MikeMoore

Bob gives at least me too much credit. I was happy to answer any questions he had, but he had it pretty well in hand! And while we did do the excel thing with the raffle in Chattanooga, a Chuck Davenport innovation to give credit where it’s due, we had the flexibility to provide our own AV. Given the costs involved in Vegas, it sounds like they made the right decision.

I should remember better, but I think we set out GA price to where 4 days was more than convention registration. And we did not offer a 4 day pass. If some one wanted to attend all 4 days on GA tickets, they had to line up every day and pay up. I agree GA is abused.

As Joe noted, it has been several years since Sprue Bros actually set up and sold at the show. It’s incredibly expensive and disruptive to his normal business. I can’t remember the last Nats where Gordon was set up and selling. But, he does support the show. For Chattanooga in 2019 he sponsored either the model or the vendor room as well as the t-shirts and half the cost of the goodie bags. He also arrived early enough to pitch in and help get the vendors settled into their places in the room. Mike

As the convention chairman for Chattanooga in 2019, I can unequivocally state there was only one firm decision made regarding the layout of the model room. That decision was to place the display only models at the front specifically so that they couldn’t be missed. Other than that early decision, as well as a general table layout, as Mike Idacavage previously stated, all decisions were Mike’s to make based on the practicalities of getting all the models present into the room. Having lived through those 4 days with Mike, I’ll tell you here and now, the only “favorite” played in determining where models went in that room, was my initial decision to put the display models at the front of the room. Once that decision was made, everything else was a decision made in the best interests of treating all models as fairly as possible and getting them all into the room. Aside from that, I’ll offer some other thoughts. If we have 500 aircraft models and 20 teams to judge them, and 50 dioramas and 2 teams to judge them, practicality says it makes more sense to place the dioramas against a wall and aircraft out in the middle where there is more room to move. Another thought. Even if the dioramas are placed in the middle of the room, they are likely to be placed on a group of tables. A standard table at a contest is 30” wide and either 6 or 8 feet long. Those tables are usually placed end to end in rows, and doubled up so that there is a display surface of 60” wide by 6 to maybe 80 feet long. And it’s normally pretty packed with models. How many different angles are you honestly going to see that you wouldn’t see on a 30” table placed against a wall? Mike

Thanks Mike. I don’t know if we’ll ever do it again, but it was an honor and a thrill to do it last year. I’m glad you enjoyed it. mike

Duke, you are too kind. It was fantastic having you make the trip and display your collection. I’m looking forward to seeing you in Vegas! mike

Wow! Thanks for posting all the pictures guys. Every year it never fails that I see pictures of models that I never saw during the show. For some reason, last year's Nats were even worse in that regard. We in Chattanooga were thrilled to host all of you and are glad you all had a good time! Thanks Mike Moore

Thanks Dave. We are definitely hoping that the display only concept takes root and grows. To a certain extent it is dependent on having facilities that are big enough to support it without impinging on the contest space, but if enough people demand it, who knows what will happen! Mike

Thanks Andy. As for your plea for us to bid again, all I can say is, I'll entertain that conversation right after you get me in touch with a good divorce attorney who works pro bono! But I'll make sure the rest of the team knows you want us to go again! Mike

Thanks Ian. I'll make sure the whole team see's your kind words. Mike

Thanks for the kind words John! I’m glad you enjoyed the show, as that’s the whole point. I’ll make sure the whole team sees your post. Mike

Thanks so much John. I’ll let the whole team know. Glad to know you enjoyed your trip! Mike

Bob, the Banquet hall is 18,000 sf. Mike

Thank you Bob. The success of the display only area is probably the part I'm personally most proud of. I had high hopes for it, but 1700 models out for display only far, far, far exceeded my wildest expectations! Hell, even if you take The Duke's 750 models out of the picture, we still had 950 models just out for display! Mike

Bob, What you're talking about is essentially what Phoenix did last year. They had a buffet dinner. I thought the food was actually pretty good, but being a hotel/convention facility, you are locked into ONE catering service and the dinner was probably double to triple what you might expect to pay at your typical restaurant, which leaves many out by choice because they decide not to pay that much, and many out by necessity, because they simply can't afford a meal that is that expensive. We looked at several options for Saturday night. A table service sit down dinner, a buffet BBQ dinner, heavy hors derves, you name it, we probably looked at it. No matter what we concocted, we ended up with a dinner ticket that was going to costs us as hosts north of $40 per head. So we tried to encourage folks to go get a meal of their choice and then come back for a $5 dessert. I think the idea was well received, and many thanked us for it. We did not however, execute it well, and that falls completely on my shoulders. Your comment about reserved tables might be worth looking into. I don't know what it might add to costs, but I suspect it would be negligible. But what would you do about reserving less than a full table? Besides, the times I've been to the banquet and had to sit with strangers have been great. It was a great way to "force" me to make new friends. The real problem though is with your idea of over-flow seating. We were blessed in Chattanooga to have a facility that was almost perfectly sized, and that included our banquet hall. We had plenty of space for seating not only those who were willing to pony up the princely sum of $5 for dessert that ran out, we were also able to set up another few hundred seats in a theater format for those who only wanted to see the awards. Trust me, all convention hosts would like to be able to do that. But space is like time...it can't be extended. Mike