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Yeah, I'm shouting, 'cause time is getting short.
Please go to the rego site (http://www.travelerz.net/GrandSlamWest) and place your banquet order - payment must be received by April 29.
The Saturday night banquet will again be Canyonlands by Night, so menu is all-you-care-to-eat BBQ beef and chickent.
Price is $28/adult $18/child. This is a bit more than last year - Canyonlands is dealing with higher prices due to higher fuel costs, just like the rest of us.
While you're placing your Banquet order, you might want to check your T Shirt order, 'cause the due date for T Shirt order payments is also April 27.
Last edited by Z; 04-08-2008 at 10:36 PM.
When you save your Banquet order, you should get a confirmation email with the payment details. Same with T Shirt orders.
Assuming you registered with a valid email address.
What are they serving that makes an all you can eat thing $28! This a suit and tie type place?
I'm not sure I will be able to make it anyhow. With the fuel prices going up up and up, it's going to be a small fortune just for that.
Last edited by nate; 03-29-2008 at 11:27 AM.
Food was pretty good last year - that was where we did the sponsor door prizes too. It's actually a really neat atmosphere. Chuckwagon-type food and a nice big room. Definitely not suit and tie.
For $28 it better be damn good and served by topless waitresses!
And it's the cheapest and easiest options out there. We could've done it for a little less (like $5/head less), but it would've taken a LOT more work on the part of the planners where this is very simple and we know what we're getting ourselves into since we've used this place the last two years. The planner's committee is always looking for help too, so if next year you'd like to volunteer to find a better place, we can give you the fancy little "GSW Planner" tag under your username.
Not sure if I will be able to make it anyhow, so it's a moot point. Looking at close to $600 in fuel right now....
Last edited by nate; 03-29-2008 at 11:37 AM.
We've used Zak's before. It's too small for 80 people, and getting individual checks for 80 people is a major PITA that the restaurants don't want to deal with. And the time we used Zak's it was still $20 a head, and that was 3-4 years ago IIRC.
Last time I ate there it was last fall and it was a little over $20 for me and my brother, but I guess with a group they up the price?
Honestly I'm not a fan of restaurants, hotels, etc when I'm wheeling. I love camping out and sitting around a campfire cooking burgers and hot dogs while chuggin beers.
Guess I am just too country for most you all city slickers or something. haha.
Big thing for me right now is $$$. I might have to use that rebate thing from the GOV for fuel to make it down.
Last edited by nate; 03-29-2008 at 11:47 AM.
Guys -
If you are worried about the price of the banquet this year, I'm sure that Pam would be more than willing to give banquet planning duties over to you for 2009.
Bottom line (like Dave mentioned) the only way we found to get this cheaper is if we have a lot of volunteer effort (i.e. some form of pot luck). This added effort would seriously reduce the amount of time those volunteers could actually spend enjoying the event.
But, I could be wrong. If you think you can do better, sign up for 2009, we'd love to have you!
Hey, I was just wondering if it was a fancy meal... have to dress up... or if it just was a spendy jeans and T Shirt place.
My idea....
You guys could charge $50 per person to sign up like many events to and throw in the meal, a T Shirt and maybe a sticker or two in as part of the deal and people would sign up left and right.... and you'd make a few $$s to throw back into MallCrawlin.
Last edited by nate; 03-29-2008 at 01:31 PM.
Well, the eco-weenies may force our hand on this next year (due to new event size limitations the BLM will eventually adopt), but that wasn't what GSW is/was supposed to be about.
As soon as we start charging, then we need insurance, environmental impact crap and it takes the required organizational effort to a whole different level.
Fawck, $28 for BBQ...Oh well I go there to hang out with people, not for the food.
Thanks Tom for getting this posted. And thanks again for the time and effort you put into getting the ordering to work from the GSW Website.
I understand that the $28 is higher than last year and it does make it more difficult for everyone, especially those of us on a budget but as Tom said, if anyone thinks they can do better, I'm more than willing to turn the duties over to you. The Banquet is a PITA.
Trying to find a new location is extremely time consuming and I don't have the time. Not to mention I'm pretty sure you'll be hard pressed to find anyplace cheaper. This is not just dinner with some friends. This is a Banquet. It is a catered event for upwards of 65 people. Most catered meals with facilities start well above $28/head. Add to that the deposit most places want up front and it get's ugly. As it is, I have already forked over $250 for the deposit at Canyonlands out of my pocket. Most places want much more and I don't know about you but the $250 out of my pocket for the next month till people start paying for the banquet to reimburse me is more than enough.
But feel free to prove me wrong...I'll start taking inquires for taking over banquet planning duties immediately.
Pam, thank you so much for dealing with the banquet headaches as well as all the other stuff you do for GSW. I've only seen a fraction of what the planners do, and I'm floored.
I'm absolutely honored to be able to partake in the activities at GSW. Sure it's an expense, but I take it on for the experience. The banquet is definitely a great time.
Honestly, a potluck or BBQ elsewhere would be a royal pain in the ass for 50 drivers plus guests. Somebody has to man the grill, somebody has to make sure there are utensils, napkins, plates, drinks, etc. Fawk that. I'm willing to spend $28 per adult and $18 per kid so that somebody else can handle that shit.
Think of the cost as raffle tickets man! Our sponsors spend huge bucks to give us shit at the banquet. You definitely get your money's worth in SWAG at the door prize drawings. And you also get to tip a beer with your trail mates....well, the ones that may not be staying at the same lodging as you The ones at your hotel/campground, you get smashed with every night
Last edited by fpkites; 03-30-2008 at 09:13 PM.
Thanks Jim. I appreciate it.
I don't want to make it sound like everyone complains, it is just that the ones that do, do it so loudly.
Just as a reminder to everyone, (this is not directed at anyone) GSW is organized and planned by volunteers. We get absolutely nothing out of this. We volunteer our time and energy so that 50 rigs can come out to Moab and play with friends that most of us only see once a year in Moab.
It is not just the banquet. . . It is the T-shirts that Tom handled for 10 years and finally passed onto Matt, Sandy every year goes to vendors and asks for donations for the banquet, Keith reserving and paying for the park that we do the M&G at on Thursday nights, John & Keith leading Spike every year and dealing with the complaints because we have to limit the number of rigs on that trail, and all the other trail leaders that go through the effort of making sure each one of the participants has a fun and safe experience on the trail. Some of the trail leaders end up doing the same trail year over year just to make sure the popular trails that everyone wants to do each year are covered.
So, before anyone here on MC post up a complaint about GSW, think about how much you have contributed to making GSW happen. If there is something you don't like about GSW, give us reasonable suggestions for alternatives. Or, better yet, volunteer to help. It is easy to throw out suggestions. It is entirely different to come up with your time to put towards getting something done.
Nicely put Pam - definitely well said.
I figure I am allowed to complain, two years ago on the feedback form I put down "Contact me, I want to volunteer for next years GSW planning" and I didn't hear anything. Last year I never saw a feedback form
I don't think anyone is complaining about the planners not doing a great job, I think it is more general bitching - everything is costing more and it is catching up. I'll be curious what the actual turnout this year is due to gas prices...
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