pcotcher

Indeed the Chicago experience in 2001 was outstanding! We had a blast, good food within walking distance (taste of Chicago aside), and watching fireworks was easy as you say. It's not optimal for some families, as they want to have their "home town" 4th celebration, but in 2001, it sure worked for us! OKC was fun too.

I remember the hue and cry regarding the conventions over the 4th of July.... I attended both in recent memory - yours in OKC, and Chicago before that. That said, there are still WEEKS left in July that work - even if we don't want it on the 4th. I think the date shift to August was one that happened a couple of times due to date availability with facilities, but now, after eight years of August conventions, it seems to have gained some inertia. I am just asking that we used to hold conventions in later July and those seemed to work for the majority. For a while there, the BIGGEST conventions every were the third week in July... You're right we will never make everyone happy, but there is a group (any state that starts school in early August) that is largely excluded by these convention dates. It would be an interesting exercise to see which other school systems/states had similar calendars to see if there's impact beyond just Georgia. Given what I know of IPMS, I'm probably going to have an easier time getting Georgia to mandate a calendar change for school systems.... This also continues to underscore my comments about a fixed date and location for the convention. By moving to that system there is economic benefit to be gained. There are also planning benefits to be gained. The third week in July is always the National convention (for example).

I would agree that it's happenstance, and not plan, but I think there's also a degree of inertia behind the August dates, it's the way it's been lately, and as a result, anyone planning the 2015 or a 2016 convention date is stuck in the thinking - we hold an August convention, so we need to have an August date. For the longest time, we were held our conventions on the third week in July, and had inertia on that date... Just a cycle, and not a "plot" or plan to exclude. Thus my point. It's easy to fall into a rut, but it's equally easy to fall into the trap of assuming that things like school schedules are the same everywhere. I know when I bring up the early August start for our schools, folks from other states are usually shocked, so maybe Georgia is the exception. Point being, we can stay within the current guideline and include more people by shifting back to July dates.

You prefer them, but aren't excluded because of a date. Big difference. Further more, we typically do not hold our convention in large vacation spots - Orlando, and to a lesser extend, Virginia Beach are the exceptions. As for better rates, conventions rates are typically better during the summer months, as most large professional conventions hold their events OUTSIDE of the summer months - with convention season being at its height from January to April. If we were to hold our convention in one location, we could quite possibly get better rates on the facility AND room rates as well. So yes, it might be cooler if we held an October convention, but that's about the ONLY advantage to such a choice. Also, don't we want to hold this when kids can attend the convention and get some degree of exposure to the hobby? Holding it when they can't attend (my person issues aside) also seems incredibly short sighted on our part.

Don't think this requires an amendment at all. Just requires some bigger thinking about the dates. We're already set to have a convention during "July or August" - so, just try harder for a July date so as to not create issues for those of us with early August start dates for school. Really simple. As for the fixed location, I don't think that would require amendment either, as we're already well outside of process with the old E/C/W system...

Guys - It has been a long while since I've posted here, but I feel obliged to voice a concern. We seem to have fallen into a rut of August convention dates of late, and that presents an issue for many of us. I understand that convention hosts are constrained by available dates, better rates, etc. that can factor heavily into the choice of dates. But I know from our own process here in Atlanta that when you're first planning this years ahead of time (we started in 2002), there are plenty of open dates. Now, back to the issue at hand - the August convention dates... Here in Georgia, school starts back starting as early as NEXT WEEK with some counties starting 8/1. My county starts 8/8, so this year's convention overlaps the first full week of school. As the parent of a rising first grader that will be going to "big school" for the first time, I cannot, in good conciousness leave her with child care for that important week. Yes, I am also a single dad. Maybe when my kids are older, or "other" issues clear up, this won't be as big of a deal. But I can't imagine that I'm the only one impacted by these August dates? I had to skip Orlando for the same reason (and that convention was much closer!), and REALLY hate that I have to skip Colorado, as I was initially planning for some "mountain time" when I first saw the announcement. Alas, once I looked at the calendar, I knew I was in trouble. Teachers are also impacted by this. We have a couple of teachers in our local chapters, and regardless of childcare issues, they are unable to attend, and haven't been able to attend for years. Now, I don't know how many other states hold their school years on the same schedule as Georgia, as I know plenty of others start school closer to labor day. But regardless of this, shouldn't we be doing everything we can to maximize the availability of the national convention to the full membership? I didn't check, but was the last July convention here in Atlanta? That's the reason that I find myself wondering if we've fallen into the defacto August date, and now it's an expected and established date. Nothing we can do about Colorado at this point, or Virginia Beach for that matter, but shouldn't we at least take this into consideration going forward? I wish the Colorado crew every success too, and HATE that I have to miss! And, not to mix points, but looking at the apparent lack of potential bidders for 2015, isn't it high time that we consider a central location for the convention, sign a longer term contract (to gain the economic benefit of such a contract) and get this on a date that the majority of modelers can attend and plan around? I get that the traveling convention venue is a long established tradition, and in many ways it's a lot of fun, but wow, we are missing out by not at least taking a look at the single location version of this? I know the convention is viewed by many as a regional affair, and that they only attend if it's in their part of the country, but some of that thiking is the result of the traveling venue. By moving the convention to a central location, we do away with this, and are able to truly hold a "national convention." Radical, I know, but seriously guys, it's something worth thinking about.