brucelee

iTrader: (6)

For the tribute, I'm open to all ideas and would really like someone to take over the ENTIRE project... The person chosen to take over can start a new thread and have votes on what should be done, I think that's the fair way to do it.

I def want a moment of silence, a full minute for EACH person that lost their lives over the last year (since the last BAM). It may seem like a lot of time for some people, but I think a minute of our lives to reflect on the memories of our fallen members is the least we can do.

Like I said, I'd like someone who knew at least one of them to take over this project... I just want it to be special and for the families of the fallen to know that we're always going to remember their children/brothers/cousins...

What do you guys think? I doubt anyone will object to this... Though I know some will, as with any event, no matter what you do and how much time/effort you put into it, someone will ALWAYS complain about it... I doubt they will complain about this because if anyone did they know that everyone would jump down their throats for it.



I'm really thankful to know that I'm part of a club with such caring members. I know we're victim to trolls and people who just sign up to cause problems... Every message board is victim to this, but with our club it's very minimal. I know some people don't agree with some of my views and hate me based on my online persona, but if you know me in real life you know that I'm nothing like I am online... Online persona's are fictional and shouldn't be taken seriously. I just want everyone to know, this ISN'T me meet, it doesn't belong to me, it belongs to all of you, members and vendors both... All I do is organize the basics, other than that, the meet runs itself. (Thanks to our OUTSTANDING VENDORS).


The reason people have an issue with this event is because they want it to be something it can't be. I've tried gathering people to start committees to organize this meet together, to find the greatest interest amongst our entire group of members... Everyone has their own idea of what this meet should be, and that's where the friction comes from.

Some people want this meet to be something like SubieFest, basically a track day + AutoX + BBQ + 2 Day event, etc... I would love for our meet to be something that big and great, but when you look at the big picture, this will NEVER happen because that's not what EVERYONE wants... Not even the majority of people, and it comes down to a simple issue... The issue is MONEY. Most people that attend our annual BAM events DO NOT want to spend more than $200 on an event that is 250miles away... If we were to rent the cheapest track on a Saturday or Sunday, it would cost a MINIMUM of $200 per person, not to mention other costs like overnight accommodations (hotel/motel), gas, wear and tear on car, etc. As much as some people would LOVE something like this, it's NOT what BAM is about! The reason BAM exists is to gather the members of the Bay Area (or CA) and have them all get together in one spot so we can have one giant event where everyone is invited... Like a basic meet, but instead of 25 people like you would find at an ordinary summer meet, we have 500+ people instead!

If we went the trackday/autoX way and had to charge members $$$ for the track as well as insurance, plus lodging and just the sheer distance of some of these tracks (believe it or not, most people don't want to drive very far!), we'd only have about 50 people attend rather than the usual 500! That totally defeats the purpose of the meet and isn't realistic at this point. This is where people get pissed off at me for not wanting to expand the meet into a track day, or even an Auto-X day. It comes down to money and most people aren't going to pay the premium to have fun... It's just not going to happen. We've tried in the past and according to the polls and feedback from members, the majority of people would just rather have a relaxing day with the entire bay area in attendance... I'd love to have a massive track day with everyone in attendance, but it's not going to happen...

BAM is supposed to be an event where you can bring your wife, brother/sister, friends, etc and just have a fun time chatting with others that you've never met in real life, checking out the vendor booths and meeting them in person... Eating, drinking, and just having a good time. BAM isn't some super exciting event where we have giant trampolines and alcohol, it's just a GIANT BBQ where most of the bay area's members join together to have a good time together... From checking out other cars to seeing what the vendors have to offer, it is what you make of it, and if you don't attend weekly meets but have wanted to, BAM is the event you should attend because A LOT of people attend and you'll meet some really great folks and def have some laughs.

Organizing this event is def a challenge because I never know exactly how many members are going to show up... It's always an educated guess based off polls and past experiences, however, it's always a +/- 50 people which makes it difficult to buy supplies for and such... I don't want to buy too little food, but don't want to buy too much because it will go to waste... So this year I'm going to plan for more people than I originally estimate for, but have a favor to ask you guys... Leftovers, can people PLEASE take leftovers so that they don't go to waste? There will be a lot of meat and such that is uncooked and will spoil if someone doesn't take it home. It's a shame to waste perfectly good meat, so please take some leftovers if you think you have use for them. Most likely we'll have hamburger patties and sausages/Hotdogs left over.

I have a good idea of how many people will be there based off of last year's event. It's a lot of work to put this event on but it's become much easier over the years... Each year I learn something new and find an area that could be improved. I've organized every single event since 2000 (Minus the 2008 "BAM") and since then I have gathered a lot of info with what could be improved, added, or subtracted from each meet. It's hard to share all this with someone so that they could take over the entire meet... There's a lot of little things that you need to be aware of when organizing a meet of this caliber, and it's obvious that someone can't jump in from nowhere and put this meet on. If someone wants to take the meet over in the future they have to get with me the year before and be there during the making of the meet... Learn how to budget for it, learn how to contact vendors, how to buy things and estimate the amount of people that will be there... No matter, I always have to front my own money for this event... When I rent the site, buy the food, etc... I always use my own money and expect to be paid back after the actual event, so there's always that risk of not getting paid back fully and using my own money to have the event happen, which has actually happened in the past!! *doh!* It was a lesson learned however, an expensive one.


People accuse me of making money off this meet, and even if I did, which would be well deserved because it's like a job organizing this thing, but I don't make money... All the people that have ever helped me through the entire process have seen how much money I spend for food/drinks/rental/insurance and realized how expensive it is to throw a party of 500 people! People pay $5 each to get in which really doesn't cover the cost of things which is why we have vendors help out, otherwise I'd have to charge everyone like $15 each... Yet people still complain! $5!!! For $5, For a measly $5...

To break down costs, here's how it works:

(For 500 people)
1. Food: We have to aim for just under a lb of food per each person, so that's around 475-500lbs of food right there, a lot of that cost going towards meat. With burgers, sausages and quality kosher franks and various chicken like drumsticks, thighs, and even breasts (Just the MEAT) costs us OVER $1500... That's $1500 for JUST THE MEAT!!!! Lets not forget about all the other things, like chips, cookies, breads, sides like potato salad, beans, etc... Lets not forget about the cheese that goes with those burgers, all the buns, all the condiments, etc That's A LOT of money for just food!!!

2. Drinks: I have to estimate that each person is going to drink about 2-3 drinks each, especially if it's hot so we have to buy around 1,300 INDIVIDUAL cans of soda and bottles of water. Do you have any idea how many drinks that is? Picture one of those giant 30 packs of soda, not multiply that by like a 500! (not quite 500, but you get the idea). That's BANK right there, because you NEED drinks so that everyone stays hydrated and cool during warm weather

3. Supplies: Anything from bags of charcoal (typically we need around 10 giant bags of it), paper plates, forks/knives/spoons, napkins, cleaning supplies, garbage bags, and everything else

4. Rent for the site, which is a couple hundred bucks, but insurance for 500 people costs a lot... More than the site itself.


Also remember that I get good deals on everything I buy for the event... Most things come from costco and are bought in bulk. I even buy store brand stuff when I can but still try to keep the quality of the food pretty high because I know how important food is to people and I don't want to spend all that money just to have crappy quality food... I'd rather pay a little extra and have better quality stuff.


So with the cost broken down I hope that you get a good idea as to how expensive it is to throw an event for 500+ people.

People area always going to find ways to flame me for this event... Whether it's accusing me of making millions of dollars of each BAM, or if it's about the way that I organize it (which is meeting the general consensus of what members want in a meet, like I mentioned earlier), and we're always going to have members contact me directly and thank me for taking the time out of my life to organize such an event so that everyone can have fun.

The biggest kick I get out of this event is knowing that I made a lot of people happy by gathering everyone into one spot and providing the basics for them to have fun. All I do is organize the event, it's the members and vendors that make the event as fun and great as it is, so here's a big thank you to all the supporting members and a huge thanks to our supporting vendors, without the vendors we really couldn't pull this off on the caliber that we do.

Sorry for the long response.

FW Motorsports