Not Ranked
I've been flip-flopping on whether I should comment on this for the last few days. Not that my opinion is important or anything, but here goes...
A few years ago a thread was started asking if we, as a group, would be willing to offset the cost of the Fling, through a registration fee. A lot of discussion, most if not all as I recall was positive, and it was decided that $100 "felt" about right. The money was not intended to go to CF, but to defray some/all of the costs of the various events, security, etc.
I paid my registration fee for DVSF-3, because I felt it was money well spent. Last year, I did not pay, but came down to enjoy the cruise down/back, the hotel scene, and the cruise to downtown London. I would rather eat my meals at a resturant and had no particular interest in the bands, autocrossing, or the other items on the agenda. By all accounts, everything was great, but it just isn't what I am there for. I tried to pay a smaller registration fee to help offset the security and other costs, but was rebuffed with a "all or nothing" of the $100 fee.
I have never met DV, but believe he is honest and has the best interests of everyone, (us, the charity, the town, etc.), in his heart. But I feel with the dollar amounts involved, some accountability is required - if nothing else than to quiet some of the complaining (mine included).
I, and another individual, got involved with CF by putting together the drive-a-thon thing and have never been able to find out what, if anything, that raised for the charity, much less what dollars flowed to them from other sources. It was nice to see Mike Braatz post some figures earlier.
I guess my point is, regardless of how this thing goes forward - I believe there has to be some accounting made public on the next fling. If I understand Turks point of view; I agree that the charity should be keep separate - all money intended to go to the charity by contributors should be via check and endorsed to them.
DV would seem to be making the point that it's "our" party. But in reality, it's his party - he's the host, we're the guests. He should have enough feedback by now, (after 4 years!), for what works, what doesn't, and decide whether he wants to do it or back off and pass the torch to someone else. If he wants out for whatever reason, we should respect that and thank him for a job well done. If he wants to keep doing it, then get to doing it. Put out an agenda, and let each of us decide whether to participate or not.
Thanks for listening.
Dan Stryffeler
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