Cumberland Meet Show & Trailer Parking

I have been watching the long range weather forecasts for Cumberland the last few days.

http://www.weather.com/outlook/driving/interstate/tenday/USMD0115?from=36hr_topnav_driving

http://www.accuweather.com/forecast-15da...01&metric=0

I am the first to admit that weather forecasts more than a day ot two out have a history of being very inaccurate.

However, this does bring up a few questions that the Meet Chairman or other Meet Staff might like to address.

Since the show is on grass and the field is most likely not a former golf course, is there any way of knowing how well it drains after being rained on?

Will the Meet Chair and other staffers be able to layout the show field differently at the last minute if parts of the field are swampy on Friday afternoon/evening?

The trailer parking is also on grass as I understand it. Does that field have good drainage?

If not, I would imagine that the Meet staff have made provisions to secure heavy duty towing equipment should some tow vehicles and trailers become bogged down on soft ground?

Obviously, I am sure the Meet Staff have also been watching the weather forecasts and thinking about some of these same issues.

Some of these situations can be planned for and others not.

To be quite honest, the thought of getting stuck in the trailer parking area and/or getting my antique vehicle all mudy is not too appealing.

Add to that spending $300-400 in fuel, tolls, food, etc. for a mud filled trip and I have to think twice about the cost/benefit of going.

Input from the Meet Staff would be greatly appreciated.

HMMM, fifty members have read the post and no answers.Charlie its been said that im not bashful, so Ill be the first to step in it. First let me say that I love cars in the park, there is nothing better than a blanket on the ground with a picnic basket a cool drink and just watch the folks walk by and admire the cars. If I can remove my shoes and socks and air out my stinky feet, even better. BUT,what we had at the pasture oops, I ment former golf course last year was far from idalic. We have a wonderful hard working reagion and Im sure changes will happen,but like you I worry about a muddy field in MD. I drove a hundred and sixty miles last year and still had to clean Hershey mud off tires and wheel wells when I got home. I dont want to do it again. NO, I dont have a million doller car, but I spent ten+ years to rescue it from the grave yard,and Im doggone proud of it. I wont subject it to a mud bath. Dick

Unless it's fcst for a down pour on Sat. I'll be there. If the trailer field is soft or muddy I'll find another place to park it, that's usually not a problem. If the show field is soft and muddy I'll just have a nice breakfast somewhere and go home...........Bob.

Hmmmm, 126+ views of this thread and no posts from anyone from the Cumberland area and/or the Region/Chapter putting on this event....

I too enjoy car events on grass. Last year the three events I took my antique vehicle to were ALL on grass.

I also do not have a million dollar vehicle but I have learned the hard way over the years that my vehicles and mud do not mix.

The last time I got my car all muddy it took me many weeks of nights and weekends to get it clean.

Given my family and work schedules I simply cannot afford the time to go throught that again.

BTW, are the roads into the resort and to the trailer parking area paved roads, stoned roads or dirt roads?

Sure hope someone on the meet staff will be able to provide some information regarding trailer & show field drainage, roads, etc.

Charley with so little trafic on the forum about Cumberland I suspect the folks out there are to busy to talk to us,or they just dont read this forum.I guess we pay da money and take da chance. It took me over a year, but I finaly talked a former member into rejoining and Im bringing him with me. I told him he could pay his dues and get at least a # so he could take the judges class there. As such, Im looking for sunshine and whats the rest of that song?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Hmmmm, 126+ views of this thread and no posts from anyone from the Cumberland area and/or the Region/Chapter putting on this event....</div></div>I'm not speaking for the region, but being the chairman for the same event in 2010, I'd be willing to bet between registration, printing programs, getting awards shipped in, assembling trophies, making final arrangements on the tours, judge's breakfast, judging school, roundtable discussions, stuffing goodie bags, making final arrangements for the Friday night activity, trailer parking, gathering all the merchandise, dealing with concessions (remember those Dick?), showfield layout, hospitality rooms, worker support, awards banquet, <span style="font-weight: bold">PAYING BILLS</span>, etc. I would be willing bet that the region has their hands full, and they're most likely busting their butts so that they can reduce the number of complaints by us when we get there and/or leave. I predict when the time comes for us in 2010, I will most likely be taking the entire week off from work just to get everything laid out for all of the reasons that I've mentioned.

Our meet is still more than two years out, and I am already either answering to an e-mail, responding to phone calls, working on sponsors, dealing with other regions, working with someone from my own executive board and/or board of directors on a weekly (sometimes daily) basis now. <span style="font-weight: bold">That's why my presence on the forum isn't as much as it used to be, and a lot of you don't get the amount of e-mails on your own e-mail accounts that you use to get</span>.

Right now even though we're two years out, I've been trying to solidify the showfield, I expect to have that done in the next three weeks, once that's done, then I'll finish up on the contracts for the host hotel and banquet facilities. My next order of business will be to work on the dash plaques and merchandise, get those approved, and then start working to get the sponsor dough so that we can pay the bills. I have been trying to get the GM Futurliner at our meet, so that has required some more planning, and will require more money to get it at our meet. I still haven't explored tours and Friday night activities yet, concessions, EMS coverage, security, trailer parking, nor have I tried to make the arrangements to get any golf carts for our show support staff. I will say that I have my Flea Market / Car Corral committee, Chief Judge, and Registration Committee all set up and they're ready to go.

After being familiar with what the requirements are, those guys in Cumberland probably won't have the time to catch their breath until they sit down at the dinner table on Saturday night. Even after we all leave and go home, then they'll have to break down the unclaimed trophies, ship everything back along with a summary of the event, the award winners, and finish paying off the rest of the bills.

Bear with them, support them, thank them, and help them if they ask. In my case it'll be watch them, see what I like, see what I don't like, and then plan accordingly.

WELL SAID Pat. Sunshine and lollypops for you.

ex98thdrill, no question it takes a LOT OF WORK to put on an AACA Meet.

Having been a part of many, many dozens of auto events over the last 12 years I know first hand what is involved.

I have also seen first hand how important COMMUNICATION is when it comes to events like this.

The most successful events all seem to communicate well.

That is a part of putting on an AACA Meet or any automotive event. You do not have to look any further than these forums for proof of this.

Look back in time and see how many posts Art Griffin did to answer questions or post information about this year's Dual Sunshine Meet.

Look at all the posts for Fall Heshey each year. Look at the posts made by the Chairman of the Grand National at Kalamzaoo in 2007.

I could go on and on but I think you get my point.

Hopefully you will pattern the communications for your upcoming meet after these and other meets and not after those meets that have not done

as good a job of communicating. Meet Chairman and promoters of Auto Events are VERY BUSY people.

They need to decide how to best allocate their resources of manpower, money and most of all TIME.

Posting information and answering questions on forums like this gets the word out to many, many people.

It is one of THE most EFFECTIVE ways to communicate with vast numbers of people.

Communicating in this manner also tends to reduce the number of emails and to a lesser extent telephone calls requesting information about an event.

Moving forward, I strongly urge AACA National to REQUIRE that each and every meet, tour, etc. post a thread on these forums to answer questions about that event.

The meet/event chairperson or a meet/event staffer charged with communicating for the event should be checking that thread and responding to questions on a periodic basis. It might be even worth considering adding a new forum specifically for meets, tours, etc. where these threads can all be posted in one place.

No question, Meets, Tours, etc are a lot of work. Part of that work is COMMUNICATING with others about that event.

Some meets/events realize this while others tend to blame lack of communication on the lack of time.

Some people may buy that excuse while others will not. I guess it depends on one's point of view.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Look back in time and see how many posts Art Griffin did to answer questions or post information about this year's Dual Sunshine Meet.

Look at all the posts for Fall Heshey each year. Look at the posts made by the Chairman of the Grand National at Kalamzaoo in 2007.

I could go on and on but I think you get my point. </div></div>

Charlie, I dare say that Art Griffin is one of the more prolific users of our forum. I'd say the majority of regions/chapters in our club have very few forum users, so having designated threads for meets/tours is still a ways off.

Most members, myself included, have preregistered, so we're going to the meets/tours, whatever the weather. If a car never comes out of a trailer, it's the camaraderie that I look forward to.....the repeated war stories of those bad weather days that we repeat to youngins until the end of time. I'm positive that the host regions are doing their best to cover all bases.

See you in Cumberland!

Wayne

Wayne after 12 years in the aaca I learned of this forum only when we had our Binghamton meet.Being simi retarded oops I mean retired I used it almost every day to promote our show. Its a great tool,but not everyone is retired.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: R W Burgess</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Charlie, I dare say that Art Griffin is one of the more prolific users of our forum. I'd say the majority of regions/chapters in our club have very few forum users, so having a designated threads for meets/tours is still a ways off.

Most members, myself included, have preregistered, so we're going to the meets/tours, whatever the weather. If a car never comes out of a trailer, it's the camaraderie that I look forward to.....the repeated war stories of those bad weather days that we repeat to youngins until the end of time. I'm positive that the host regions are doing their best to cover all bases.

See you in Cumberland!

Wayne </div></div>

Wayne, I see your point about the majority of regions/chapters in our club having very few forum users.

We can add David O. Lyon to the list of good communicators (2007 GN at Kalamazoo, MI). His name slipped my mind in my last post.

Hopefully the AACA will find a way to get more members, regions and chapters on-line.

This is one great communication tool that it appears is being sorely underutilized.

I can understand what you mean about the car staying in the trailer in the event of poor weather or field conditions and about it being about camaraderie. For many, many AACA mebers that what it is all about.

On the other hand, one has to wonder how long that school of thought will continue as the costs for attending these events continue to rise.

Will there reach a point where weather and field conditions play a larger part in the decision making process to attend an event or skip it even though registration fees have been paid for?? Time will tell I suppose.

Hi, Charlie.

One cannot assume that everyone in AACA checks the forum. You could send an e-mail to the meet chairman. (Info is on the meet brochure.)

Peter J.

Come on now, weather man says rain Fri. and Sat.Lets all beat the drums for sun,who will stop the rain?? Its time for the sun gods to take over

National Weather Service says 30% chance of showers Friday and Saturday. Could be worse.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Restorer32</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> National Weather Service says 30% chance of showers Friday and Saturday. Could be worse. </div></div>

Interesting how weather forecasts vary so much.

Two other forecasts for Cumberland state the POP is 60% on Friday and 40% on Saturday.

Hopefully the NWS is correct or better yet all the forecasts are incorrect and it is a Sunny, Warm, couple of days!

I can understand how some people may be concerned about how much rain Cumberland gets Thursday through Friday nights.

That along with how well the show field drains and how torn up/muddy the trailer parking area gets.

Looks like the only way to play this one is to go to Cumberland and assess the field conditions once there.

Too bad that will cost some people several 100 dollars in fuel and other expenses.

If it does rain on Saturday maybe some AACA members will have "ramp door" gatherings (a trailer's version of a tailgate party).

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Two other forecasts for Cumberland state the POP is 60% on Friday and 40% on Saturday.</div></div>

Well, whatever. I'm on my way tomorrow morning. I've got umbrellas, long pants, tee shirts, sweaters, shorts, beer, a 55 Buick and a loving wife. Life is good..........Bob

Bob you have the three most important things.Beer a buick and best of all a lovin wife. See you there Dick

Look forward to seeing you all there - we're bringing two MGs driving all the way up from Norfolk Va. Aint too worried about the rain. Those cars were born and bred in the rain. Only trouble is they are really close to the ground so if we bottom out we might call on yu-all for a push.

Terry

Unfortunately, due to a last-minute family situation I have to skip the Cumberland Meet.

That will probably mean sunny skies and nice temps for Saturday since I will be unable to attend.

Isn't that always how that goes?

Everyone here who is going have a nice time, be safe and take PLENTY of photos for those of us who cannot make it.

Looking forward to reading about the Cumberland Meet here on the DF next week.

Show was fantastic, anyone know the final figure for atten.?? Also where dash plaques given out. I did not rec. one and would sure like to have one as I rec. my senior award there.Dick

Still wonder what the final count was for attendance, anyone know?? Wayne that maxwell is just fantastic,but I sure wouldnt want to polish it.

Dick, if I owned something that nice, I'd be happy to PAY someone to polish it!

Seriously, when you have nice toys, they demand that you take care of them. It's a love/love relationship. All you have to do is watch Steve and Pamala clean that wonderful machine to understand why they do it.

Wayne

PS, you guys have fun, leaving for Burlington.....reports to follow.

Spoke with Joe V this morning and I believe he said 637 with an additional 122 no shows.