Lake Land Regional Meet

[Floyd B.]

Re: Lake Land Regional Meet

...including big name concerts on the newly reacquired swap meet area...

I wonder if the structure they erecting here would make a suitable judging area? At least better than the old asphalt parking lots.

[Joe R.]

Re: Lake Land Regional Meet

Guys, the Old Town site was great as it was centrally located in an area where there are hotels and restaurants but the uncertainty of Old Town lead the Florida Chapter to make a decision to move the meet. Remember to that the Old Town site was flooded two years ago!
I have stayed at the Seralogo the last two years and the trip is not that much of a problem! The new site offers much more in the way of judging, security and space for the swap meet and parking.
The Florida Chapter certainly wants your input but unless you are willing to take on the responsibility of working it will ultimately be their decision on the site and your decision if you want to attend.
JR

[Daniel Y.]

Re: Lake Land Regional Meet

I also agree that the judging in the hangers is an improvement. However, the reception and lunches were exposed to cold and wind so there is a trade off there. It is a hike to Mecum - too far. I think the Florida Chapter did a great job finding an alternative when we lost space at Old Town. But listening to most members - sounds like they would like to go back to Old Town when its possible. The powers that be will review the attendance/revenues and the comments from members and come up with the right decision. I suggest you contact your regional director to voice your concerns.

[Tim G.]

Re: Lake Land Regional Meet

Dan, it was great to see your car. Sunfire Yellow is my absolute favorite color.

[Ara G.]

Re: Lake Land Regional Meet

Dan, fantastic car. Got your message last night...lol....will call you tonight. Be well....Great meet, great friends, great times, great cars, what more can a Vette fan ask for? ARA

[Tyler T.]

Re: Lake Land Regional Meet

There has been nor will there be any discussion between us and Oldtown. I know of no owner that wants a car judged that would not bring the car because its not at Oldtown. We have one more year at Lakeland and it appears from the discussion we might as well not apply for 2018.

Tyler

[Vinnie P.]

Re: Lake Land Regional Meet

There has been nor will there be any discussion between us and Oldtown. I know of no owner that wants a car judged that would not bring the car because its not at Oldtown. We have one more year at Lakeland and it appears from the discussion we might as well not apply for 2018.

Tyler

Tyler, et al, Sure there have been some negative comments...but some very positive ones too...count me in on the positive side...the venue is fantastic...maybe it's a few miles to hotels...but that's like most regional and national convention meets now...you still have to get in your car to travel to the judging site, hotels, restaurants etc...not everything is self contained...and also take into consideration that we have 15,000+ members and only a very small percentage of them visit this board daily...(less than 300)...so what about the members that attended but don't visit/post here...we'll be back...keep up the good work...it will grow with time...
Vinnie

[Richard M.]

Re: Lake Land Regional Meet

There has been nor will there be any discussion between us and Oldtown. I know of no owner that wants a car judged that would not bring the car because its not at Oldtown. We have one more year at Lakeland and it appears from the discussion we might as well not apply for 2018.

Tyler

Then what do we do Tyler?(rhetorical ?) We've established the event there for 2 years now and starting over could bring the same struggles. I'm thinking the only way to satisfy the masses, would be to MOVE Old Town & Kissimmee......To Sun-N-Fun in Lakeland! (n.b. joking jovial expression)

Since that isn't feasible, I vote we stay right where we are for 2018. Even if it snows that week !!! (n.b. winking smiley-face)

None of us here are capable of guaranteeing it'll be 75* and Sunny for 4 days in Florida that week. Imagine if this last week's Regional was in Old Town? With no Covering, with no Hanger? Just imagine that! This past Friday the Swap Meet masses were in the hanger with the judged cars. That's the priority of the Regional, Judging. Granted the Swap Meet and Car Shows add a excellent variety of venue to the event, but we cannot guarantee success every year. We cannot.

Quite frankly, I am much more concerned about the dropping numbers of Judged cars than anything else. If the numbers drop much more....it'll just be a show-n-shine and bungie cord swap meet. Then what?

Humbly expressing my opinion...........
Rich

[Ralph E.]

Re: Lake Land Regional Meet

I agree, Lakeland is the place. It has everything needed for Judging etc.
Stop listening to the negatives and realize you are doing a terrific job where you are in Lakeland.
As for the drop in numbers of cars being judged it could be people are getting tired of the judging process. i.e. door jambs and the like.
My opinion is judging is too subjective and restrictive and it scares people away.
Stay at Lakeland!

[Bob J.]

Re: Lake Land Regional Meet

I've been to every Winter meet since day one.
In my opinion, if the swap meet dies the show will die.
For a few $$$ spent on postage, a survey of vendors & owners would answer which location is most preferred.

In years past there were more activities at the host hotel like literature swaps, seminars, guest speakers etc.... I remember there being less expensive spots to encourage guys with only a few parts to sell.
This is not a cheap hobby and there is a tipping point where other venues become more attractive to attend.
Bob Jorjorian

[Rex M.]

Re: Lake Land Regional Meet

I went to Old Town for several years. Everyone's right about judging when it rains. Traffic & parking was always a problem. Lakeland is fine. Motels aren't that far to drive to. I like it better! My biggest issue is working both NCRS & Mecum auction into the schedule. There's so much room at the fairgrounds that having NCRS & Mecum together would be the best choice. I think we need to talk to Dana Mecum, it would be a good thing for both of us.

[Richard M.]

Re: Lake Land Regional Meet

I've been to every Winter meet since day one.
In my opinion, if the swap meet dies the show will die.
For a few $$$ spent on postage, a survey of vendors & owners would answer which location is most preferred.

In years past there were more activities at the host hotel like literature swaps, seminars, guest speakers etc.... I remember there being less expensive spots to encourage guys with only a few parts to sell.
This is not a cheap hobby and there is a tipping point where other venues become more attractive to attend.
Bob Jorjorian

I too would hate to see the swap meet disappear at the Winter Regional. It adds a great fun feature to the event. But I think part of the reason the Swap Meet vendors are disappointed is also in line with the buying public too. People don't come to the Swap Meets like they used to. Since Internet Selling has grown so tremendously, people just click a few buttons now and get their rare parts at their front door. Many sellers are feeling that pressure. Those that don't take advantage of the Internet exposure typically don't do as well as those that do.

However, if in advance, the Florida Chapter had no vendors, it would hurt. We need them to come. It helps support the enormous expense of the event. I have no idea what it costs to put on this event, but it must be very large.

The Winter Regional is the only Judged Event that I know of that has a large Swap Meet presence, right? I don't recall any other Regional with a large Swap Meet Vendor population. Some of the Nationals I've attended had a good presence, Like 1997 Lake Placid, 2007 Marlboro, MA, etc, but I don't recall any of those with such a vast count like we've had in the past in Florida. Old town or Lakeland(last year)

Last year at Lakeland, I thinkwe had about 150 vendors. That was awesome. But......there were not enough buyers, partially due to the event's proximity, and partially the weather. If you recall, that Saturday morning it rained hard, but then cleared up. Last year I did a few videos when I was volunteering for Tyler. Drive around with me and see what it was like last year. It was GREAT weather. It was jammed.


Thursday -

(I have other video links but only one is allowed here)

If you went this year, you know it was way down. Nothing like last year. If I had time to do videos this year, I'd only have used about 2 minutes worth of digital memory in my camera. I still think much of the problem this year was just that stinking weather. Let's see what happens next year.

Maybe we need to move somewhere else in the future, but where can we go? Old Town is NOT going to happen. I strongly feel good about Lakeland SNF, but we need to come up with more ways to get more people in there. More events, a Slalom, a Auction, who knows.....more things for the general public to come for. Maybe a Gypsy Carnival or something. I think once we figure out how the heck to get them to come, then it can be better for all. In particular the Swap Meet vendors. They just simply need more buyers. The more people we get there, the better the hit-rate for selling.

Also, Advertising the event locally will help a lot. I don't think we had much of that this year. That would help get people in there too.

Rich

[Bruce B.]

Re: Lake Land Regional Meet

Rich,
Your comments are very worthy of reading and I agree with you that the Swap Meet is very important to the success of the overall meet.
I personally ran into a number of people from Ohio, Michigan and CT. who were spending lots of time in the swap meet.
The primary reason I come down is for the swap meet, to see friends, to meet new friends and to look at Corvettes, in that order.
At this point in my life I still have to many old Corvettes and way to many parts but I did spend around $700.00 on parts I did not need, but wanted.
I have to commend and thank the Florida Chapter for their continued efforts with great winter meet and I look forward to attending more of them in the future.
Bruce B

[Floyd B.]

Re: Lake Land Regional Meet

...Also, Advertising the event locally will help a lot. I don't think we had much of that this year. That would help get people in there too.

Rich

If promoting the swap meet is a key factor (I don't know if it is or isn't), then perhaps speak with the Carlisle Events folks and see if they would be interested in turning it into a Winter - Corvettes @ Lakeland event. They moved their Winter Zephyr Hills event to Sun'n'Fun last year. It seems like this would be a win-win for both organizations from a financial perspective. That said, I'm not a big fan of holding judging events where there are throngs of the general public who do not respect the car owners. This usually brings the problems of interruptions to judges, damage to the cars, stolen parts, etc. As other's have stated: the primary purpose of a judging event is to judge Corvettes to our system that is recognized around the world as the gold standard. For that, Lakeland wins hands-down.

-Floyd-

[Dan A.]

Re: Lake Land Regional Meet

Several have made good suggestions. Those proposing an affiliation with larger events at the Sun N Fun location or any other location may be nice but there is likely an unintended consequence, demand for the currently available rooms.

It was nice to be able to take in part of the Mecum Auction. But it wasn't why we were in the area and good things have a habit of not lasting forever. The Cruise in Old Town was a little bonus, but not why we were there. Traffic was heavy, parking was a pain in the butt, judging conditions were poor at best.

The current location ticks most of the boxes for me. It has potential for more as opposed to the limits of Old Town. Maybe Winter Regional dates that don't conflict with Mecum would aliviate conflicting desires and bring attendees focus back to the Regional.

I'd like to thank Tyler and the Florida Chapter.