I like the Wall/Badlands ares of SD. I also like the black hills area. 2 day drive and camping in the area!

 

Here's one sponsor you can count on. Other than the last week of July, my schedule is wide open, so I'll be there. Springfield/ Branson would be great; my sister lives right near there, I've never seen her place, and all she talks about is Branson.
How cool is that? What's that old song: "This could be the start of something BIG...?"

 

Branson sounds good to me. It's setup just for events like this and it diverse - sort of counts on things like this.

I need a break - I'll be ready for it.

 

I'll go if I can.

 

ill see what i can do, the beast is gettin a new motor in less than a week, and i will be sure to want to check out how 500 hp will fare on the interstate!! but when is this thing being planned for, and how long of a deal are we talkin, i live in georgia, 2 hours east of atlanta, right on the south carolina border, so anywhere in the midwest region is a real stretch. According to mapquest, branson is about 14 hours, and 850 miles from the house. based on how much my truck will take, and gas prices today, it will cost me over $300 just in gas! that is also considerin $2.00 per gallon, but i dont forsee it bein that cheap. but with enough advanced notice, and proper plannin, i can prolly do this, and bein so broke i cant afford to pay attention doesnt help matters much!!!

 

Well, Branson would be a two day drive, driving 12+ hours a day---at best. And 1756 miles one way. If I'm going to thnk about driving that far, we should go to St Louis and maybe Bigfoot can show some trucks. Missouri is also a tad off center in the continental US. Well..we shall see what transpires. Lots more folks to comment yet.

 

Yes, we plan to bring in as many sponsors as possible, both site sponsors and just show sponsors. First year shows usually lose money (a lot!) and sponsorship would help out.

 

Where ever it finally comes down to and when a date is set, let me know and I'll do some emailing with the Bigfoot crew and see if I can get them to bring one or two of their trucks. They are quite busy all season, with races and shows, but if we contact them well in advance they might go out of their way to do something for us.

 

I would try to go. I still like the east west thing at least for the time meeting and then the next year do a all in one meeting. I do understand the cost factor involved. But with a smaller groups you get to met more people and stand a better chance of remembering who they are. If we can get Ford involved in on it they may be able to help with transporting of FTE product. Any way, have travel trailer and will travel.

 

An east - west meeting would be good to but could these not be put on by a group of chapters rather then the National Cub. A once a year National meet would take close to a year to plan, prep and setup. Plus the cost associated with the meet can be huge. We do one once a year here in Kansas and I know that just on this smaller scale it takes a tremendous amount of time and money to setup.

As for the National event Having it in a central location just plain makes sense. It would be within reasonable distance for most members especially if it could be planned around a long weekend or with sufficient notice for the members to make appropriate plans. The Kansas City area has a lot going for it also. There is major and national companies based there for support and sponsorship. It is located on major interstate highways as well as having a major airport. There are other shows and events that go on in the KC area also that gives it a strong local base to draw on for support. The main thing is though, if there is to be a show in 2005 it should be getting into the planning stages real soon. A show or event of this magnitude cannot be setup overnight. The amount of time as well as the preparations make it a necessity to get started as soon as possible. The idea of a notional event is solid and I think would have great support so we cannot spend countless days and weeks debating on where and when and still expect the show to make it's first year in 2005.

 

Hmm. Just 2 pages so far? I would have lost a paycheck that there would be at least 20 by now.

 

That's it, if Ron is going then I am dragging Sinjin there

 

There won't be countless weeks debating. Already some things moving behind the scenes with sponsors and details.

 

If the show was in Branson and we had dates set early enough I might be able to get us a deal on a hotel/theme park/water park/buffett. I would say the name but don't want to put the cart before the horse. I have an Uncle that is a GM of such a place and he has given me deals before so I am sure I can get something set up. We would have to have all the details though so he can ge me a price and block of a section of rooms for us. It will be his busy time but I am sure with enough notice we can get a few week window for people to hold rooms for. Just let me know and I will do my best.

 

This sounds like a great idea. I would have to fly in because my cost in fuel would something like $700 round trip and about 2 and 1/2 days driving.

I just ran some costs on plane tickets and flying from Portland, OR into to Kansas City or Tulsa is considerably cheaper than any of the smaller airports. Maybe we could make it an out lying town that was within reasonable distance to a city that has a major airport. This might make it more affordable for us who would have to fly.