2011 National G8 Meet Sept. 9th-11th.

[KEV-O]

Took me 19 hours total to get there
i wouldn't have missed it for the world
Joe, and Heather
you both rock, thanks for putting on the greatest thing to happen to this G8 community
nice meeting everyone, i hope you all did/do get home safely without any problems
CAN NOT wait til next years
my mind has been tossing around ideas for next years meet while i was driving

[boi1da]

Deal's Gap and an auto cross event sounds AWESOME along with the drag racing. It seems like its a very family friendly city and looks to be very pretty. It's still a shame that we can't find somewhere more central for those on the west but I understand the logic behind it.

[EcoBrick Bob]

Joe did a fantastic job, especially as our moderator/speaker/spokesperson. He would be very hard to replace.

And... since much of the leg-work is already in place for the future, it would be easier to improve on this years wonderful event, rather than start from scratch somewhere else.

I was thinking Kansas City or Memphis if the QC is bypassed, but it will take a tremendous amount of time and dedication to pull off a Natl. Meet that could have topped our first year.

As an "old fo'ggie", I can go about anywhere I want to... so will likely go wherever.... Hope to switch my G8's so White 08' gets it's shot at attention!

JOE...YOU DONE GOOOD!!!!!!!

THANKS AGAIN!

[Seattle09GT]

When I was running the Chevy Avalanche Club we analyzed where the center was for North America. One big difference, there was significant Chevy Avalanche ownership in Canada and Alaska. Addressing that, we concluded that Rapid City, South Dakota was the most "center" location.

If you based it off of population, where people live, than the location in Iowa is damn close to a good spot. If you based it off of the lower 48, than St. Louis is a good spot.

The problem is if you get much further than the Mississippi river, folks on the east coast start groaning about the drive. Likewise if you set up along the Mississippi River or just east, it is a long ass drive for those on the west coast.

Most Pontiac related national events are located well east of the G8 national meet. I would suggest for next year picking a different location, it's easy to say, "hey, lets go back," but we found different locations got diehards to go no matter what, and would pull in others. The most successful national meet we ever had was interestingly in Canada, at Niagara Falls and in a post 9/11 environment. Not only was it biased to the eastern United States, but you had to cross an international border to go. Yet it was the largest event we had.

This year for the national meet the club did concurrent regional events. Recognizing the high cost of gas (an Avalanche on a good day gets 17 MPG tops) and the crappy job situation, leadership of the club (I'm no longer involved) set up regional meets to run at the same time.

I remain willing to setup a west coast regional meet for next year if there would be interest. A several day cruise starting in Astoria, Oregon and then heading south, through Napa and then ending in Reno via Lake Tahoe - that would be epic.

[GeorgeInNePa]

Only suggesting there would probably more people attend if it was centrally located. Just my .02. Take it or leave it.

Plan it and it can be in your hometown.

Seriously, it will be where ever someone plans it. There were people who said "it should be here, it should be there" before this was planned. BUT no one stood up and said they'd plan it.

[GeorgeInNePa]

EDIT: I would be more than willing to play a major role in organizing the next one if the chosen site is close enough to me. Deal's Gap is 4 hours, so that would fit the bill.

There was no "chosen" site.

There was a guy who stood up and said "I'll plan a get together if you guys want to come here".

[thebeast]

im in miami and im down for a tennessee meet next year. i will definately make the drive because i have a blast driving the g8 and most g8 owners that i have met have been really cool people. i will have atleast 5 coming with me

[Seattle09GT]

I started to prepare a regional meet but there was little interest on the west coast. I will gladly organize a western United States regional meet next year. I'll even set up the dates right now:

July 28 to July 31, 2011.

July 28: Astoria, Oregon to Newport, Oregon
July 29: Newport, Oregon to Eureka, California
July 30: Eureka, California to Vacaville, California
July 31: Vacaville, California to Reno, Nevada

[KEV-O]

we did a show of hands at the awards ceremony to finish off the event...and a vast majority voted to have it in the same location
everything will be easier from here on in if it is held in the same location
Joe spent a good 200+ hours of his own time to have this years meet
if others want it elsewhere..you need to start planning ASAP...and get the ball rolling
find a hotel that will host us, and also that has big enough parking for us all
find a place to have a car show
drag strip, auto x(which isn't easy)
banquet hall to host awards
that's just the easy stuff
you need to find insurance/pay insurance
need i say more?
i'm all for another meet pretty much anywhere, i'm just giving people the heads up that think it can happen anywhere and everywhere

[bracketracer]

I am going to pop in here real quick before I hit that sack. As I mentioned at the awards presentation today, I have no problem with the idea of this event changing locations if that is what the majority of people would like to do. What matters to me is that this won't be the last International G8 Meet (out of respect to Jason, and hopefully additional Canadians who will come next year), and that the person taking it over will do it with the same passion and commitment that I did. If it is moving, who is going to be that "go to person" who will get all the basic details (location, dates, basic agenda, etc) ironed out? I began planning this last year in December, and that was barely enough time to pull it all together. If we keep it in the same place, my work for next year will begin in the next month, and it will still go on for the next 11 months or so, and I will still happily do it. I hate to rush this, but if people want to move, I need to know very soon. I will be happy to assist this person as a consultant in the process, but it will need to be "their baby" for the hard work. I have already done much of that hard work, and it will be alot easier the 2nd year. It is awesome that Seattle09GT is going to come up with an event for the west coasters! I wish you guys the best of luck, and feel free to contact me with any questions, or suggestions!