(also posted on Skyroadster)
As Dave O'Connor will testify.....
the demographics for Kappa ownership is not evenly split at the Mississippi river.
There are clusters at most major cities
Without starting a firestorm......the larger urban areas are on the west Coast...the Eastern Seaboard
and the Great Lakes. Surprisingly the eastern Gulf states do not appear to have a large contingent.
When I took upon the quest for 2019 I wanted to make sure we included the Canadians too.
I looked at Lake George first, but it is overwhelming crowded and expensive in the summer.
Corning/Binghamton had a lot to offer.
Demographically speaking most KO's (Kappa owners) will drive one long day to get the a National Event.
Based on that we concluded that Eastern Canada (Ont Quebec and the Maritimes ) would be well represented,
as would New England. In spite of MM we also believed we would attract people from the Carolinas, VA, MD, PA, OHIO
Mich. NY NJ KY etc,. Based on that we had to choose a hotel that would support 150 KO's and btw the reason we moved
the date up a week is because a glaziers convention had already booked our week ahead of us in FEB 2018 !!! for June 2019
People who whine that Wisc. or the UP would be great fail to realize 2 things 1) finding hotels and convention centers
able to handle 150 cars is difficult at best...2) summer vacation travel raises costs and huge traffic jams create
KO route headaches. Hotels in vacation spots jack up prices exponentially and we needed to keep the nightly rate BELOW $150.00
I've heard people say ...what about Idaho, Montana Santa Fe or Vermont. Well the big thing is...the roads may be great but
who are the local KO's to organize it.....Right...there aren't any
Before you go criticizing the location ask yourself this.....Have I ever volunteered as an organizer? What support have I personally given to a NASSAM? It takes a HUGE amount of work to make this a success. Fully 75% of our Operating Committee are people
who have already run a NASSAM.....yes ...seasoned veterans who know what it takes and what you have to give. It is hard to recruit new talent. People love to attend, but few will step up.
Be happy there is a 2019 and a 2020....let's see who steps up for 2021 !!!