National Meet for 2017?

[Stan Alder]

I was kidding about SC, but you would be more than welcome by most of us...I do think that if we are going to have a different location that it would be fair to move from east to west each year, not necessarily to the far east or west, but somewhere that would not be too much of a reach for the mid America folks... Ohio, Kentucky or Tennessee in the east and Utah Colorado area in the west??? not sure where there are shows that would accommodate us ... just thinking that maybe that would be reachable for the mid west folks every year and some that would like to attend but not fly or travel too far would still be in the mix for every other year??

[Beth Curran]

Lucasville would be the closest for me, but we have family near both Sedalia and Shawnee and it would be nice to do a combined trip.

[Suki]

FYI, here are the states with the most members...
MI = 12 OH = 11 WI = 9 = 32
For me Lucasville is the winner.  I had plans for Indy right up to the Thursday before, but in the end, the trip is too big when offerings around home as just as good.  It didn't pay for me to make such a trip; so I cancelled my hotel at the very last minute.

TX = 11 CA = 10 = 21
Pass.


PA = 10 NC = 9 FL = 9 = 28

Bloomsburg near Harrisburg is small and accommodating.  Lebanon a week earlier is double the size. A lot of Ameraucana lovers at Bloomsburg yesterday.  Sales were brisk and people very interested.  Frankly I am VERY disappointed the National was not with the APA national this year.  That decision was just plain dumb.

I think as we said last year, it should revolve and the big clubbies stop picking their own home grounds where they are home in 5 hours and the rest of drive all night.  If you can't make it every year, well that's fair enough, let other people win -- or doesn't anyone want that?

[Suki]

I think we should have it in South Carolina!! 😁

I'll vote for that.

[Suki]

The board will vote on a location by November 15th.


I don't understand the rush....at all.  The board voting will be gone by December.  Why can't the current board vote for the current location.  I move that we push the voting for National Location until February.

[Russ Blair]

The reason to get a location for next years Nationals are so everyone has time to plan for it. Not only work schedules but also Hatching schedules. If we wait until Febuary that wouldn't give enough time to hatch out any Large Fowl??? Does that make sense??? Also the way I understand it is anyone can petition a club to see what incentives they will offer our club for placing our National there. All offers need to be sent to Michael by Nov 1.

[Beth Curran]

Since the goal is to have as many members in attendance as possible, we should look at attendance at shows the preceding year, as that's a good predictor of how many members a given show may draw. Besides our national, which 2016 meets had the most members showing? Those shows should at least make the short list for the 2017 national. I don't know off the top of my head which ones those are, I'll have to go back through the meet reports to check (unless one of you organized folks get to it first ). And if anyone has information on a show that wasn't called as a meet but ended up with a good many members there, let us know those numbers as well.

[Suki]

The reason to get a location for next years Nationals are so everyone has time to plan for it. Not only work schedules but also Hatching schedules.

I disagree.  We all know that there will be a National in the Fall.  That's a gimme.  Using an old slate of candidates ensures no accountability.

[Suki]

Since the goal is to have as many members in attendance as possible,

I think that the goal should be revisited and revised as I think it's a poor goal.  To me the goal is like a traveling show and attracting _new_ members, _new_ interest.

[Michael Muenks]

 
Not all may be aware of the shows around. This is a pretty good resource http://www.poultryshowcentral.com/State.html.

I'm not a good example for traveling because I drove 8 hours one way to the National Meet this year to do just a bit of visiting and could not even stay for the show to "officially" start before turning around and coming home due to a scheduling fiasco beyond my control despite my best laid plans.

Being a working guy, knowing far in advance it helpful so that I can guide long term projects to allow for me to take off from work. For my life, knowing around a year in advance is very helpful.

The farther southwest one goes in the center of the country, the better chance of attracting attendees from the south central and south west states if we have members showing in those areas or interested in attending a show. In a thread below it was pointed out that shows our members are showing are good candidates for a national meet and I tend to agree with that notion.

I've enjoyed the Highland, IL show . . . the first weekend of November. I love going to Portage, WI and Frankenmuth, MI. There is a show in Lincoln, NE in early November that might be a option in the future.

A very important part of this decision is that the show is a well run show. Not all shows are well run, so location is secondary to that in my mind. I cannot vouch for the Lincoln, NE show. I may think about taking a few birds this year to try it out. They have some health certificate hurdles that may make it impossible to go given the timeframe for me this year. This is where member suggestions are important. Members know if the show is well run and positive show.

So think about your favorite show and is it a good fit for a National Meet? Timing reasonable for those traveling or will weather get in the way. (I think about some of the late November/early December shows.) Affordable health certification requirements? Well run show? Experience with national or district meets of 200+ birds in a variety.

I will gently disagree with the notion that delaying the selection of the 2017 National Meet until February 2017 has no impact on hatching schedules. At least to me there is an impact on breeder conditioning, breeder pen set up, lighting, size of hatches. A national meet in Portage, WI the third weekend of September is very different from a national meet the second weekend in November when I look at my personal plans for raising pullets and cockerels as potential show birds. A September show means I hit the ground running as soon as I hear it is official with setting up breeding pens, lights, breeder rations, and hatching everything I can early . . . especially large fowl. On the upside . . . Christmas chicks! A November show means I wait a bit through the really bad weather and can keep things a bit more "natural" for the breeding stock.

Just my thoughts. No criticism of anyone intended. Just Michael's respectfully submitted opinion on the subject of National Meets.

[Beth Curran]

I agree that it needs to be a well run show - I don't want to drive 15-20 hours to be disappointed. But distance is a major consideration for most of us.  Since Enterprise DOUBLED their rates last week (literally rented a car on Monday for $30/day and the same car was $60 on Thursday), not sure I'll be making it anywhere , but I checked the mileage with Rand McNally to several shows that have been mentioned, as well as some random ones in different regions, and here are some of my numbers:

1400 miles to Lincoln, NE
1311 to Shawnee, OK
1142 to Sedalia, MO
1115 to Portage, WI
940 to Highland, IL
869 to Birch Run
843 to Lebanon, IN
647 to Iverness, FL (Citrus Classic)
558 to Lucasville, OH
555 to Calhoun, GA
538 to Bloomsburg, PA
494 to Lebanon, PA
487 to Knoxville, TN
390 to Frederick, MD
341 to Edgefield, SC
273 to Ruther Glen, VA
98 to Smithfield, NC

I'm throwing this out there and encouraging others to share their numbers so we can try to come up with something that works well for most. I agree that we should rotate to different regions - we're simply to spread out to pick a spot that works for everyone - but I do feel we need to make the decision for 2017 in time to publish it in the winter newsletter so people can plan their hatches, so we need to get the bids in asap, and maybe start looking at narrowing down a region for 2018?

[John W Blehm]

Just a reminder that when we place our National Meet is already stipulated by our constitution and I quoted the portion that covers that in the first post that started this thread.  As it is bids must be submitted to Michael by November 1st to be considered.  Every member has a copy of the constitution and it can be viewed and downloaded from our Ameraucana.org site.  In 2018 we can talk again about constitutional changes and even discuss the pros and cons of when we place our National Meet now, but if you have a show in mind that you would like to host us I encourage you to get that bid to Michael.  The bid is just one item that will be considered, but it is what is needed for the show to be considered. 
At our club meeting, in Lebanon, I was asked to post all the criteria that we look at as a board and much of it has already been listed.  If someone wants to post bullets with items, before I get around to it, please feel free to get it started.

[John W Blehm]

Just talked to Neil Townsend a few weeks ago. He mentioned Columbus aka Ohio Nationals, I know Zoe people do not like that show. So please don't shoot the messenger lol. No matter where we have it I will attend, except Canada, that's a different story. I for one do think we need to start thinking of moving it around a little so a select few are not burdened with a long journey every year.

Just an update on this.  Neil took me aside, while in Lebanon, and said he would like to have it at Fowl Fest and asked that I let others know his preference.

The offer from the show club is important, but there are many things to consider.  Here are some that I can think of...
 * When is the show?  October thru the 1st half of November is preferred. 
 * Testing, Do we just need an NPIP flock # or recent Pullorum/Typhoid test or is more needed?
 * How well is the show run?  Reputation?  Do they turn in Meet Reports within 30 days? 
 * Is a location that draws the most members with the most entries more important than moving it around the country?
 * Money, How much is offered to our breed club?
 * How much will it cost us per entry?
 * Are any awards offered such as plaques for AOCCL and AOSB?
 * Do we have first choice of the judges they hire?
 * Will our birds be given a prominent location in the showroom? If double stacking is necessary will our birds be on top?
 * Will our breed be judged first?
 * Do they provide an 8’ table (or more) and 2 chairs.
 * Do they provide an area for our club meeting.
 * Will they promote our Ameraucana National Meet on their website, social media, print ads?
 * Facility, Close to expressway?  Good lighting?  Wide aisles?  Do they double stack coops?  Easy to coop in and coop out?
 * What else is offered in the area for entertainment, especially for family members that aren't into showing?
 * What about lodging availability and costs?  Is camping available? 
 * ?

Duane, Beth and Michael's comments are included. 
I've attached a map to show where most members are from.

[Suki]

* Will our breed be judged first?

why does this matter?

[John W Blehm]

It may not, if we have our club meeting in the evening after supper as we have the last couple years.  Often we hand out awards during the meeting and in the past the meeting was usually around 2 or 3 in the afternoon as I recall, hoping we would have results by then and be able to distribute awards.  For that reason national meet breeds are generally judged first.