When the dates for the Championship Cahllenge were announced last year, I was quite upset about the dates chosen because of conflicts with affiliate club events. Well here we are seven months from the event, and would you beleive that all the rooms at the host hotel are taken? Sounds like there is a lot of interest in the event. Well hold your horses. The folks on the JCNA national committee that organized this event blocked only 50 rooms at the host hotel and another 40 at a nearby Holiday Inn, which are almost all gone. The excuse for blocking such a low number of rooms was the poor turnout at the CC in Pheonix. I would think that the numbers from the CC in Franklin would have been a more favorable comparison.
I received word from the North Georgia club last week that all the rooms at Chateau Elan were booked. I passed this info on to my club members this past Saturday at our monthly meeting. They were as disappointed as I was. I emphasized to my club members the fact that this was a JCNA problem and not the fault of the Jaguar Club of North Georgia. And I urge all JCNA members to not fault the local host club. They are under the direction of a national JCNA committee that, in my opinion, has planned poorly and made serious miscalculations.
Please understand that I am not attempting to undermine this event. Quite the contrary. My reservations are made(unfortunately at a motel offsite) and I encourage each and every JCNA member to attend this event.
Mike
1938 SS Jaguar 1.5 Litre Saloon
More affectionately known as PEACHES

Submitted by Mfulton412@aol.com on Wed, 03/23/2005 - 21:34

Steve,
In fact I did offer my advice last year when the dates were chosen for this event. And I am not making any excuses. The only way I would get involved with the CC in any capacity is if I could devote my time and energies 100%. And at this time that is not possible. It would be a disservice to the club and to myself to get involved in something that deserves so much attention.
Mike

Submitted by NE52-32043 on Thu, 03/17/2005 - 11:51

Mike,

I certainly did not mean to suggest that you could not do a good job organizing an event. Your chairmanship of EURO Autofest is credit to your abilities. But, that being the case, why haven't you offered your advice and assistance to the JCC? Maybe you have, and I just don't know about it. Back-biting and hind-sight criticism of decisions made by others is not fair and does nothing to make things better.

Lots of luck with EURO Autofest. And I hope to see you at the JCC in September. As for future events, perhaps you could lend some of your outstanding expertise to the planning process. Certainly, local involvement is needed, but those with your unparalleled experience and knowledge lending guidance would make things run smoother and provide the right ideas needed to make things function better. Perhaps if you'd spoken up sooner, some of the problems you grouse about could have been avoided.

That's all I was trying to say. But I always find it interesting the excuses people come up with when confronted with a request that they help solve a problem that they have just criticized.

Steve Weinstein

Submitted by pascal@jcna.com on Thu, 03/17/2005 - 09:13

Mike

you certainly didn't address the nr 1 issue: JCNA paying for rooms that were blocked and didn't sell. it is a risk the club cannot take.

In all fairness, we need to gove credit to the North Georgia club who is involved in the planning of the JCC, so it is not ran by a national committee only. ... and I am sure they are very happey for the help they are receiving from Lisa, Dennis, etc...

the national event is too big to be planned by a single club, it helps to use the help of those with that experience.

afaik, I don't recall that many club volunteering to host the JCC... let's see who raises their hand at the AGM when 2007 JCC comes up...

bit back to the main question, woudln't you be among the first one to complain if 100 or 150 room/nights have to be paid to the hotel after the event?

Pascal Gademer

Submitted by Mfulton412@aol.com on Wed, 03/16/2005 - 22:13

Pascal and Steve,
I don't believe I have said anything misleading. I consider my source to be quite reliable. I am sure that there are alot of folks that have put much effort into making this event happen, but my beef is that this is our national event. It should be handled more aggressively. The low numbers that turn out for the CC in my opinion are embarrassing. It does not help when you have a limimited number of rooms available on site.
I can understand how difficult it has been negotiating with Chateau Elan. They have a reputation of being very unaccommidating. It really bothers me that this facility is owned by a car family. Obviously they are not the type of car people I am accustomed to. My opinion is that they are driven by greed.
I would be more than willing to volunteer to step up and organize an event. But there are circumstances that prevent me form doing so at this time. In January I accepted the chair position of EURO Autofestival and will be dedicating my energies to that event for the next three years. If I were to be involved, the event would have to be held within a reasonable distance from where I live, which would be in the Southeast Region. These events need to be contolled by people within the region in which they are held, not by a committee spread acroos the country. And it would be totally unfair to hold another CC in the Southeast after holding the last two eastern events in that region. So I guess my convictions alone eliminate me from being involved. And I hate to sound like this Steve, but yes I think I could do a better job, thank you.
Mike

Submitted by NE52-32043 on Wed, 03/16/2005 - 09:44

Well said, Pascal. The JCC committee has been working hard to put this event together, and was extremely frustrated by the uncertainty with the scheduling of the Petit LeMans. The same folks that own Road Atlanta and the LeMans series also own Chateau Elan. Is it any wonder that they would give priority in bookings to the Petit LeMans? That is a major event in Atlanta and a huge revenue generator for Road Atlanta and the surrounding area.

By comparison, our event is more of a bother than anything else to them. Had we been able to book the JCC after the Petit LeMans, as originally planned, we would not have the same problems we are experiencing now. Because Road Atlanta moved the Petit LeMans back to the weekend we had originally chosen, we had little choice but to move to the weekend before. As a result, many of the local facilities including Chateau Elan are being booked up with pre-race activities, race participants, sponsors and related things.

I hate to sound like this Mike, but if you think you could do a better job than our outstanding committee has done, why haven't you volunteered to help? I'm not on the committee, but I've volunteered to chair the slalom event and will do my best to make that a success. Don't just criticize the problem, be part of the solution.

We all expect this year's JCC to be an excellent event. We are all hoping that you are right, and that the turnout will rival Franklin. I was at Franklin, and it was great. Let's all work together to make Atlanta 2005 just as successful.

Steve Weinstein, JTC-NJ
Northeast Regional Director
JCNA National Slalom Chairman

Submitted by pascal@jcna.com on Tue, 03/15/2005 - 09:59

Mike

i really wished you had asked questions first before posting this misleading message... let me give you some background information:

- the dates available have been moved back and forth because of the American LeMans Serie changing their date for Petit Lemans at nearby road ATL. and unfortunately, they got priority over JCNA.

- it's easy to sit at a computer and say... "JCNA should have blocked more than 50 rooms at the main hotel and another 40" at a nearby holliday inn BUT... if the rooms are not booked, JCNA MUST MAY FOR THEM if the hotel doens' sell them after the block is released... I respect the committee for not taking too high a risk.

- the holldiay inn, is accross the street and part of the complex. it's hardly a motel miles away... Right now there are still plenty of rooms available there.

- Lisa Hendrix has been able to negotiate some extra rooms at the chateau, unfortunately they woudln't give it to us at the original rate. personally, I think many members will not be willing to pay $164 a night plus tax and will prefer the hotel accross the street...

- if we need more room at the Holliday Inn, that will probably be possible and if not, there are 2 others hotels within 5 miles...

I don't see any poor planning, jsut sound and responsible actions by the JCC committee. I am not involved in the committtee but I have followed what's going on and it has been a very difficult task because of the way Chateau Elan has been treating us. Unfortunately, by that time it was too late to move the event.

Cost is ofen given as a reason not to attend the JCC and i really think a majority of those coming will prefer booking across the street at $ 89 a night. I stayed there when i ran at road ATL a couple of years ago, it's fine and indeed across the road!

there are not that many locations capable of handling the JCC... in addition to 100 to 150 rooms, we need numerous banquet, rooms, parking, etc... some nearby roads suitable for the rally... a large concours field... a place for the slalom... and much more. the location needs to be interesting and scenic... your club has put together the AGM 2 years ago, you know how much works goes into that... well.. the JCC is and AGM plus everything else... concours, rally, slalom, tours, etc... not an easy task.

i wonder how we would have felt if we had heard on septmber 26th that JCNA had to pay say... 30 rooms x 4 nights x 139.-- oh.... about $16k ? I don't think it's fair to call conservative estimates serious miscalculations

and one last thing... attendance at Franklin was much higher than at any other JCC... colorado and Phoenix were more or less equal, so how do we know that turn out in Ga will be equivalent to Franklin?

Pascal Gademer
JCNA webmaster
SE regional director