<VV> DC Convention

[Jim Simpson]

Yes, the last DC convention was in New Carrollton, MD, on the Washington
Beltway, about 10 miles as the crow flies from the Washington Monument.  My
wife and I ran the registration (with a lot of help from club volunteers!).
It was a lot of work.

We didn't learn our lesson then, so we volunteered to do registration for
the '03 Carlisle, Pennsylvania CORSA convention.  Again, a lot of work, even
with all the volunteer help.

While the DC convention was essentially a solo effort by Group Corvair, the
Carlisle convention was a multi-club effort with most of the manpower coming
from four of the Pennsylvania clubs.  We (Group Corvair) provided assistance
in planning based upon our '91 convention and as I said, did the
registration.

The two conventions were a real study in contrasts.  The DC convention was
in an urban/suburban setting whereas Carlisle was largely rural.  In DC we
could draw upon large tour bus companies to take literally hundreds of
people on day and night tours and get several hundreds of people to and from
a dinner cruise on the Potomac.  in addition, there were opportunities for
people to visit some of the world's greatest museums and historic sites.
But we were confined to a relatively small lot at the hotel and the
autocross was on a rented lot at a junior college some distance away  At
Carlisle, it was almost the opposite.  The hotel had lots of ground around
it for parking, vendors and the concours.  We managed to arrange for an
autocross lot -- for free -- with a local trucking company.  The tours were
somewhat constrained with fewer local attractions.  But both conventions
were a success.

I'd like to see another convention in the DC area, however, there are a
number of obstacles.  First, Group Corvair has shrunk to a shadow of it's
former size.  That would force the event to be a combined club event which
presents its own challenges for coordination.  And even combined with all
the clubs within perhaps 60 miles or so, there's still a manpower issue.

Second, the DC area is expensive and congested.  Finding hotels is easy --
provided you are willing to pay the rates.  The hotel we used in '91 was
acceptable, but in a less-than-fashionable area of town.  Better hotels are
expensive and in demand so they aren't usually willing to deal on prices
very much.  Finding an area for the concours and a lot for the autocross is
tough.  There is an active autocross scene in the DC area, however, there
aren't any Corvairs competing so we don't have any "in's" with the
organizers.

Not withstanding all the above, the DC area is a great tourist destination.
In my opinion, we had some great tours, the speech by Ralph Nader provided
great publicity, and I think just about everyone had a great time.  I'd like
to do it again.  Any volunteers?

Jim Simpson
Group Corvair