Jump to content

Announcement from the Chairman - Tours are regretfully canceled due to low participation


Recommended Posts

Hi all,

It is with considerable regret that we've had to make this business decision, but it has proven to be necessary- we simply did not have anywhere near the sign-ups for the tours which would allow us to pay for the coaches required to take people to and from the sites. Our Convention Chairman, John Lent, addresses the situation in the following message:

_______________________________________________________________________________

2014 IPMS National Convention Guests

I am writing to you today to inform you that we made the difficult decision to cancel the tours scheduled for August 7 and 8, 2014. These cancellations affect the tours to the Mariners Museum, the U.S. Army Transportation Museum, the Military Aviation Museum, and the National Museum of the United States Marine Corps. The cancellations were due to less than expected participation for each tour and the requirement to meet our contractual obligations by July 23, 2014. For the convenience of our guests, we re-accomplished a contract with Tidewater Tours, Inc. to provide shuttle bus service from the Hampton Roads Convention Center and the Virginia Air and Space Museum for members participating in the IPMS Social / Wounded Warrior Project Benefit. We will post specific bus departure/arrival information at the convention for the folks attending this event.

For our guests who paid to attend one of our tours, you will receive a full refund. We coordinated with the National Office, and we will be fully prepared to refund your payment at the convention. We will provide additional information to you on the refund process prior to and during the convention. Before closing, I wanted to let everyone know that our team was very excited about our tour offerings. We believed these tours would appeal to modelers with a wide variety of modeling interests. We are very disappointed with this outcome and we sincerely regret any inconvenience. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at eljefe@ipmsusa2014.com. Thank you for your consideration and support.

Sincerely

John W. Lent

2014 National Convention Committee Chair

_______________________________________________________________________________

 

We delayed the decision as long as possible in the hopes that we may still be able to keep the tours, but even after having negotiated the best possible rates with the coach company, the current level of sign-ups would still leave the Convention deep in the red with regards to tours, and we could not allow that to happen. Still, as you'll note from John's note above, we're turning lemons into lemonade- we will now be offering a free shuttle service to and from the Thursday night fundraiser for the Wounded Warrior Project, being held at the Virginia Air and Space Center. We are very pleased that so many of our fellow Society members have chosen to take part in this event, and also very pleased to be able to now offer this service to get folks to and from the fundraiser safely.

With just 12 days to go, we are very much in the home stretch of what we expect to be a FANTASTIC Convention, and on behalf of the Convention Committee, we thank you for your understanding, and we look forward to your visit!

Cheers,

Lynn

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Several thoughts on this Lynn...

 

First, glad to see you guys are on the ball and up front about making a tough business decision, and THAT'S what you had to do, treat it like a business decision. You're under no obligations as a host to take a loss or even increase the odds of a loss due to trying to provide something that (evidently) isn't desired by a majority of the attendees.

 

Second, and here I can speak only for myself, I know I took a pass on the tours for several reasons including any and all of the following: been der-done dat as far as "museums" go; a desire to spend time more leisurely at the show with friends; more time to take in any desired seminars; and last (but not least), cost cutting (using money on food, beverages, and models instead!)

 

My listed reasons are the result of having attended MANY Nats, and having taken many tours, and so my preferences for activities has evolved over the last 10-15yrs. For those who haven't attended that many Nats, I'd personally recommend they do as many of the "planned" activities as their time and wallets allow!

 

My only other thought is that the economy is still sort of limping along, and I think a LOT of people who will attend (myself included) will be on more of a budget than in past years. If I had to pick any one reason for lack of participation, I think that might be the most likely. I've seen references on many forums to lots of people who WILL be attending, but only for a day or two instead of the usual 3-4 days we hard core plastiholics do! I view that as them wanting to be there, but not being able to afford the entire package.

 

Anyway, I know I'm really looking forward to seeing you and everyone else in a short week and a half!

 

GIL :smiley16:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Being from Virginia, I have been to ALL those Museums at least twice. We go to the Eustis Museum very time we come out there to visit my Family. I think you will find that many of the participants at this NATS are from within a two State driving distance and also have probably been to these Museums as well. When we come out in October, we are hoping to get to the AAF Museum in Danville one more time before it closes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...