FbodyGathering Forums

Foremost, salute to everyone who puts on the finest car show I have seen! You know who you are and everyone appreciates your investment of cash and time.

With that established, there can always be tweaks made for making the Gathering even better. I'd like to start a thread where CONSTRUCTIVE suggestions may be placed and reviewed by staff and attendees. I may regret this, but here goes:

1) Work with local weatherman to divert storms from Marrietta.
2) Create a group email/SMS/Text alert for attendees so all will stay informed of the schedule (and changes.) The PA system works well for the ball room, and for folks withing 50-feet of the judges tables, but for some reasons (Cams, Headers, Cut-Outs, and distance) much of the area is out of range of the speakers. I would venture that most of us carry phones that can receive a text or email and hey, sending that out is simple and FREE!
3) This was Jim's idea, but I'll post it, everyone ensure that you bring one friend that was not there for G13. We has so much new blood here this year, it is encouraging that we still haven't gotten every enthusiast out there.
4) Again, this is not my idea, but I love it: Bring in some cookers and roast a pig and some chickens/burgers/dogs to give folks a good alternative to heading out for meals. Chances are this could be an excellent fund-raiser as well. (not sure how the Marriott would feel)
5) Require the Marriott to clear all non-registered vehicles at noon on Thursday (maybe we need a larger non-show parking zone)...nuff said.
6) Locate clubs based on attendance to reduce the gaps. (I am sure this is attempted, but the gaps seemed very large this year.

If nothing changes, the show will be just as great as this year, so no problem! If any of these help, great. Any other ideas out there, please post-up in a nice way.

This is exactly what we want to see/hear. Most of you have my ##, all of you can reach me by PM if A) you don't want you idea stolen; or B) you don't want your forum "tone" to be misunderstood. Please, keep it constructive. Understand we cannot please everyone. The last thing we want to hear is how you think something "Sucked". Other than the weather!!!

other ideas...

1. Have the awards way earlier than 6 on Sunday. After the varsity cruise, there is really nothing to do except sit around outside, and for folks that have already checked out of the rooms, that is hell. If the awards must be had at 6, maybe find something to fill that time gap. And also have a shorter awrds thing. Most everyone just wants to see who won what and have the drawings. We felt the wards could have been reduced to 30 minutes, from the 2 hours it took. "Did everyone have fun"....."YEEEEEA"...."I can't hear you"........lol it isn't church camp, its a car show and everyone is anxious to get back on the road and get home. I know its a time where there are many thnank-yous and all that to send it, but try to keep it short for people who have to hit the road. It seemed like everyone really loved hearin themselves talk!

2. Mobile dyno maybe? Not sure if the hotel allows this but it would beat having to drive off-site to the ghetto. I know MustangWeek does this and it's a real big hit.

3. Have real, certified judges. I know that some of the class winners were in fact covered in dust and weren't detailed to the extremes it takes to win a class. Especiallly in a class with 20-30 cars!


As others have said, if nothing changes it will still be a good show, but these are just things to make it more enjoyable for the folks that spend a couple hundred bux for the weekend! We appreciate ALL the staff does too, you guys are great.

1) Some food vendors might do well at the gathering.

2) Consider establishing a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners for classes, and then follow up with runner ups are appropriate.

Still the best show ever!

I know last year there was a grill outside the registration office cookin Hamburgers and it was doin a boomin business. I assume it was done by the hotel ?

Definetly get the non show cars oughtta there.

As for parking i know there were some people that were parked there that weren't supposed. They don't look at the map and just park where they want. Maybe park all non-club f-body's in one area ?

Just my thoughts and to Andy and all staff GREAT JOB !!!!

(05-27-2009 08:11 AM)kyles2000z Wrote: [ -> ]other ideas...

1. Have the awards way earlier than 6 on Sunday. After the varsity cruise, there is really nothing to do except sit around outside, and for folks that have already checked out of the rooms, that is hell. If the awards must be had at 6, maybe find something to fill that time gap. And also have a shorter awrds thing. Most everyone just wants to see who won what and have the drawings. We felt the wards could have been reduced to 30 minutes, from the 2 hours it took. "Did everyone have fun"....."YEEEEEA"...."I can't hear you"........lol it isn't church camp, its a car show and everyone is anxious to get back on the road and get home. I know its a time where there are many thnank-yous and all that to send it, but try to keep it short for people who have to hit the road. It seemed like everyone really loved hearin themselves talk!

2. Mobile dyno maybe? Not sure if the hotel allows this but it would beat having to drive off-site to the ghetto. I know MustangWeek does this and it's a real big hit.

3. Have real, certified judges. I know that some of the class winners were in fact covered in dust and weren't detailed to the extremes it takes to win a class. Especiallly in a class with 20-30 cars!


As others have said, if nothing changes it will still be a good show, but these are just things to make it more enjoyable for the folks that spend a couple hundred bux for the weekend! We appreciate ALL the staff does too, you guys are great.

The only reason the awards went as long as they did with all the I can"t hear you and stuff is because the slide presentation was not ready. The last thing I want to do is hear myself talk. Thats my time to sit back and rest.

---

(05-27-2009 09:12 AM)Zachs Bank Wrote: [ -> ]I know last year there was a grill outside the registration office cookin Hamburgers and it was doin a boomin business. I assume it was done by the hotel ?

Definetly get the non show cars oughtta there.

As for parking i know there were some people that were parked there that weren't supposed. They don't look at the map and just park where they want. Maybe park all non-club f-body's in one area ?

Just my thoughts and to Andy and all staff GREAT JOB !!!!

The grill was done by the hotel due to weather they did not set up.

That is what general fbody parking is for

I thought everything was fairly good, i would like to see the awards moved earlier on sunday, it is a helluva drive from atl to tampa after a long day in the sun/rain, but i can also see how adding up results could take a good bit of time,


Hi Fran

(05-27-2009 09:12 AM)PrinceSS Wrote: [ -> ]

(05-27-2009 08:11 AM)kyles2000z Wrote: [ -> ]other ideas...

1. Have the awards way earlier than 6 on Sunday. After the varsity cruise, there is really nothing to do except sit around outside, and for folks that have already checked out of the rooms, that is hell. If the awards must be had at 6, maybe find something to fill that time gap. And also have a shorter awrds thing. Most everyone just wants to see who won what and have the drawings. We felt the wards could have been reduced to 30 minutes, from the 2 hours it took. "Did everyone have fun"....."YEEEEEA"...."I can't hear you"........lol it isn't church camp, its a car show and everyone is anxious to get back on the road and get home. I know its a time where there are many thnank-yous and all that to send it, but try to keep it short for people who have to hit the road. It seemed like everyone really loved hearin themselves talk!

2. Mobile dyno maybe? Not sure if the hotel allows this but it would beat having to drive off-site to the ghetto. I know MustangWeek does this and it's a real big hit.

3. Have real, certified judges. I know that some of the class winners were in fact covered in dust and weren't detailed to the extremes it takes to win a class. Especiallly in a class with 20-30 cars!


As others have said, if nothing changes it will still be a good show, but these are just things to make it more enjoyable for the folks that spend a couple hundred bux for the weekend! We appreciate ALL the staff does too, you guys are great.

The only reason the awards went as long as they did with all the I can"t hear you and stuff is because the slide presentation was not ready. The last thing I want to do is hear myself talk. Thats my time to sit back and rest.

---

(05-27-2009 09:12 AM)Zachs Bank Wrote: [ -> ]I know last year there was a grill outside the registration office cookin Hamburgers and it was doin a boomin business. I assume it was done by the hotel ?

Definetly get the non show cars oughtta there.

As for parking i know there were some people that were parked there that weren't supposed. They don't look at the map and just park where they want. Maybe park all non-club f-body's in one area ?

Just my thoughts and to Andy and all staff GREAT JOB !!!!

The grill was done by the hotel due to weather they did not set up.

That is what general fbody parking is for

lol i wasnt really referring to that, more-so the folks that took 10 minutes to tell a hard luck story. just say you got pulled over by the cops, or your car was hit by someone, ya dont hafta give explicit details and everything that lead up to the accident!

How about a lead car for the Varsity cruise? This was done at G11 (don't know about G12 since I didn't make that one) and it worked out well I thought. Having all the cars stop on the side of the on ramp to 75 and wait for everyone to get through the traffic lights and catch up made for a really long cool line of F-bodies rolling down the highway.

As for club parking, what about marking club sections with chalk so no one has to count spaces to try to figure out where to park. Obviously doesn't work well in wet weather which may be why it wasn't done this year.

Another vote for an earlier awards ceremony.

Make the GMMG cruise a little later. I know traffic is unpredictable but maybe pushing it back even a half hour can reduce the chance of driving the whole way in bumper to bumper traffic.

Just my $.02. Either way I had a blast and can't wait for next year. Thanks guys!

I don't want this post to sound like a whine and gripe session, however at G-14, we will have our own maps to events like the varsity, and will meet you all there. We were driving at 80 MPH, and could not keep up with the lead cars. A couple more club members were following close behind us. Out of the blue an SUV decided to change lanes, almost stop in the middle of I-75, and I missed rear-ending them by less then a foot. At the same time, all we could see behind us was a red f-body, just about to rear-end us. It was at this time that I realized just how inadaquate the brakes on a stock thirdgen are. After we cleaned ourselves up, the rest of the trip was great. We did not follow anyone back.