[TROLL]

Originally Posted by Drftpretty

Literally the same **** every year. Someone needs to be elected to either contact the local Pd prior to the event, or be the single point of contact to ask asshats to leave. Walking around with cash to quel any requests for a refund. It's that simple.

We contact the police every year to let them know about the event. There are many steps that are taken as far as notifying police, EMT, getting insurance, the proper permits and waivers, traffic control, and more. What we have not done but will do next year is hire police specifically for the event, which comes at a very high cost but I believe is necessary at this point. Its sad that the amount we donate will have a chunk taken out of it for this, but if its necessary then its necessary.
I am the single point of contact, and there are a few others who are part of the event planning committee who are also 'management level' and able to make decisions on the fly. I personally worked very hard to minimize and control the disrespectful behavior from those in the crowd and cars as they were leaving, and I think I made a noticeable impact, but as one person I cannot cover it all (which brings me back to the first statement I made about hiring police for next year).
I don't expect someone who hasn't been involved in this event or one like it to understand how complex and challenging pulling this off is, and I'm not asking them to, but since you brought it up I just need to tell you that there isn't anything simple about planning this event. We have a group of experienced event planners who put in hundreds (thousands?) of collective hours planning the event as well as 20+ other volunteers who break their backs the day of to make this the best event they can. Unfortunately, without the cooperation of the people who attend to just follow the rules out of simple respect (whether they agree with them or not), then we are going to face some challenges each year. I think our volunteers did an excellent job this year and its too bad that they don't get more appreciation because they really do sacrifice a lot to offer this event for everyone. We weren't perfect but we will do everything we can to improve on these things for next year's event.

Originally Posted by Drftpretty

Find a larger parking lot. Multiple entrances, multiple money takers, one entry fee, it's that easy.

I would honestly love a list of locations that can accommodate 3,000+ cars. Yes thats a challenge because its much more difficult than I thought and than you probably think, but if you can find alternative locations that can better accommodate us then I will consider any options in order to make the meet the best it can be.

Originally Posted by Drftpretty

How much money was raised? Assuming all $2,000 cars paid just the $5 entry fee, that's $10,000. Can we skim $500 off for a private security company? How about donate to the FOP? It's that easy!
How about set $500 aside from last years meet, or setup a donation PayPal to buy caution tape, orange t shirt, signs, or trash cans? For being 7 years in, changes should be visible.

The police presence costs roughly $350 per officer for the day, and it was recommended that we have 5 officers on duty for the event... this will be expensive. We can and will front that money and it will just be an expense of the event if thats what we have to do. We wouldn't take any money from this year's event for that though, it will all be donated as we have always done.
And we have all of the supplies you mentioned... caution tape, staff shirts, trash cans, and much more of the required supplies to do this correctly.

Originally Posted by Drftpretty

There isn't a landowner in the tristate with unutilized parking spaces who wouldn't allow the use of his parking lot for a single day charity event. Call the newspapers, invite some magazines, call radio stations, call channel 69, this could easily be managed better. And don't go saying "Then you run it Mr. Smarty pants." Because I would offer to. But then it would be considered insubordination.

Actually there aren't many land owners who would be interested in this kind of liability, so its just about the exact opposite of what you said. The size of this event makes it VERY difficult to pull off in the way that we do.
We have contacted newspapers and radio stations in the past, none have showed. I don't think that magazines or TV would be interested. I think you're overstepping to say that this could easily be managed better when you don't know anything about how it is managed now.
If you are serious about helping, message me and show me that you're serious. I would welcome the extra help with next year's event, its not nearly as complicated as you're making it out to be there.

Originally Posted by natedogg713

Thank you troll, and staff (VOLUNTEERS).


At this point is a learing expierence for those involved with the next event. For those with complains put it into constructive form and maybe start a thread for ideas for the next event. if you cant put it into constructive ideas or advice. shutup.

This event seems to be a logistical nightmare. but i would hate to see it go away and may get involved in the future myself. i could probably go on forever about individual posts that i have read but in short. what is illegal is illegal. and what is asked for you to not do is so we can continue to enjoy what we love and support a good cause at the same time. If youd like to see those go away then continue with the foolery, no justification will change the fact that we are not allowed to be in some places because of the way we act.

Thank you for thanking the volunteers .
Just wanted to quite this whole post because this is really the way I would hope that everyone can think about this. We have rules in place so that we can have a successful event and be able to return again next year. When people don't follow the rules they are jeopardizing the future of the event which is a great day for thousands of people and also raises tens of thousands of dollars for a very noble cause. Its really disrespectful and just plain selfish to break any of those rules, its a very small minded way of approaching something that is a much bigger picture. Whether you agree with the rules or not just show some respect and follow them for the 3-6 hours you're at the event!

Originally Posted by piku

2) There is no tax writeoff for TST as far as I can tell. If they take in $X (income) and 100% of $X goes to charity, then $X is the writeoff but they gain nothing other than not having to declare all that money as income. I suspect a lot of people don't understand the words "write off" ;) As long as there is no skimming going on then it's legit. I have a lot more respect for TST and Bryan than I did in the past. I don't think there is any ulterior motive other than notoriety and a modest supplemental income. I also think there was surprisingly little TST whoring at the meet. I think it is what it is, a charity event.

Lol I don't know if thats a good thing or a bad thing, but I guess you liked what you saw so I'm glad . There are a bunch of people who are incredibly committed to pulling this event off, its really pretty extraordinary.
And you are correct, I collect the money but it passes through me down to the penny so there is no effective income or expense and I'm careful to keep it that way! All checks are made out directly to MAW and cash is gathered, totaled and after subtracting a short list of event expenses (property rental, insurance, toilets, trash, etc) then I write a check for that exact balance. This year's donation will be bigger than ever but I need to confirm a few amounts before I can announce it .

In case anyone is curious I'll list how the donations work again here:
100% donated from admission, VIP Parking, Sponsor donations, raffle ticket sales, and event t-shirt sales
25% of gross sales donated from TST Merchandise sales
20% of gross sales donated from Food Vendor sales