What can we do better?

Now that everyone is home and had a chance to unwind, the BOD always asks the question, "How do we make next year better?"

Realizing there are things we can and can't control, let us know what you think.

Also, now's a good time to discuss whether it's time to move the banquet to the hall where the potluck was this year or stay at the VFW. Ultimately the BOD next year will decide, but your opinions matter and will be noted.

mac 'fire away' gyvr

I'll start.

I want dipping sauce for my chicken strips at dinner.

We've discussed having PA or portable sound system a bit in another thread, I would like to see something done regarding this for the drivers meeting and wherever the dinner/raffle is held. The last one we had was WAY to bulky and troublesome to move around.

My thoughts on the VFW.
Pros:
They love us.
It's cheap.
The drinks are affordable.
We are supporting local business.
It's nice to get away from camp.
It's not at the same place as the potluck.
Smoking in the bar.
They will drive you home if needed.

Cons:
It's off campus from badlands (tho several stayed in hotel off campus)
Slight cost over potluck location.
No BYOB.
Pushing the limits on space (have been for many years tho).

No matter which facility is used, you'll still need that clean pair of shoes.

Not sure anyone has ever counted, but we served approximately 120 people at the dinner/raffle.

mac 'clean shoes' gyvr

OK, here goes my incoherent ramblings, but its early and I have not had enough caffeine for running on 3 hours of sleep....

Overall, everything was great this year, I have no real complaints at all. As far as the VFW vs. Badlands banquet hall, my personal opinion is that the Badlands is already making a killing off of our group and while we are getting to "use" the banquet hall for the potluck (not sure of cost involved, if any), it is nice to venture to the VFW for multiple reasons. Like you said, we are supporting another local business, and they love us. It is cramped, but it always has been and we make due w/o any problems. I know a few guys were saying the banquet at the VFW is as much a part of WF as is the Badlands. Not all of us are WF lifers but for us that have been around for 10 years or so, its always been at the VFW. I don't see any real reason to change the location since it is still working and has held the numbers over the years...and $2 beers FTW!!

AGREED on the dipping sauce! I wonder what the VFW's BYOS policy is??

It was hard to hear the raffle numbers at times, but that was due to multiple reasons....people talking, location in the room etc. I also think that to speed up the raffle there could be another number being pulled while the other number is being called, it seemed to drag on at times, especially bc I did not win shit

I know they were not a hit, but I liked the name tags...with us old guys getting older, its hard to remember names and we have a new crop of guys coming in and I can not remember their name or user name, but I can remember their faces (sorry to everyone one I referred to as guy or buddy )

But all in all, I am not bringing anything to the table that is not already noted or known, so my hats off to you guys. I don't know what it was this year, but I just really enjoyed the event and the atmosphere, it was great to see you guys and meet some of the newer guys and gals too. Looking forward to next year! IS WF17 going to be held at the Badlands?? LOL

And again gents, stellar work on the items for Flex, I saw a few misty eyes in the VFW.....including mine.

Overall satisfaction, 2 cheesy thumbs up!! :thumbup: :thumbup:

Cheese "I love you guys" Man

I can make a suggestion on the PA system of anyone comes up with a budget. I would suggest going the rechargeable speaker rout with an actual mic. Bullhorns kind of bring the suck. They are probably a little nasty sounding but Pyle has a battery operated speaker with mic inputs for about $110 and a cheap mic will run another $25-100 depending on what you want. It would be able to be used at the VFW plugged into the wall and at the quarry on battery. Will it handle zz top...well no, but it will be sufficient to carry a voice over the chatter of a small crowd.

The other thin you could do at the drivers meeting is tune everyone's FRS to the same channel...people will be standing close enough to one to hear what you are saying. People could also sit in their jeeps to keep warm if it's cold. I think you would be sufficiently far away from other drivers to avoid feedback.

The only other thing I can think of which is mostly because I'm an idiot and kept losing my schedule...it would be cool if it wasn't too costly to post a board with the daily schedule. Every time I lost my paper I was someplace where I couldn't get campground wifi...again its something that isn't really a big necessity but being able to glance at it coming in and out of the campgrounds would be cool...

Seeing as how this was my first Winterfest, I don't have much to compare it against except for how we do doings in the SEC.

I thought the event was very well organized and thought out. It seems that the MWC has a lot of the same challenges for running an event that we do. Namely, getting people to show up on time and keeping civilized during the raffle. But, when you get a group of friends together who may only get to see each other a couple times a year then pump them full of booze, what do you expect?

I enjoyed having the raffle at the VFW actually. I thought it was a nice way to show support for small town Attica, and they were definitely appreciative. I walked over to the bar to get a drink and the owner introduced himself and started chatting with me like we had been friends for ever. There's a lot to be said for that small town atmosphere, especially when they offered to drive people home after it was announced there was a checkpoint set up outside the campground. Plus, $2.25 for a rum and coke? Can't go wrong there!

The only thing i'd change would be to have it in warmer weather...but that's because my Southern blood is thin

I'd like to stay at the VFW as long as we fit in there. It feels like part of the tradition of WF.

A mic and speaker is a great idea for the raffle and speeding it if possible too.

using the FRS during the race was a fantastic idea and could be used for the drivers meeting the same way.

It was a great event as always and the BOD and volunteers did awesome work to makes everything smooth for the participants. thank you

I haven't seen the potluck place yet but I like the VFW. You mentioned BYOB, as a heavy drinker who sometimes loses self restrictions, I can see it turning away from a dinner and an extention of the fire.
The VFW is cramped and although cheap, beer cost money, imo that keeps people sitting down a little more.

I also like the name tags. I to remember faces buy forget names

1. I'd like to hear from the newbies on this. Us 10-15 year veterans are simply happy to see each other. Do you newbs feel welcome enough? Did you find a fire to sit by on Friday evening? I'd like to see the event grow a little bit and maybe see 15 more rigs next year.
2. I would never want to see us move from the VFW. The VFW loves us and I feel like it helps the community accept us or the sport.
3. If we need more room, I can always sit at the bar if you buy a PA system... Bet I can find ten friends to join me
4. If people could control themselves and not burn the pile I think a Friday fire would be a good idea. Trying to build camaraderie...
5. Maybe it was beer intake but I felt like the raffle went really well. We saved time by not having 15 hats given away.
6. Could the raffle team create a PDF file that members could print off and use to solicit raffle items locally? Many members work at cool places. Even someone at Walmart could maybe talk the manager into a Mag-lite flashlight
7. Does insurance allow for a night run on Green? We may need to use the PBT first....
8. I still think it would be value added if members knew the final amount made from the event. Maybe it's a members forum thing. I'm a huge fan of supporting because I know what supports. I try to make sure every penny I would have spent on camping gets poured into raffle tickets. In addition I buy the additional tickets I would have purchased. I get a lot more tickets thanks to the club working out the camping.
9. I will make sure to lead a green group next year. I'm old school enough to know that we keep skipping hundreds of yards of more challenging trail when we drive straight through the sand whoops.
10. Us old guys need to know ahead of time what trail our close friends are lining up on and not wait until we get to staging to park in the back and confuse matters.

Big 'wasn't kidding about WF2020 in Florida' Hank

I've been requesting for years a big ole pan of snack bacon at the VFW...

first thing i looked for was the dipping sauce for the chicken. we need sauce!!!!!

now that the important issue is out of the way...

i like the banquet at the VFW. being a casual drinker, driving back to the campground or hotel with the scare of a possible DUI checkpoint didnt really bother me. yes it gets cramped in there but i always see open seats. i had maybe a dozen or so people (non members) wave to us as we drove the Jeep to and from the park. im sure they appreciate the business the Badlands brings to the town and im sure the VFW feels the same.

this was was my first WF in the last 3 years. i must say it was ran MUCH better than '13. good job to all involved.

i'll echo bringing back name tags. I always feel like a dick when i can't remember someones name even though i've wheeled with them in the past.

we need more expensive raffle ticket!!!!....just kidding. raffle took a little while but i think that spoke to the amount of raffle items, which is great.

Coming from an old guy...
WF and the Vfw go hand in hand for all the stated reasons.
I can't really see it getting better without adding strippers

WI88XJ said:

Coming from an old guy...
WF and the Vfw go hand in hand for all the stated reasons.
I can't really see it getting better without adding midget strippers

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FFY

POLAR_JEEP_04 said:

FFY

Click to expand...

Winning. arty:

WI88XJ said:

Coming from an old guy...
WF and the Vfw go hand in hand for all the stated reasons.
I can't really see it getting better without adding strippers

Click to expand...

Where were you? How come I didn't see you? I haven't seen you since the last Brewfest(which I think we should have even if John wont plan it(We could just all show up at his place with picnic baskets))

I was tucked away behind the Rewster group. Being as short as I am I was well hid.
I saw u and Lar but by the time I got up you were gone.
I'm in for the brewfest just say when. I can bring the Wisconsin beer

I didn't stay at the fire too long...

WI88XJ said:

I was tucked away behind the Rewster group. Being as short as I am I was well hid.
I saw u and Lar but by the time I got up you were gone.
I'm in for the brewfest just say when. I can bring the Wisconsin beer

Click to expand...

We left early, we had to take Hobag back to his room and tuck him in.

A night run would be nice if it could happen. Of course everyone participating would need to be sober. The racing course was really good, but could have been longer. Seating at the vfw was pretty cramped. Other than that it was a great time.

Rubiconkeith said:

A night run would be nice if it could happen. Of course everyone participating would need to be sober. The racing course was really good, but could have been longer. Seating at the vfw was pretty cramped. Other than that it was a great time.

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racing course is a hard thing to pin down. Mac and I spent an hour walking around to come up with that.

don't want to make it too confusing, or too hard for the stockish rigs to have fun on.

Open to suggestions.

I thought the course was awesome. maybe having a harder line for the bigger tire class would have been cool but regardless it was very fun to watch just the way it was.