spring fling 4

[Double Venom]

In this case, and I do understand, Silence is NOT golden. Yes, I have been working on the IV long before the end of III. A lot of questions have popped up for the future of the Fling(s) and I don't have all the answers yet.

Can they be overcome? Can we put on an event that is at least as good as the other Flings? Can it be done safely? Can we find the wonderful supporters for another Fling?

DO we make it even more commercial allowing or turning it into a Carlisle type event? If we do, will or do we take the risk of loosing the "family status" that I think all of us love and I think is the real back bone of the Fling.

The City of London wants us to take over the entire downtown area, in effect replacing the strawberry festival.

Many people want to keep the Cobras in a group, but suggest that we open it up to other groups of cars.

As much as everyone seems to love the hotels, there were some serious complaints about at least one of the chains last year. Personally I tried to contact the local CEO threatening to pull all "Flingers" out before I finally got some results. The problem is, there is not a group of hotels in the area that can handle our now huge, loud and damned impressive family.

Suggestions as to having a "party/BBQ" next to the hotels is not possible. Church owned land that will not allow "open bottles." Private property that is untouchable, and even if it was we are not eligible to obtain a "one day liquor license" as needed by law.
(I know Rick has been pushing for this area...sorry Rick-I did try this last year, resulting in the leasing of the large buses.)

If we are to do this again, we need a very, very large sponsor. Unfortunately we have not been able to convince any one yet that we are worthy of their support.

The Kirkham car was an awesome "gift" and certainly helped us go over the top last year. The reality is, we can't expect the Kirkham family to do it again, nor would it be fair to ask them to!

Personally, I feel we just barely hung onto "our roots" for the Fling III. I guess the question is, do we downsize the Fling and try to hold onto our original goals, or let it grow or see if it dies as time sees fit?

I read the thread that was started regarding a wonderful offer of rewarding me for all the time that is necessary to pull this off. What started out as a few hundred hours long ago has turned into thousands of hours, countless meeting, and innumerable phone calls for the last two Flings. I have met, and corraled some great volunteers that have put in almost as much time as I have. They wont even hardly take a nod of "thank you", let alone a monetary gift.

Guys, I do this out of the love of the cars and our amazing family. To see the hundreds of you that have traveled so far, worked so hard to get here and the knowledge that "we" are helping so many kids and young adults, is plenty reward enough.

My entire goal was to bring the Cobra family together, regardless of make. To have a single weekend where it didn't matter if you drove Cobra A or a Cobra B model. No ego's allowed. No waxing or washing allowed, except for the usual gatherings of miscellaneous bugs from our cruises. We've done that, and to me that is just one of the big things that make our family so special.

Will there be a IV? I certainly hope so.

DV...please bare with me, we're trying out best--which I know, sometimes falls short.