[DeTomaso] 2009 POCA Fun Rally Announcement

[John Taphorn]

The POCA Fun Rally Chairpersons, Judy McCartney and I are excited to announce that the 2009 Fun Rally will be held in Reno, Nevada at Circus Circus in June.

 

The decision was based on the feedback of 174 POCA members and past Fun Rally attendees who voted on the issue.  Two out of every three votes were for a Reno-based Fun Rally.  

 

Of course, the challenge facing the Fun Rally Committee is that each event location and scheduled date had it proponents and opponents.  Sadly and to be expected, a few advocates of both locations informed us they had conflicts and their attendance would not be possible at the other site.  It was emotionally difficult to make a decision aware that friends we count on seeing each year may not attend.  We remain optimistic that as more information on the event in Reno becomes available and with the benefit of an additional month and a half to plan, some individuals with conflicts may be able to work them out. The bottom line was that many more people communicated to us that they could make the Fun Rally in Reno than Las Vegas.  

 

We also recognize that at the start of the survey, misinformation which had been disseminated that described the Circus Circus facilities as inferior to the Orleans caused many early voters to vote for Las Vegas over Reno.  Fortunately, members of the POCA Board performed an on-site review of the facilities and communicated their findings that corrected this impression.  However, it was a month after the survey started.  Thus, we are also optimistic that those respondents who initially responded that they preferred Las Vegas over Reno, because of concerns regarding the quality of the Circus Circus facilities, would now reconsider.

 

As Mark McWhinney has communicated in his review "The result of our trip is that we found that Circus Circus meets our needs and that the condition of the hotel is good.  As for a subjective comparison with the Orleans, in most areas Circus Circus meets or exceeds the Orleans.  In short - this should be a slam dunk."

 

Respondents were loud and clear that they are ready for a new experience with old friends.  Reno will enable us to schedule new roads to drive and destinations to see, i.e. Lake Tahoe. We can also recapture elements of past Fun Rallies that we held so dear; for example, we are enthusiastic about showcasing cars both in the ballroom and on Virginia Street, the City's main drag.  Of course, the racers are enthusiastic about a fresh driving challenge at the Reno-Fernley Raceway.  It will also be terrific meeting new faces and De Tomasos from the North that previously never made the trip south to Las Vegas.

 

We also heard from many southern California respondents who were concerned about the length of the drive.  Ironically, there were respondents from Northern California who preferred Las Vegas because the long drive was a highlight of the Rally.  There is already discussion among the Southern CA Chapters to organize a caravan and make it an enjoyable drive.  

 

Clearly, many members will feel the financial tightening that a slowing economy brings.  No one can say with certainly that things will improve by the second quarter of 2009.  We recognize that many Fun Rally participants are price-sensitive as we saw a significant decline in attendance when the Fun Rally shifted from the Plaza in Las Vegas to the higher-priced Orleans.  The reality is that despite expanding Fun Rally activities the last several years, participation at the Las Vegas-based POCA Fun Rally has declined annually. Thus, with a challenging economy it is unlikely attendance would rise at either location for the 2009 Fun Rally.  However, we are enthusiastic that a new venue with fresh experiences will be just the ticket to encourage those to attend that otherwise may have said, "Been there, done that." The Fun Rally Committee takes aim to make the 2009 Fun Rally a compelling attraction for your tighter 2009 entertainment dollar.

 

The Fun Rally Committee and your POCA Chapters are committed to making it among the best POCA events you have experienced, and we thank everyone who responded to the survey for making your feelings known; we have listened and are planning accordingly. 

 

Judy McCartney and John Taphorn

Fun Rally Co-Chairman