you efforts, But i know I would not be able to do this alone as you have in the past.



Todd Z
 
Hey Rich,



I am going to say it. THANKS TO YOU, we had four successful meets ... you did a hell of a job (or should I say, "jobs?"). I believe a lot of members owe you one heck of an applause and a thank you for your many contributions.



With that said, stepping down from coordination is a surprise, but I cannot blame you. I have coordinated over seven Sport Trac meets in Florida, and just those small regional meets took a lot from me... a lot. Plus, there were times that people did not call or notify me of their change in schedule which resulted it many no shows.



I was very upset, that at some points I was like: "the hell with these meets, I am too tired" but for some reason, I just kept doing them - - - until last year.



I know you and I had a struggle in early 2005, but I feel that you and I are still great Sport Trac Brothers.



I think that those who have coordinated multiple successful meets should step forward and help with the next big meet; even if it is just some pointers.



If I wasn't so busy with college life and other things, I would be glad to donate my time to the next meet. I think it would show great respect to you and the ST community if some carried on with the "big one" and coordinated without you ... you deserve a break.



Anyway, I just wanted to show some appreciation to you for your hard work. I've been only on the tip of the iceberg with ST meets compared to the National Meet, but I know what kind of passion and hard work and stress that goes into the meets.



Take care, and thank you.



Josh L

 
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I for one, NO MATTER, where the National meet is or where it's going to be, coming from Colorado, i've been to them all except this one, I sooooooo wanted to be there, but a MAJOR event came up, and there was just no way we could,..... I know Rich works very very hard at this, and kept working on it til the end, and it was not is fault, Ford kept putting him off with the details, and then it was short notice for the accomadations and such,. but he did the very best he could, and for that I applaud, but I know there are others that have to plan ahead, and give notice for vacations etc....... and i'm sure Rich, (who's so VERY organized anyway,), was probably going nuts, waiting for Ford's decisions on things,........ Yes, I am grateful Ford takes interest in us, this makes us feel good, but they,...... have to realize also, that we do need more info ahead of time,.... xxxx fingers crossed, nothing comes up next time, because I REALLY REALLY missed being there,........ ;-(

~Dove~
 
I would be happy to help with the planning. By trade, I am a Program Manager. Though I am not near Dearborn, MI, I am sure I can track the tasks that need to be done from a distance (as I have done before in the military). We would just need someone local to Dearborn to help with local coordination efforts.
 
I did the drive from San Jose, CA for the 2002 Louisville meet. Apart from meeting all of you, my favorite part was the tour of the plant and meeting the Ford people.



As I recall I was given the "Steel Butt" award, I still have the prize, a road side service kit!



I am a memeber of two car clubs, and it's always been a challenge to attened meets. I want to attend no question, but driving two or three days seems a little excessive. Also flying in seems kind of silly, when the whole point is to show off the vehicle...



Anyway, as always my hat off to all of those that take time to set up the national meet. It's almost a thankless job, THANKS.



jeff
 
I live here in Louisville, and would be glad to help in anyway.

Just let me know what I can do to help.



Let's keep it going, and give Rick L some well deserved time off.
 
Ohh This ought to be a good one.... sheesh........LOL

Well If People are serious, contact me, If rich gets me the contacts needed, and the local members step up, Maybe we can do livvle or even a Dearborn michigan meet..

Todd Z
 
Star, that may be a little bias......

I do know the perfect park....LOL

Todd Z
 
I'm probably too tired from driving today (12hrs from Bowling Green, KY to Buffalo) but here goes. I too want to thank Rich for all the work he has done to organize the National meets. We all had a great time at the Dallas meet, and I think everyone was pretty well exhausted by the end of the weekend. By that measure, the meet was a success.



Add me to the list of people willing to help with next year's meet (and I'm serious about that). The sooner planning begins, and a date and location selected, the better attendance will be. I like the idea of moving the event each year (Detroit is good), although we may want to go to Louisville to see the new ST being built.



I hope everyone that attended Dallas arrives home safely. I had a great time there, meeting old friends and making new ones. I'm looking forward to the 5th Annual National Sport Trac Meet!
 
This is the first National meet I've missed. Why? My daughter is 10 and she would have missed several days of school. The weekend before, she stayed with my family and her dad for 5 days while we attended the 4 Wheel Drive Truck Nationals in Indianapolis - so I had already "pawned" her off on family for one weekend so she wouldn't miss school. Couldn't miss the Nationals - my boyfriend has gone every year but one since he was a teenager. And, this year he got one of twenty Participants Choice awards - quite a honor when the registered show vehicle attendance was in the several THOUSANDS!! :)



I would have driven the distance had it been during the summer and not so close to the Nationals. I really hated to miss it.
 
I think no matter where you have the National meet somebody is going to have problems with how far it is to drive. This was my first National meet & I drove approx. 950+ miles one way to attend.

I also think that if we all sit back and complain and not support the meet wherever they decide to have it, there will not be anymore National meets to go to. I talked with Brian Olsen from Ford and he said that if we don't get better attendance, it will be harder for Ford to help us out.

He said that they would like to move the meet to different parts of the country, so everybody would have a chance to attend one closer to there part of the world.

Maybe we could post a poll to see where the next meet should be?

People need to thank the group of people that work so hard to put these things on so the rest of us can go and have a great time & meet alot of great people.



Jeff:rolleyes:

It's the people who are on this board that makes it what it is, a great place to be.
 

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