Suggestions for CJ07

Topic: Suggestions for CJ07 (Read 6900 times) previous topic - next topic

Suggestions for CJ07

Reply #15 – July 25, 2006, 07:10:07 AM

Hey John, how'd you manage that one?
Oh, btw, that offer you made us....I do believe we'll be taking you up on it.... I'll PM you sometime, as it's kind of hush hush for now. :D

Not to be rude or anything, but......
As for the dinners, set up, etc. I think Eric needs to still wind down from this year and get in some relaxation time before he starts to work on the CJ07.
He had a lot of 'behind the scenes' stuff going on before this past weekend, in preparation for the gathering.
Why don't we give him a while to play catch up before we worry about 07?

Besides, he's still dealing with some 'after show' things concerning this year.
Thanks!

Suggestions for CJ07

Reply #16 – July 25, 2006, 08:45:28 AM

Quote from: Johnny Cougar

With regards to the "formal" dinner, I say we should do it on Friday night. Lets save Saturday for the Chili's show, fast food, and mabye.... Go Karts!

GO KARTS -- Ya know, we passed that track when we took a southern detour on 680, and I thought - BINGO!

People have always suggested the racing component of the trip to Youngstown and the answer is always the same. The slow people get kinda left out, and most of us can't afford to go out on the track and blow up our only ride home.

GO KARTS is the answer! Everyone gets thrown onto an even playing field and the carnage won't cost anyone their health (hopefully) or their transportation!

This suggestion is a WIN-WIN!

Suggestions for CJ07

Reply #17 – July 25, 2006, 08:51:36 AM

Oh dont get me wrong guys. I'm not complaining at all. Please dont think Karen that I have a problem with Eric, he's a great guy and does a spectacular job. His family is truely amazing and friendly. And somehow Eric finds time to visit WITH EVERYONE THERE. He does an awesome job and I'm not picking apart his show. No way. This thread is about this topic (suggestions for CJ07), I did not create the thread but only replied.

The steps Eric is making each year is only making this show better and better. Please don't feel that I'm a big complainer as I'm not complaining at all and am totally happy with how Cat Jam is ran. The location is wonderful (for me), the car atmosphere of youngstown is sweet, plently of space, and the cops are rather cool compared to that of my town.

I just posted my two cents as to what I feel would (could) be a good time. Then again Eric knows the possibilities of Youngstown best compared to myself and others on this board.

Please dont make me out to be the bad guy. I'm happy with the way things are and love seeing the evolution of CJ from year to year. Eric plays a wonderful host and I'm thankful. But as a club we all can make suggestions, it is up to Eric to make the final decisions as to what is allowed and what we have time for. :)

Suggestions for CJ07

Reply #18 – July 25, 2006, 09:22:40 AM

Quote from: LittleAngel1198

Not to be rude or anything, but......
As for the dinners, set up, etc. I think Eric needs to still wind down from this year and get in some relaxation time before he starts to work on the CJ07.
He had a lot of 'behind the scenes' stuff going on before this past weekend, in preparation for the gathering.
Why don't we give him a while to play catch up before we worry about 07?
Besides, he's still dealing with some 'after show' things concerning this year.
Thanks!

You said exactly what I wanted to say, Karen. I know it's fresh on everyone's mind, but let's let Eric relax a while. (And make us up those CJ CD's.... heh.) It seems like every year the main problem we have lies with the eatery. I think we'll get it right very soon. Then again, can't always make everyone happy. A few of us discussed this very issue after most everyone had headed out on Sunday.

Suggestions for CJ07

Reply #19 – July 25, 2006, 09:26:43 AM

Quote from: LittleAngel1198

Hey John, how'd you manage that one?
Oh, btw, that offer you made us....I do believe we'll be taking you up on it.... I'll PM you sometime, as it's kind of hush hush for now. :D
Quote

I didn't manage it. Denise had the camera on resting on a table at the park, waiting for the most oppertune moment... and the rest is history.

And what offer are you refering to? I don't remember any.... but....

! I just remembered that one. Ok. Umm... I may not be able to make that offer before CJ07, but after is a different story. I have a bunch of other stuff to replace on the Cougie right now, such as that power steering pump I blew behind the mall with Will. But that thing should fit fine in the back of my CUV (Cougar Utility Vehicle). I don't see why I can't run it out there at some point.

Suggestions for CJ07

Reply #20 – July 25, 2006, 09:33:05 AM

I do like the go-kart thing, John. That is an excellent suggestion. I'll find out if they're open later in the evening (I'm sure they are). Just want you guys to know, though, that it's a fairly new facility with the latest in go-kart technology. In other words, if the minimum-wage workers see you bump into another person, they can shut you down via remote control. Kinda takes the wind out of your sail at that point.

Someone else suggested that we just order pizzas and eat them in the parking lot. I like that idea too. I'm sure Red Roof wouldn't mind that.

Steve (and everyone else), thanks for the kind words, they're really appreciated. It's extremely difficult to plan things around all these people and cars, and not forgetting to include kids too. I want to do what's right and fair for all, but also what presents the fewest technical challenges. It's not easy to do. But Boardman is a pretty big place (one of the largest townships in the state of Ohio, in fact) and fortunately we have lots of choices. We just have to agree on the right one for us.

Suggestions for CJ07

Reply #21 – July 25, 2006, 10:14:42 AM

John, yes, that is the one I'm talking about....LOL, and I doubt we would need it before CJ07 anyway.

BTW, your girlfriend is pretty cool! I'm glad she came with you.

Steve, I didn't think you came across as anything but appreciative, honestly. I know everyone was.
I just know how tired Eric is.;) (I don't know why! I mean.... it's not like he works on CJ plans or anything! :p) :rollin:

It's all good!

hhmmm... Go Karts.....do they have a height requirement for driving them?
We went to one place in Colorado and they have a height requirement of 5'2"....umm...I'm only 5'! They ewren't going to let me drive them! I told them," hey, I am 22 and have 2 kids, and I drive cars all the time....why can't I drive a go kart? "
I had to show them my driver's licence so they'd let me drive!

I know Crystal is a couple inches shorter than me, I just want to be sure that we , vertically challenged ones, don't have a problem. :D

Suggestions for CJ07

Reply #22 – July 25, 2006, 10:59:20 PM

Well if you guys go in on the go kart thing height restriction or not, I'm out. I went to one of these hi-tech places once and swore never to go again, but if that's a venue I'd come hang out.

As Eric stated, the remote shut off bites... I spun my cart out by accident and got screamed at by the workers. Not to mention the like $60 it cost me to go for 2 races and my "license".

Just my :2c:

Suggestions for CJ07

Reply #23 – July 25, 2006, 11:48:38 PM

i thought i heard something about the summit building being near catjam? if it is a trip to that would be cool, even if its just myself because everyone else already went lol. it would be cool to see the place all my stuff comes from.

Suggestions for CJ07

Reply #24 – July 25, 2006, 11:59:00 PM

I think some folks went there a few years back.

47.5 mi (about 1 hour 6 mins)

That's about how far it is. The store is pretty cool, but it's not like a big... get-a-cart, go-buy-your-stuff typical store. You go to one of several counters, they help you find the parts you need, you go to a separate cashier counter, then finally go pick up your parts as they pull them from the massive warehouse. All the while your 'order status' is updated on monitors throughout the store. The whole showroom is mostly just displays (the stuff is all bolted down!). There are a few kinds of items sitting out, like fluids, books, tools, etc.

It's still a neat place to go, especially if you have some bigger parts to pick up and save a ton on shipping. Otherwise it's not too useful to go there just to hang out, unless you're up for the drive. I dunno. I bought my exhaust there and I loved it. Walk in with cash, walk out with a flatbed cart full of pretty cardboard boxes.

Suggestions for CJ07

Reply #25 – July 26, 2006, 01:52:53 AM

Ah, go-karts...whatever happened to the days of the "Use at own risk" karts? We went to a go-kart place in florida once and it was awesome, you could slide around the one corner and my brother almost flipped. Good times.

I actually drove past the kart place you're talking about along 680 when I left Sat. night.

I have one little question. I don't want to sound like a party pooper or anything, but...why is everything scheduled so long during CJ? I mean, we ate lunch at 11-12 ish which was normal...but then it seemed like we were hanging around the pavilion forever (granted the rain didn't help things), then we went to do our car show thing and got chased off, and then dinner wasn't until 8:30 PM and I was honestly ravenous by that time (and it didn't help that ordering and getting food at BW3 took forever either). I dunno, just seemed kinda weird to me, like there was way too much time allotted for certain activities? But again, it was my first year, and it rained a lot, so maybe it's different when the weather is nice and you aren't dodging rain all day.

Suggestions for CJ07

Reply #26 – July 26, 2006, 02:00:27 AM

Red LX, you've got it figured out, I think. The rain really threw the schedule off. Usually, that lot we parked at by Chili's is FULL, actually overfilled with cars every Saturday during the summer. There's plenty of stuff to do during that time, check out the other cars, get good photo ops, and if you get hungry, you can usually head into the mall to grab a snack. The four hours we usually spend at Chili's is the bulk of the Saturday activities. And, as far as the time spent at the pavillion in the Park, Eric had some catering difficulties, that, I think, pushed everything behind schedule there.

Like I said in the Chili's parking lot to a few people, I hope the rain didn't sour the first-timers on CatJam. The Chili's show is usually pretty ed awesome. It's actually probably one of the best things of the whole weekend. Seeing 25-40 T-birds and Cougars lined up in the middle of a big car show is pretty astonishing. We usually get a special mention by the DJ, then the people come flooding over to all our cars. It's a pretty incredible thing.

Basically, don't let the unfortunate weather events this year shy you away from coming back. As far as the food thing goes, we've had problems pretty much every year in that department, but I know we'll get it right very, very soon.

Suggestions for CJ07

Reply #27 – July 26, 2006, 09:10:40 AM

Brian's got it. Essentially we plan the whole Saturday around the Chili's show. We pretty much have to...on a non-rainy Saturday night, that parking lot is unbelievably packed with show cars and people. If we don't get there in plenty of time beforehand, getting 40 cars parked--saved spots or not--is a nightmare. Obviously since it rained this year we had to come up with an alternate solution on the fly. Mall security didn't help by trying to push us out. I think under the pressure we did very well. Everyone was happy enough, the kids got to run around and play games, some people ate and imbibed...and we were indoors and dry.

My only wish is that we'd have stayed at Jillian's to eat because, honestly, most of the people that complained about last year's service there, weren't here this year. It was totally empty in the restaurant part when we were leaving. There were waiters and waitresses just hanging out. Was that fate rearing its ugly head? Hmmm...I believe so...

On the other hand, my friend had to pull a few strings to get us that room at BW's on short notice, and free of charge. It would have been pretty rude to not take advantage of that. I won't scorn a friend over convenience.

If we'd have known before everyone left the park that the Chili's show was cancelled, we could have hung out at the pavilion longer and fired the grill back up. There was plenty of extra food and drink. There was shelter. We have the pavilion until 9PM.

There are so many "what if's" and "why's" about this show that I've just stopped thinking about them for now. The stress of nearly a years' worth of planning is now over, I can relax a little bit, I can concentrate on getting things wrapped up at a more normal pace. But I do value opinions and suggestions because it helps with planning next year's show.

We provided a meal at the pavilion for you, for a mere $7/person. For all the food that we got, and the quality of the food, that's a steal. You can't eat in a restaurant for that cheap and get what we got--even around here. The schedule is pre-arranged and pre-printed for everyone. Only you know your optimal eating schedule...I have to just put the food out and hope that everyone gets their fill. That's the best I can do. So if you're hungry later...I can't point the finger at anyone else...you see what I'm saying? I think after your first CJ you'll know what to do much better, as far as eating goes. Also don't forget that this year, with our guest speaker, we had to revise the time in which we ate. Plus, as Brian mentioned, we did have a delay with getting some of the food. If someone was offended or upset, I sincerely apologize. However, unless one has tried very hard to prepare and organize food for 75 people, it's difficult to imagine the cirspoogestances. Again, the best I can do is put all the food out and hope everyone is full.

I'd love to say, "Sure, we'll have another meal at 4pm for everyone". That would be spiffy. That would also be a logistical nightmare. Maybe next year, though, if everyone likes the idea, we can make up some small lunch bags with maybe an apple and chips or something, that everyone can grab on their way out of the park. That can tide your hunger over until the dinner after the Chili's show. It is a long wait, that I will not argue...and I can control my hunger easily. Still, we should probably do something for those that need to eat (for medication or health reasons, for example) or want to have something to eat between the picnic and the dinner after Chili's. Do you think that would help? Is that a solution you'd like to see?

Suggestions for CJ07

Reply #28 – July 26, 2006, 10:24:09 AM

Quote from: EricCoolCats

I'd love to say, "Sure, we'll have another meal at 4pm for everyone". That would be spiffy. That would also be a logistical nightmare. Maybe next year, though, if everyone likes the idea, we can make up some small lunch bags with maybe an apple and chips or something, that everyone can grab on their way out of the park. That can tide your hunger over until the dinner after the Chili's show. It is a long wait, that I will not argue...and I can control my hunger easily. Still, we should probably do something for those that need to eat (for medication or health reasons, for example) or want to have something to eat between the picnic and the dinner after Chili's. Do you think that would help? Is that a solution you'd like to see?

I think what you're doing is plenty. At worst, you could offer zip-lock bags for people to take lunch food with them. If people are hungry beyond that, they can walk to the mall or Chili's from the car show and get something more to eat.

Suggestions for CJ07

Reply #29 – July 26, 2006, 11:04:08 AM

Quote from: 1FSTCAT

If people are hungry beyond that, they can walk to the mall or Chili's from the car show and get something more to eat.

That's exactly what I have done in years past...