[dlvorg] Continuing the 2013 follow-up ...

In this mailing:

Org List
Following up
JoAnn's Thoughts
Some general observations
Activity reports
Mexican Option - Ricardo's
Church Lady report
Dining and FSE reports
Trap Shooting Report
Golf report
Activity headcounts
Still MIA
Administrivia
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Org List:

This is the DLV 2013 Organizational Mailing List (dlvorg_at_geekbabe.com)
Replies to this message will be forwarded to the DLVORG list and not
the DLV-Announce or DLV-Discuss list.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Following up:

This mailing contains some very good follow-up items.

Thanks to all who have sent in reports of various activities. We
encourage all volunteers to provide their feedback, either on
activities you were directly involved with, other activities, and
on the event as a whole.

Please look over the Activity Headcount and Missing In Action items
below and if you can help us out with information, please send it
in.
. . . . .

Our "jobs" over the next few weeks include the following:

1. Final summarizing of the 2013 event. Lessons learned, etc.

2. Clean-up of the ORG mailing list. This will begin next week.

3. Reviewing of the DLV 2013 survey results. (Closes May 19.)

4. Confirmation of the DLV 2014 Project Management team.

5. Election of the "Odd Year" Administrative Committee member.

6. Addition of the DLV 2014 volunteers.

7. Preparing the DLV 2014 electorate (voting status) list.

If there are any other items which need our attention in the
immediate future, please don't be silent. :)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
JoAnn's Thoughts:

As I repeat myself --- It was a wonderful week...

Coordinators of Activities: Please go to the"Activity Headcounts" (a la
attendance list below) and I ask to please enter the number (or your
estimated number) of attendees to your activity.

The number is only a "guidance" and the satisfaction rating is always
the "driver".

This information helps to plan an event, but also gives feedback to the
best day and time of day.

Let the pictures keep coming from all of you so we have an excellent
record of the Diva Gathering - 2013 !

JoAnn
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Some general observations:

Annie writes:

A number of various observations about this year's event.

In general, 2013 was the smoothest we've had for many years. There
were very few issues of any significance, at least those I was
aware of.

I would like to reflect on some of the good and bad (and ugly?)
things about this year's event.

Comments and further thoughts are welcome.
. . . . .

Name tags:

IMAO, the name tags were attractive, easy to read, and were not of
a type that would "out" the wearers to naive onlookers. I heard a
number of comments that they liked the printing of the previous
years of attendance.

As in previous years, I observed that the actual wearing of name
tags decreased as the days of the event increased. There's really
nothing that we can do about this.

Personally I found the name tags to be very helpful. One thing I
have noticed as I grow older is that I do not associate faces with
names as readily as I did in decades past and I had a couple of
quite embarrassing non-recollections this year.

I certainly owe Jill H. and Cathy B. apologies for not recognizing
the faces, as by now those two should be among those I recognize
instantly. In other words, I found name tags to be a Good Thing<tm>
and this year's tags were particularly well done.

Thanks again, Vera and Dennis!

I'm still not sure what the two colors were for. :)
. . . . .

JoAnn writes:

Agree, the name tags were easy to read. It was wonderful to see so
many - "Stalwarts" designate by having their many years of attendance
and SUPPORT posted on the name tag!
. . . . .

Annie continues:

Check-in:

Having only one set of name tags limited us, under the absolute best
of circumstances, to doing check-in at only one place at any time.

In the real world there were other logistical issues which prevented
us from having check-in as conveniently available as in past years,
such as the necessity of handing off the singular check-in kit from
volunteer to volunteer.

Therefore, quite a few of the name tags for attendees who were indeed
present went unclaimed.

The single kit also discouraged having multiple volunteers doing the
check-in at our larger earlier gathering, thus I believe we missed
a number of attendees at our gathering Monday night.

With our current model, which does not provide a central common
facility, it will always be catch as catch can for check-in. We
do have a few choke points, but this year we had a longer "Missing
In Action" list and far more "Yes, I was there" responses than we
have had in previous years.

I've been trying to think of ways to use technology, such as maybe
a virtual check-in via e-mail, web, or text message (similar to the
on-line check-in used by airlines) but all of these methods preclude
the physical passing-out of the name tags.
. . . . .

JoAnn writes:

I think the personal touch of "eyeball-to-eyeball" thanks and handing a
name tag to those who come is a very "welcoming exchange". A single kit
keeps it simple, and maybe we need to communicate which events will
have the name tags available.
. . . . .

Annie continues:

BDR issues:

These always get more than their fair share of attention, but for
a few years running now, there were essentially none. Those who
have been attending in recent years are fun-loving good-natured
people who are considerate of others and allow us to focus our
attention on the event itself and not on "personnel" issues.

There seems to be the perception, particularly among the locals,
that the 2011 legislation is a "free pass" to the restrooms, but
I have yet to see or hear any authoritative legal opinion on this.

One major change was at the Freezone, which in recent (2006-2011)
years have been on record as being quite authoritarian regarding
restroom usage. One of our people went to their current management
about it and were told there were no restrictions. Whether or not
this change of heart has anything to do with the legislation is
a subject for speculation. :)

The restroom issues I heard of were minor. One (not sure of the
actual details) at the Artisan, and multiple reports of a somewhat
sarcastic comment made by a "civilian" GG at Trevi. I observed no
blatant misuse, nor heard any reports of same.
. . . . .

There were a couple of off-line reports of various issues, and I
wish to thank Ginger for tactfully handling them. One was a report
of some insensitive remarks allegedly made by a few of our people
and overheard by one who believed she was the subject of said remarks,
and another was from a multi-year attendee feeling left out and having
difficulty getting rides and meeting others.
. . . . .

"Low-Information" attendees:

{sigh!}

I don't know what we can do about things like this ...

Again, my thanks go out to Ginger for doing the correspondence on
this one.

We had an attendee who stated that she drove in from several
hundred miles away, checked in to her hotel, went to Harrah's,
"found nobody there", and then subsequently checked out and
returned back home.

This individual apparently had no clue where to go or how to meet
the group.

One volunteer wrote to me shortly before the event in frustration
with another list member asking repeatedly where a certain activity
was to be held when the location had been clearly posted multiple
times in the same thread!

Out of the 197 Large Final Mailing links sent out, only 120 of them
were actualy visited. Of the 77 who did not even touch them, most
were indeed cancellations and hardcore no-shows, but there are some
very familiar names on the list of "virgin" LFM links. :) :) :)

Yes, I know some volunteers did not touch the LFM, and many of you
do not need to. Many of you probably know the schedule almost by
memory and are familiar with Las Vegas to the degree that you
don't need a map.

Those I'm b*tching about are those who totally blow off reading
anything and then complain about not being able to find things,
not knowing what's going on, etc.

I also don't understand how somebody who stays miles away from our
suggested hotels can complain about not being able to find a ride
to share, feeling left out, etc! :(
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity reports:

Valorie writes:

In general I thought DLV 2013 went really well, and it was great to
organize more activities. Here are my two contributions:
. . . . .

Scavenger Hunt

For the 2nd annual scavenger hunt, we moved to Freemont Street, meeting
at the Mob Bar and ending at Drink and Drag.

We had 10 attendees.

We divided into two teams of three, and a third for the organizers and
any late arrivals. Unlike last year, all the destinations were within
walking distance which people liked even though the evening was cold.
Unfortunately we cannot control the weather.

Though we didn't have any major incidents, I felt there were more snide
comments from people on Freemont Street than anywhere on the main strip.

The only other issue was people had difficulty getting from the
different dinners as they ran late. For next year, I would recommend
returning to downtown, but start hunt an hour later (10pm - midnight)
and have an official dinner at the Mob Bar. The food there is cheap,
tasty and the staff is very friendly.

In general I think people had lots of fun and there were lots of great
pictures (some of Holli's are already on the staging page). Thanks to
JoAnn and Marisa for help and advice setting it up.
. . . . .

JoAnn responds:

It was great. To "piggie back on your comments" --- Maybe think of
staring at 7pm with a 30 minute Happy Hour, then dinner (both at the
same location) and start the Hunt at 9pm. Just a thought. JoAnn
. . . . .

Valorie continues:

Pole Dancing

Pole Dancing took place at Pole Fitness Studio off Flamingo Rd.

We had 11 girls show up to dance - plus one girl who just took photos.

The staff and instructor were welcoming and hilarious - and had everyone
shaking, spinning, climbing, and lap dancing. I would definitely go
back. It was a fairly intense workout but we didn't have any injuries.

The studio also provided complimentary tickets to the Surrender Night
Club on Friday night. Four of us went there after dancing at Paris and
had a blast. It is very mainstream but a beautiful location between the
two Wynn towers. Thanks to Bev for the locals coupon that definitely
simplified the organization.

My only other suggestion would be to find a better way to contact the
waiting list to let them know about no-shows - perhaps if the organizer
could get their phone numbers and/or emails.

Thanks again to Annie for organizing.
. . . . . . . . . .

Annie responds:

Valorie, I must say that these two activities were clear winners and
added significantly to the success of DLV 2013! These were both very
much "out of the box" and are very good examples of well-planned and
well-received activities.

As for contacting the participants during DLV ...

Quite a few of the attendees are now submitting cell phone numbers
and there is a method to generate a list for activities. I'm not
sure how well this was known, but a few Coordinators requested them.
In any case, the DLV contact people had a full list and would relay
a message if necessary.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mexican Option - Ricardo's:

Randi writes:

The Tuesday evening dining option went very well in my opinion.

We had a total of 15 which included Shellie and I.

Everyone seemed to have a nice time with good interaction with all that
participated. Drink and food prices were reasonable. Food was excellent
tasting and the staff was super attentive. No incidences with restrooms
that I heard of and overall I think that everyone had a good time.
. . . . . . . . . .

Annie responds:

Thanks, Randi. I've heard nothing but good things about this activity
and I thank you and Shellie for finding the venue and host(ess)ing
this. :)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Church Lady report:

Pamela writes:

Only three ladies attended the services this year. The regulars were
very friendly. There was a mix up in times the services started at 9 and
11 am. Not at 10. That made me late for one and very early for the
other.
. . . . . . . . . .

Thanks, Pamela.

This (schedule changes) has occurred in the past. One lesson learned
would be to verify the service schedule shortly before DLV next year
if this one is to be on our schedule again.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Dining and FSE reports:

Delaney writes:

Pamplemousse had eight.

Oscar's had three, which is a bit of a concern. as they had set up a
table for eight.

The dining at each was great.

We had five for the PTs Happy Hour, and six at Mob Bar when I left for
Oscar's - I believe more may have filtered in later at the Mob Bar.

Fremont, so far as the meeting, was pretty much a washout. While I saw
others girls on Fremont during the evening, none were at the 9PM meeting
place. I went back and forth, covering both Four Queen entrances on
Fremont, from about 8:45 until after the lightshow, probably about 9:15.
. . . . . . . . . .

Annie responds:

It sounds like Pamplemousse was a winner!

As for Oscar's, I'm very surprised at the fall-out. IIRC, only two
of those signed up were newbees, so statistically you should have
had a much better turnout than you did.

One thing I was planning to do with the (abortive) Old Homestead
dining option was to accept sign-ups only from those who listed
their cell phone numbers and to phone each one to confirm before
I made the final reservation at the desk. It's kind of a moot point
now, but things like this may be a way of avoiding such embarrassing
shortfalls at places which expect an accurate count on a reservation.

As for Fremont Street, I think we had a repeat of a past year's
activity where quite a few participated but few actually congregated
at the designated meet point. I don't want to release any survey
information early for fear of contaminating any outstanding entries,
but I will say that from the results that have come in so far, the
level of participation in the Fremont Street activity on Tuesday
was quite respectable.

I found similar issues on two of the activities I coordinated. One
was where I simply did not count a few who were obviously present,
and the other which was a total surprise! :) When we close out the
surveys in another week and a half we can take a good look at the
numbers regarding how many reported participating.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Trap Shooting Report:

Gina writes:

We dedicated the shoot to the memory of Vanessa's friend, whose untimely
death, precluded her attendance.

We had 9 people show up for the Trap Shooting event, 7 shot Trap and Two
headed off to the Rifle and Pistol Range.

We shot multiple rounds of Trap and had a great time learning new skills
under the tutelage of our excellent Range Master Robert.

After much fun practice, the moment of truth arrived, the selection of
the Annie Oakley winners.

We had a 10 bird (clays) competition, with a sudden death shoot-off in
the case of a tie. Gina was the sole with Robert acting as arbitrator
if necessary.

After the first ten rounds of intense competition, we had a clear winner
of First Place, but went to a sudden death shoot off for second and
third.

The results are:

First - Michelle (first time shooter) 7 clays

Second - Chrissy 6 clays in the first round and 2 in the second

Third - Lorraine 6 clays in the first and 1 in the second.

Honorable mention goes to the other shooters who tried very hard and
presented themselves as excellent representatives of DLV. These were
Tiffany, Laura (co coordinator), and one other lady whose name I
neglected to write down.

Robert, our Range Master admitted to being a bit surprised by the nature
of the group, but was very pleased with our performance, ability to
listen and learn and most importantly adherance to the safety rules.

THANKS LADIES!
. . . . . . . . . .

Thanks, Gina.

Thanks for stepping up and taking the lead on this. It sounds like
it was a rousing success! This is another example of the unusual but
fun things we have. Trap shooting was a variation which kept the
activity fresh this year.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Golf report:

Danielle writes:

Annie, you were at the Studio Lites open house that I arranged, so
I'll pass on that.

Re the DLV Golf Tournament, Tuesday morning, we had 20 players, which
was in my mind a reasonably good turnout, especially for a cloudy,
windy, cool day. Most were returnees, although we had a number of new
players as well, all ready to check the outing off their bucket lists.
Once again, PayPal worked flawlessly as a way to gather funds in
advance.

I was very disappointed in the condition of the course, and I know most
everyone else who played would agree. It had not been maintained. And
then we found out why. It's closing soon, for a two-year renovation.
They had not told me. So now we need a new venue for next year.

I had a number of informal conversations with players re potential
replacement courses, and costs. The general consensus seems to be that
we can go to $75/round, maybe higher, without lunch, and not get much
fallout. That's what most players typically pay, anyway. The expectation
is that we'll never get a deal like we've had - $50 with cart, range
balls and ordering lunch off the menu. So the challenge for next year is
a new venue that will be as accepting as Desert Rose has been, at a
price that stays within the range that most golfers would expect.

Any thoughts, all you golfers out there?
. . . . . . . . . .

Thanks, Danielle.

I (Annie) am not a golfer but I do support the activity and it's been
one of our most successful recurrent activities.

Before the gang settled on the Desert Rose, they played at the course
in NLV right by the S&R estate (Las Vegas Golf Club????). This might
be one to check out for next year. IIRC it was not that expensive.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activity headcounts:

Thanks to all who sent updates. Please check this over. If you send
in something and still see question marks, please resend or remind.

Sunday, April 14:
Religious services (Metropolitan Community Church) - 3
Titanic and Bodies (Luxor) - ?????
Lunch With Ginger (Harrah's Buffet) - ?????
Newcomer Open House (Artisan) - 10
Artisan Happy Hour (Artisan) - ?????
Satay Happy Hour (Satay) - ?????
Sin City Happy Hour (Flamingo) - 4
PT's Happy Hour (PT's Pub Sahara) - 5
Flamingo Buffet option (Flamingo) - 12
Satay dining option (Satay) - ?????
Pamplemousse dining option (Pamplemousse) - 8
Artisan dining option (Artisan) - ?????
Mainstream Common Gathering (Margaritaville) - 15
Alternative Common Gathering (Drink And Drag) - ?????
 
Monday, April 15:
Katie's Koffee Korner (Betty's Cyber Cafe - The Quad) - ?????
Studio Lites Open House (Studio Lites) - 25
Lunch With Ginger (Stratosphere Buffet) - 14
Girlfriend Party Makeovers (Bare Escentuals FSM) - ?????
Newcomer Open House (Artisan) - 12
Happy Hour (Artisan) - 25
Monday evening Dinner (Artisan) - 50
Welcome Meet And Greet (Artisan) - 100
 
Tuesday, April 16:
Katie's Koffee Korner (Betty's Cyber Cafe - The Quad) - 12
Diva Las Vegas Invitational Golf (Desert Rose) - 20
Just You Open House (Just You) - ?????
Lunch With Ginger (LV Hotel Buffet) - 3
Art Tour - Andy Warhol (Bellagio) - ?????
Newcomer Open House (Artisan) - 5
Mexican Happy Hour (Ricardo's) - 15
Mob Bar Happy Hour (Mob Bar) - 6
Hard Rock Happy Hour (Hard Rock Cafe HARMON) - 9
Hofbrau Happy Hour (Hofbrauhaus) - ?????
Piano Bar Happy Hour (Harrah's) - ?????
Oscar's dining option (Oscar's - Plaza) - 3
Ruth's Chris dining option (Ruth's Chris - Harrah's) - ?????
Hard Rock dining option (Hard Rock Cafe HARMON) - 19
Mexican dining option (Ricardo's) - 15
Hofbrau dining option (Hofbrauhaus) - ?????
Scavenger Hunt (Start at Mob Bar) - 10
Fremont Street Experience (Fremont Street Experience) - Unk.
Pub Crawl (Start at Buffalo) - 3
 
Wednesday, April 17:
Katie's Koffee Korner (Betty's Cyber Cafe - The Quad) - ?????
Shopping With Ginger (LV Premium Outlets NORTH) - ?????
Lunch With Ginger (Makino LVPO-N) - ?????
Nathan Burton Comedy-Magic (Planet Hollywood) - ?????
Carla's Boutique - Wine And Cheese (The Center) - 20
PF Changs Dinner (PF Chang - Planet Hollywood) - ?????
EHM Reception and Swap Meet (Erotic Heritage Museum) - 50
Absinthe Show (Caesars Palace) - ?????
 
Thursday, April 18:
Katie's Koffee Korner (Betty's Cyber Cafe - The Quad) - ?????
Trap (shotgun) Shooting (Clark County Shooting Complex) - 9
Volunteer and prospective volunteer Luncheon (Artisan) - 13
Pole Dance Lessons (Pole Fitness Studio) - 12
Trevi Dinner (Trevi - Caesars) - 40
Quiet Evening At Home (Private facility) - ?????
Audrey Tour (Start at Paris) - ?????
Limousine Tour (Caesars Palace) - 34
 
Friday, April 19:
Non-Charles Bar (Cosmopolitan) - 9
Katie's Koffee Korner (Betty's Cyber Cafe - The Quad) - ?????
Lunch With Ginger (Gold Coast Buffet) - 7
High Tea (Four Seasons) - ?????
Macy's Makeovers, session 1 (Macy's FSM) - ?????
Macy's Makeovers, session 2 (Macy's FSM) - ?????
Macy's Makeovers, session 3 (Macy's FSM) - ?????
Happy Hour (Bahama Breeze) - 50
Farewell Dinner (Bahama Breeze) - 70
Farewell Celebration (Bahama Breeze) - 100
Dancing at Paris (Paris) - 30
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Still MIA:

Please look over this list. If you see anyone on it (yourself or
somebody else) who you know attended, please let us know.

-15617 Allison T (Kelly) Arizona
-2180 Ashley White (Chelsea) (new) Southern California
-2962 Becky Moore (Christy) (new) Southeastern US
-166 Camille Derring (new) Phoenix area
-3462 Carol Ann (new) ???
-106 Cathy P. (new) Los Angeles area
-490 Cindy B. (new) Mountain States
-39197 Connie F. Northern California
-14840 Courtney A. (Linda) Midwest
-3059 Cristine B. Northwest
-49006 Crystal L. (Jennifer) Mountain States
-41780 Danielle Q. Los Angeles area
-1310 Deanna B. (new) Midwest
-20604 Debbie S. Local Las Vegas
-132 Dennise D. (Joddi) (new) Mountain States
-28311 Diane M. Arizona
-14814 Eva Marie B. Mountain States
-3832 Gwen L. Local Las Vegas
-464 Jamie D. Southern US
-1352 Janessa W. (new) Local Las Vegas
-1639 Jenifer J. Southern California
-9440 Jenny L. Canada
-1073 Jenny Marie M. (Brenda Lee) Local Las Vegas
-1117 Jessy L. (new) New Mexico
-21744 Julie Anne M. Local Las Vegas
-1522 Kelli B. (new) Northwest
-6118 Kumiko Yvonne W. Hawaii
-528 Lauren G. (new) San Francisco area
-1365 Lisa R. (new) Southern California
-11494 Marci L. Local Las Vegas
-61 Mia (new) Phoenix area
-273 Ms Renee S. (new) Local Las Vegas
-234 Nikki D. Local Las Vegas
-14585 Pauline D. Northern California
-44711 Penelope O. (Devita) Local Las Vegas
-5099 Rikki L. (Carla) Local Las Vegas
-79 Rita L. (new) Northern California
-19975 Shanna R. Local Las Vegas
-2081 Simone Michelle (new) Northern California
-945 Tiffany B. (new) Southern US
-525 Tina C. (new) Chicago area
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Administrivia:

This is the Diva Las Vegas 2013 organizational list.

This mailing was addressed to: annie_at_annie.net

One address for all items regarding this list, additions, removals,
changes, submissions, questions, etc.:

dlvorg_at_geekbabe.com <--- NOTE: all lower case

Diva Las Vegas 2013
April 14 - 19, 2013
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

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Received on Wed May 08 2013 - 06:43:40 CDT