EOM 2018 - Location Discussion

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Quick update.

Genetti Hotel - Williamsport, PA - open weekends of 8,22, & 29 September, group rate of $89 Thurs, $109 Fri/Sat, meals cost around $28/person.

Fontana Village, Fontana, NC - Open all weekends in September, group rate of $113/$133, Meals around $28-$32 (and $400 banquet room fee).

Sylva, NC - Comfort Inn has large conference space, would require local catering - checking this as an option.

N.Georgia - pending visits by recon team.

The room rate pole is pretty clear - over half of those who did vote prefer $100 or less per night.

 
Going to go check out Genetti and Williamsport area next weekend. Will post some pics and Ride report after.

 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="BkerChuck" data-cid="1382224" data-time="1509195334"><p>

Going to go check out Genetti and Williamsport area next weekend. Will post some pics and Ride report after.</p></blockquote>

Let us know how parking lot antics could shake out there.

 
Quick update.

I have spoken to group sales at Unicoi (GA) and Flatwoods (WV) and am waiting on proposal details (room, meal, set up costs) now. They committed to having info to me no later than tomorrow.

I think we're at a point where we have some viable options out there, I have enough detail to do a swag on rally fees (meal cost) and room costs and we can vote on a preferred venue.

 
I'm going in for hip replacement surgery early in 2018 and EOM may be the first trip on the FJR next year. I liked both Maggie Valley and Hendersonville myself. Maggie Valley for having the option of just going down the street to the Wheels Through Time Museum and Hendersonville for the Olhins tour.

Both had access to great roads and maybe Bungie can find his imaginary road this time.

 
WIlliamsport venue looked very promising to me. Easily one of the nicest hotels I've ever stayed at in my life. I'll post up a RR later this evening after I get home form work. My ride home yesterday largely sucked due to the weather. Most of the trip in a steady, cool rain that limited the amount of fun I could have and after enduring that I just didn't feel much like writing it up. I will post up a full report with my thoughts and some pics later.

 
Food for thought - these are the locations that have panned out as meeting the minimum requirements for an EOM venue. I'll get a poll set up this evening for voting.

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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

 
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
No real decision... see you in Maggie Valley and willing to help in any way I can. B)

 
Either way I am still going to make a weekend in PA possible for 2018. Looks like a nice getaway weekend with the wife this spring.

Dave

 
Maggie Valley is fine by me as well. Looking forward to visiting that area again, it's been a few years for me.

 
OK Nate - this will be my first EOM to. Let's plan to do it together. We'll start a train and pick up as many cars as we can along the way.

 
Sounds good to me Pantsman. I know your feelings of the super slab so I may have to meet you along the way,but we have plenty of time to figure those details out.

 
Thank you Wayne.... But where is the picture of that deer?
See you in Maggie Valley.
Greg - That's not something I usually do. I do usually get some pictures from the stand or blind when I get settled in. I grew up hunting - small game, deer, etc. We always had venison in the freezer with I was a kid. Taking a deer, or any animal, is a complete process; we always butchered our own game, and I still do today.

There's a connection that happens for me. I've passed on shots because I don't like to see an animal suffer because of a questionable shot. I do everything I can for it to be a clean kill. My time in the Marine Corps helped refine my marksmanship - I'm no Carlos Hathcock, but the animals I've tracked have not been my shots - I always get in my brother's shit about having to track a kill for him.

Sorry, no shots of the kill from me. But there will be venison on Dad's table and in the freezer...

 
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