You will never believe this

[hunabku]

Need a date so Katie and I can get tickets booked.

[FW]

Need a date so Katie and I can get tickets booked.

The date is set, Memorial weekend.

[tflaris]

The date is set, Memorial weekend.

There is a motion on the BoD Forum to have the Social on a weekend other than Memorial Day.

Maybe we need a poll.

TF

[cerich]

weekend other than Memorial Day.

[FW]

There is a motion on the BoD Forum to have the Social on a weekend other than Memorial Day.

Maybe we need a poll.

TF

The problem with a non-holiday weekend, is people traveling a long way may not be able to attend. They count on the holiday as a travel day. You may end up with half of the normal attendance.

[cerich]

Flip side is most cave divers will MAKE some time for the conference on another weekend, lots of our non cave family get that weekend off and it's a family time. We may get more folks on another weekend if we didn't conflict with a family weekend....

There is a chance you have seen both sides of this and i could just shut up and learn from your observations...

[JamesK]

Flip side is most cave divers will MAKE some time for the conference on another weekend, lots of our non cave family get that weekend off and it's a family time. We may get more folks on another weekend if we didn't conflict with a family weekend....

There is a chance you have seen both sides of this and i could just shut up and learn from your observations...

This is why I was not able to come.

[MacLeod]

After attending this past workshop, I (and my wife) saw a number of things that we thought could be improved. I am not trying to assess any blame—or complain—just offering suggestions for the next time:
Have the social set up as just that, a social event. No tickets for sale, no sign-up sheets for clinics or dives. This should be a chance for members to get a chance to know each other, have a beer (or other beverage), and swap dive stories. I spent over an hour of this past social trying to find answers that no one seemed to know about clinic times and locations, dive locations, etc. Also, let everyone know what type of facilities/dress for the social (i.e.—indoor or outdoor seating, food being served, etc.).
The workshop should start a little later. A number of us have a significant drive to attend an event—and arrival just prior to the social makes Friday a REALLY long night—especially when you have to be at the workshop at 8:00 a.m. There’s no reason that we couldn’t plan for a 9 o’clock start and finish the business meeting by 5 o’clock and still have time for an evening dive!
The clinic scheduling needs a drastic overhaul. There were a number of great clinics being held, but all of them were scheduled for the same start time. This meant that you had to choose one thing that you wanted to do, and that’s it. If there are 5-6 clinics at a workshop, why not start 2 early in the day (9 a.m.), 2 around noon, and the others around 3 p.m.). This would allow people to attend 2 or three clinics. Also, charge a nominal fee for the clinics—so that you can register for them ahead of time (and people will have an incentive not to cancel). This way if there was a more popular clinic, maybe a second class could be added….
Now for general added assistance: As many people may be travelling to the area of a workshop for the first time—have a list of local restaurants (maybe even speak with local restaurant owners about the workshop—and see about having them supply coupons in the workshop book), have a list of local non-diving-related attractions/points-of-interest. I know that my family usually travels with me, and are looking for things to do in the area. This past trip, my wife spent a great deal of time on the internet searching for things to do with our son during the workshop—some local knowledge would have been great (where to swim, local beach, local mall, hiking trails, museums, nature centers, etc.).
Finally, please post some real information on local diving. A list of cave systems in the area is fine, but maybe a link to a system map—or if one doesn’t exist maybe a description of the system with depths, restrictions, jumps, etc.
Another recommendation would be to start a thread (or have a blog on the NSS-CDS page) for finding dive buddies, making plans for dives (sites), set up meeting times for meals, and arrange car-pooling. I know that my wife rented a car to use locally during this past workshop, so that I could have my truck with my gear. I offered a ride for other divers and their gear whenever diving, as I know that many people rode together to the event—but were diving at different locales.
So no matter who is in charge of the next workshop--please take all the above into consideration with the event planning!

[cerich]

Awesome suggestions.

After attending this past workshop, I (and my wife) saw a number of things that we thought could be improved. I am not trying to assess any blame—or complain—just offering suggestions for the next time:
Have the social set up as just that, a social event. No tickets for sale, no sign-up sheets for clinics or dives. This should be a chance for members to get a chance to know each other, have a beer (or other beverage), and swap dive stories. I spent over an hour of this past social trying to find answers that no one seemed to know about clinic times and locations, dive locations, etc. Also, let everyone know what type of facilities/dress for the social (i.e.—indoor or outdoor seating, food being served, etc.).
The workshop should start a little later. A number of us have a significant drive to attend an event—and arrival just prior to the social makes Friday a REALLY long night—especially when you have to be at the workshop at 8:00 a.m. There’s no reason that we couldn’t plan for a 9 o’clock start and finish the business meeting by 5 o’clock and still have time for an evening dive!
The clinic scheduling needs a drastic overhaul. There were a number of great clinics being held, but all of them were scheduled for the same start time. This meant that you had to choose one thing that you wanted to do, and that’s it. If there are 5-6 clinics at a workshop, why not start 2 early in the day (9 a.m.), 2 around noon, and the others around 3 p.m.). This would allow people to attend 2 or three clinics. Also, charge a nominal fee for the clinics—so that you can register for them ahead of time (and people will have an incentive not to cancel). This way if there was a more popular clinic, maybe a second class could be added….
Now for general added assistance: As many people may be travelling to the area of a workshop for the first time—have a list of local restaurants (maybe even speak with local restaurant owners about the workshop—and see about having them supply coupons in the workshop book), have a list of local non-diving-related attractions/points-of-interest. I know that my family usually travels with me, and are looking for things to do in the area. This past trip, my wife spent a great deal of time on the internet searching for things to do with our son during the workshop—some local knowledge would have been great (where to swim, local beach, local mall, hiking trails, museums, nature centers, etc.).
Finally, please post some real information on local diving. A list of cave systems in the area is fine, but maybe a link to a system map—or if one doesn’t exist maybe a description of the system with depths, restrictions, jumps, etc.
Another recommendation would be to start a thread (or have a blog on the NSS-CDS page) for finding dive buddies, making plans for dives (sites), set up meeting times for meals, and arrange car-pooling. I know that my wife rented a car to use locally during this past workshop, so that I could have my truck with my gear. I offered a ride for other divers and their gear whenever diving, as I know that many people rode together to the event—but were diving at different locales.
So no matter who is in charge of the next workshop--please take all the above into consideration with the event planning!

[Walter Pickel]

The problem with a non-holiday weekend, is people traveling a long way may not be able to attend. They count on the holiday as a travel day. You may end up with half of the normal attendance.

Is that why the Fall Cave in was moved FROM Thanksgiving weekend? I actually heard it was a demand of one of the "behind the scene" players at the CDS.