Alright, here are my unfiltered thoughts on this. I’m sure some if not many will use unpleasant adjectives to describe the tone or attitude of my response…
Location – since I’ve been involved with organizing EOM, my take has been that the primary focus of the event was exploring the best twisty scenic & challenging roads on the east coast. The camaraderie we all enjoy at the end of the day can happen in a parking lot, around a bar, in a hotel lobby, or whatever space was there to congregate in.
Cost – Cost has always been a factor – making the event as budget friendly as possible to allow as many members of the group attend. Let’s face it, some have a more robust hobby or vacation budget than others; I’ve always worked to keep the event as affordable as possible.
Organizers – there are many folks who pitch in to help. Especially once on site at the event – it’s always a point of stress worrying if there will be enough help when it’s needed, but as a group we always manage to come together and get things done for registration and the banquet. 2017 was a great example of that with my early departure. The phone call and text messages made my evening!
There is some heavy lifting that gets done prior to the event; recently that has been Gerald & Brenda and myself – the pre-work in getting the event set up, the registration and website stuff done, running down door prize swag, picking up shirt orders, etc. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining, and I’m sure Gerald and Brenda won’t either (but they can chime in at any point).
Wheaton and others pointed out the purpose of the location poll – to gauge interest in viable venues. There is interest in Williamsport, PA. There is similar interest in Maggie Valley, NC. This poll data is by no means a water tight solution to picking a location. People can (and did) vote on both forums, because there is no way to avoid that. The group that did participate in the voting is a percentage of the total typical rally attendance. If I look at just the votes here, 21 people voted for Williamsport; that is about 20% of the average EOM attendance (average attendance is about 100 per year). About 20% voted for Maggie Valley as well. By no means is that a landslide for either location.
The behind the scenes portion in dealing with the venue staff at Maggie Valley for our last visit was spectacular. Beth and Mike are riders, they really made that part of the event as painless as possible – it was an enjoyable experience interacting with them.
What I’m getting at is simple. If Gerald, Brenda and myself are doing the heavy lifting for 2018, EOM will be in Maggie Valley, NC. So the real decision here is a.) EOM in Maggie Valley, or b.) who is going to organize EOM in Williamsport.
I will say that Williamsport does look interesting as a venue and for a nice leisurely weekend ride. I would be willing to ask the Genetti Hotel if they have availability in May or June for a smaller group meet if there is interest in that. But in September, I’m riding western NC, Eastern TN, and north Georgia…
Tomorrow is Friday. I am working, so don’t expect much of a response from me until the end of the day or after. It cracks me up sometimes how much time some folks have during the day for this – I am focusing some serious efforts for a job like that in 2018…
Wayne
