Spring Meet comment/concern/issue - vendors

[Mrs 66 Snake]

But I already see a flaw in the ointment. Lonestar Classics was there also. And that's the problem I see. Where do we draw the line on who gets to be a vendor? If you've got every manufactuer bringing in sleeper trucks and trailers we start taking up valuable space for actual members. And which vendors get to come? Is it every manufacturer? Every rep for every manufacturer? I have to think that if I were the Austin/Houston SPF rep I wouldn't appreciate the North Texas guy coming down to my turf. And what limits to do we put on what their involvement is? Brian with Lonestar had a tent with his trailer this year and that's the first time I recall him doing that. So he didn't offer up free food or alcoholic beverages, do we charge him more? Less? And who's going to take on that part of the organizing? And how do we keep from selling our souls for what they are offering?

We've had people say over and over they don't want this to be vendor driven and they don't want the focus to be on the dealers. And quite honestly I did have specific concerns expressed to me about the Superformance Dealer from Dallas prior to the event. And honestly there's an asshole with Backdraft that I'd like to see never set foot in the state of Texas again. He was incredibly rude and took up the entire center section with his trailer/motorhome (ya know where we set up the corral?). Why should he be allowed back?

I'm a definite NO on having the vendors there as vendors. If you can name 5 people in your local club and when the meetings are, then you are probably there for the right reasons.