Banquet Suggestions

[bfkidd]

We have a Jillians here in Raleigh. How about it?

[TiffineyIngram]

What is a "Jillians"?  You guys threw me off with Harvey's so I'm a little skeptical...for good reason.   ;)  Come on, guys, this is your banquet, tell me what you want.  Do you really want the boring dress up thing you had last year?  If you do, that's fine, we can make that happen, I just thought a change was in order.  Please, any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated.  And Ike, you know I love ya babe, but give me a break--let's give me only serious suggestions.  :-*

[B-MAC]

I like the idea of Dave & Busters for the MA banquet. It is in White Flint mall in Bethesda, MD I beleive. If you were to combine the MA and SE banquets, somewhere like Charlottesville (sp) VA would be pretty good or even Fredericksburg VA right off of 95, cause there are a lot of guys from PA that are MA and NC would be too far away.

[am125ike]

G rated?  You mean like G string?
Don't know Chicago very well, but I someone knows some place cool that would be great.
There is some bar called PLAYERS in Chicago that has helped support some racers.  Don't know much more than than, but there is that connection.

actualy this may be the same place that my Race Team Acapelo teammate, Sean Wyatt  ::) introduced me to (and maybe he'll comment on this subject)...
this place may have to be check out for size, but they have "two wheeled tuesdays" showing wsb and ama races on the big screen starting at 7pm or so. owned by a car racer guy, very profesional, very attractive, foriegn waitresses, clean place, but good luck parking  :-/ .....
if it will hold the party, i (seriously) think it would be a great place   8)

dont have the address, but its north side chicago, near armatige and ashland or something another....
sean, help...

[wera331]

What date were you thinking of for the mid atlantic/south east?

[xlr8tn]

I second the Dave & Busters idea for MA.

[spyderchick]

Re: MW banquet
{alexa puts her soap box in place} Ahem. For what my two cents is worth, I'd like to see the banquet held at a Hotel facility. First off, I feel that we are honoring the athletes that have participated to their fullest, mind, body and pocket book. It's kind of nice to see what we all look like cleaned up. We all can go to a sports bar anytime, and even the nice ones will not have the air of ceremony a hotel can provide.

Now for less subjective reasons:
How many people do you think are going to be enjoying some liquid libation? Should they get carried away, these same people will have to drive home or to a hotel. Let's give them the safe option of being able to stay put.

There are a few racers in the MW who are not of legal drinking age, and at least one who is a minor. Even though a sports bar would not  prevent these racers from accepting an award at that facility, a hotel facility is a more appropriate place for them. (they might argue differently.)

For racers with children in tow, numerous hotels offer child care. Another valuable option.

Many hotels offer discounted rates if an event is held in one of their rooms. Discounts are good.

As far as the proposed weekend, in conjuntion with the bike show...most excellent idea. Many of us from the Wisconsin area already attend the show, so we can coordinate an entire experience. I think we might get better attendance.

Tiffany, good luck with all the details!

{alexa hands off the soapbox to the next speaker}

[HandleThis66]

Hi Tiffany... not to take mommies side, but after conferring with Dean last night... the sportsbar is not the #1 rated choice.  We came to the terms that neither one of us would be in any shape to operate even a remote control vehicle, come the conclusion of the evening, to get to a hotel.  Also, Meghan is 16 and going to be accepting her award in a bar...I'm not real hip on that, but I'm also not familiar with the banquet facilities available at this sportsbar.  And also, we have numerous racer friends attending with newborns and toddlers.  I don't think they'd like the smokey atmosphere for their kiddo.  Plus I'd like to get nice and primped for a big night out (since it never happens) and I have to side with Mommy again on the issue...I can go to a sports bar any night of the week.  The specialty of this occasion deserves a special genre.  But the date of the banquet is an awesome idea!  I like the hotel thing, it's worked in the past, and I think Chicago has a lot of great choices for us.  Just something to ponder ;D.  Thanks for the great heads up on the subject, and the diplomatic presentation.  Much appreciated!!!  See ya soon - Rhiannon

[pmoravek]

Dave & Busters for Mid Atlantic is my vote too.

[Jeff]

So since there is a call to have this G rated (I'm saying PG-13 would be good), I guess I don't have to ask if it's okay to bring my kids along?  I'm planning on it since I dragged them to 12 weekends of racing.

I gave up drinking to go faster on the track (don't call me a quitter, it worked!), so a bar, library or anything in between would be fine with me...

The one thing I find funny though is how IKE was the one who knew those two joints were strip bars!  :o

[TrophyGal]

Re:  Mid-Atlantic / Southeast banquet

Tiff - I think combining the banquets is a GREAT idea.  There are so many who race both regions (and thus have overlapping region championships) that it just makes sense.

I agree that RALEIGH is a pretty good choice.  Considering Southeast riders come FL, GA, SC, AL, NC - and Mid-Atlantic from VA, WVA, MA, NY, PA - it seems a pretty good split.

Is there a Dave & Busters in Raleigh?

Oh, BTW, wait 'til you guys see the Regional Champ trophies ... they're awesome!

[am125ike]

The one thing I find funny though is how IKE was the one who knew those two joints were strip bars!  :o

ah  ah  ahhh......
hold up there jeffie..  the skybox is the only one that ive ""heard of""   ;D
i dont know the other place that TZ mentioned.... and the players club is a sports bar that i have actualy viewed some WSB with a black and tan, only there once, i, i  i dont get out much ::) .... never have  :-/ ......

  and ont the hotel banquet setting and the kidds and things, i like it !
too bad i wasnt able to make gateway this past weekend, i'd of possibly finished 5th in gto... and is there a cert for the top 5 or no ???
  jeff, you should know this one, you're soooo observant ...
    and wheres your wife anyway, she wont let you talk to me this way!!