In this mailing:
Org List
Introducing some topics
Annie Sez
Beverly Sez
JoAnn Sez
The affordability issue
The check-splitting issue
Administrative Committee election
Volunteer Appreciation
Voting status clarification
Administrivia
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Org List:
This is the DLV 20156 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.
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Introducing some topics:
This mailing introduces a few topics of importance to the Diva Las Vegas
event. Yes, it's long, but it has a lot of very important information.
. . . . .
We have nominations for the Administrative Committee seat and a
contested election for the second year in a row.
We will be holding the floor open for additional nominations for the
current list cycle (normally one week). See details below.
. . . . .
We're on track for an early-mid August roll-out of the DLV photo pages
for our last event. Unless something unforeseen happens, this will be
the earliest for this in recent years.
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Annie Sez:
I would like to personally welcome (and welcome back) every DLV
volunteer, both veteran and new.
This will be my 20th year with the DLV program. I'm looking forward to a
successful and enjoyable 20th. annual event and the company of some of
the finest people in the known universe!
It's this group that makes our event happen! I personally think the
world of each and every volunteer! I continue to be amazed by the
ingenuity and creativity of the efforts, and the results, which have
put us on the map as one of the most prominent TG events of all time.
As to what I would like to see at next year's event, the one thing that
would mean most to me is to have a greater level of participation at all
of our activities. JoAnn (below) has challenged us to produce a richer
daytime schedule, an effort which I truly support.
Another thing I would like to see is a greater level of volunteer
participation, leading to a more fairly-distributed workload.
We do have some challenges ahead of us and I would like to deal with
them head-on. I've commented specifically on two such issues below.
Right now, what we need from all of you, both new volunteers and
veterans, is input on the topics we've introduced and will introduce
in the near future.
One thing I will promise you this year is that I will not immediately
jump on anyone who suggests something to commit into coordinating it.
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Beverly Sez:
Even though DLV2016 is still far off in the distance it is not too soon
to start planning. So let's address the topic of volunteers: who they
are and who they should be.
When I attended my first DLV several years ago I witnessed how much work
was being done behind the scene to make DLV so special and so fun. There
were many volunteers giving of their time and talents to make the week
fun for me. So when I decided that I would return the next year I wanted
to contribute to the event and not be an attendee.
Over the years I have gotten more out of DLV by being involved in many
activities. I feel other attendees could also benefit from giving their
time as well.
Over the years I have been surprised by how many people have been
involved through volunteering. I have also been surprised by the amount
of attendees who have not contributed through volunteering. I know that
they have talents that are being untapped. I have heard from a few gals
suggestion on how my activities could be improved. I wish they would
take on an event of their own and make it just how they would like it to
be.
So this is a call out to those who have not volunteered before or not in
awhile. It's time to step up and put your mark on DLV2016.
See you in Las Vegas.
Bev
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JoAnn Sez:
Yes, this is the 20th Year coming upon us.
While such a milestone is important to celebrate, I also look back on
the past years and see each one of those years as a "unique
celebration"!
I would hope we do not create an expectation that the 20th is different,
but rather, offer a continuing program of the same great events of the
past.
Thus, I ask for all of the volunteers to continue the great energy,
ideas, and follow-through that has delivered each Diva year as its own
special and unique experience for all of our attendees.
So my Challenge to our Organization Group come 2016 ----
To achieve a schedule whereby we have as many daytime events to equal
each day's number of after 5pm events!!
Let's see what we can do............ JoAnn
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The affordability issue:
Annie writes:
Diva Las Vegas has, until recent years, always been the most affordable
of the major TG events. Since the Great Recession wound down, however,
the total cost to attend and participate in our event has skyrocketed!
The two most significant cost increases, over which we may have some
control, appear to be in the areas of accommodations and food. A third
is, of course, air transportation, over which we have zero control.
We've seen a 60% jump in the reported cost of accommodations since the
Great Recession, reflected in these survey numbers over the past several
DLVs:
2009: $452.50
2010: $520.79
2011: $581.37
2012: $512.40
2013: $581.94
2014: $687.10
2015: $733.33
The rise in the cost of accommodations is very significant, and for most
of our attendees, the cost of accommodations makes up the majority of
what is spent to attend and participate.
We've also seen a 50%+ increase in the reported spending on food over
the past several DLVs:
2009: $286.58
2010: $296.30
2011: $350.00
2012: $311.90
2013: $394.44
2014: $392.85
2015: $437.31
The combined lodging and food cost increases is a double-whammy (with
air fare, a triple-whammy) to the "total cost of ownership" of attending
our event.
In two recent years we had a post-event survey for those who did not
attend. Economic and affordability issues were cited as the second most
common reason for non-attendance, eclipsed only by personal schedule
conflicts. In both surveys, no "at fault" items on our part were found
to be significant in prospective attendees' non-attendance.
As cost of our event has increased, our attendance numbers have
decreased. Unless we can help keep costs down, this trend will
certainly continue.
When the topic of total headcount is discussed, it's often discussed
along with the "greying" (increase of average age) of our attendee base.
This (high average age at TG events) has been discussed in regards to
every TG event with which I've ever been associated. A frequent
conclusion is that those who have the means to attend (as in adequate
disposable income) as well as the time off to attend, tend to be more
mature.
I can see three approaches to deal with declining numbers:
1. We can increase promotion, such that we get more people who can
afford the event as it is now, to attend.
2. We can do what we can to make the event more affordable, thus
allowing more (of more modest means and specifically of younger age)
to be able to afford to attend.
3. Do nothing. Let the total headcount stabilize at a lower number
of those who can afford the event as it is.
The first approach would indeed get our numbers to increase, but would
tend to keep our average age as it is.
The second approach, however, would "lower the bar" on affordable
attendance and give more of those who are just entering their productive
earning years to participate.
Proponents have spoken in favor of the third approach. However, this
still deprives some of the ability to participate due to the price
point.
Although we're in no way in danger of having too few people to have a
meaningful event, unless some relief can be given, in the area of cost,
we will continue to see declining participation and a "greying" attendee
base.
We're not going to be able to do anything about transportation costs,
particularly air fares. However, there are several areas in which we
have some "low hanging fruit" that can be grabbed to help out, such as:
1. Negotiated hotel rates. Beverly deserves the Medal Of Honor for last
year's Flamingo rates! Hopefully this will be repeated and expanded upon
for this coming year.
2. Reinstate the Roommate Matching Program. This was dropped during the
Great Recession as room rates plunged to incredibly low levels. In order
to do this, we'll need a volunteer to act as Roommate Coordinator. The
lady who did this for several years is no longer active in our program.
The questions for roommate matching are still in our registration system
and they can easily be turned back on.
3. Provide more affordable dining. Many of our dining options have been
skewing toward the high end in recent years. Yes, there is a place for
high-end dining in our program, but we need more modest options as well.
4. Control activity costs. Ginger did a great job in simplifying and
revamping Night Of The Soiled Doves in 2014 and making the cost to
participate close to zero. This is a very good example. No/low-cost
things such as Fremont Street Experience, Karaoke, Dancing at Paris,
Katie's Koffee Korner, Pinball Museum and Flamboyance Drag Show are
other great examples of things that can be a lot of fun but don't cost
that much.
Any other ideas for helping to control attendee costs are welcome and
will be appreciated.
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The check-splitting issue:
Annie writes:
The most significant issue reported this past year, of those which
diminished the enjoyment of the event, appeared to be that of splitting
checks at meals, specifically the non-availability of separate checks.
What particularly puzzles me about this issue is why our people remained
almost totally silent on it for many years and all of sudden in 2015 it
gained such significance. I have no clue as to why this is the case.
I am reading in to this check-splitting issue the overall affordability
issue, meaning those who complained the loudest were those who felt that
the situation resulted in them paying more than their fair share of the
bill.
Unless we can come up with a solution, this issue may indeed severely
limit our ability to have medium-size and larger dining activities at
our event.
We currently have one major venue which has been willing to issue
separate checks to a large dining group. We do not know how long this
will last, as they have hinted about limited menus in recent years.
The alternatives to checks that must be split include such things as the
single-entree banquet dinner, which our people have clearly said they
don't want, the fixed price "party menu" which garnered many complaints
in the past, and the buffet ala Sashas/Tramps/Suede (or whatever they
were calling it that day) and Blue Ox. Even in those cases there still
may be some splitting, since beverages will certainly be consumed.
If we are to have two larger-scale dining activities at our next event,
we (and "we" includes all of us, me and YOU) need to get busy and seek
out dining venues which meet the approval of our attendees.
This topic is now open for discussion. Let's please work toward a
solution for this issue as our ability to have medium to large scale
dining activities depends on it.
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Administrative Committee election:
This will be our first true order of business this year.
The "odd year" Administrative Committee seat expires this month.
For those who don't know that much about the Committee, it's the group
that handles most of the non-activity-related business for DLV. Info on
the Committee is on line here:
http://www.geekbabe.com/dlv/administ/admcom.html
The seat that is expiring is an exception to the rule and is currently
held by Bob and Sara (no "h") jointly. In 2011 Bob and Sara tied during
the vote and there was no easy way to break the tie. An exception was
agreed upon to let them hold the seat jointly and when the term expired
in 2013, we agreed to "grandfather" that particular pair to continue
sharing the seat.
. . . . .
Bob writes:
> I would like to make a motion to keep Sara and myself on the admin
> committee for 2 more years.
Thanks, Bob.
We will accept this as a nomination of you and Sara for another term
holding the seat jointly.
. . . . .
Beverly writes:
I would like to nominate Katie for the odd year AC position.
. . . . .
I (Annie) will second both of these nominations.
We now have the following candidates for the Odd Year seat, listed in
order of nomination:
1. Bob/Sara
2. Katie
Everyone who is of voting status is eligible for this position and the
floor is open for nominations. Self-nominations are permitted and even
encouraged.
The workload of the Committee is normally very low. It may vary,
however, as in the past year the group had one somewhat sensitive
"personnel" issue to deal with.
We'll hold the floor open for additional nominations for one more list
cycle, closing at the time of the next ORG list mailing. I (Annie) will
second any additional valid nominations, as there's currently nobody of
voting status who I would not support for this position.
Anyone else? Any nominations for this position?
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Volunteer Appreciation:
Katie writes:
Hi Gang. Welcome back.
It seems like only a few months since I saw you.
Ok on to next year..
I would like to propose that we return the Volunteers Appreciation
Luncheon.
It was a nice way to fill a daytime spot mid week and I thought it was
great to get to know some of the other volunteers in person. It beats
shopping and there is still time to do other stuff before the evening
activities kick into high gear. I don't think we need anything in the
way of recognition or appreciation accolades. Just an opportunity to get
all the people together who make a difference and a few new ones who
would like to.
I thought the Artisan was just right for this but if anyone has a better
idea please let's hear it.
. . . . . . . . . .
Annie responds:
Thanks Katie.
I do agree that we should always do something to recognize the efforts
of our volunteers. I realize that we haven't done this in the last
couple of years.
I would, however, question the Artisan (Mood Restaurant) due to the
difficulties we've had with it and the drop in the ratings of the
activities held there. In 2012 the Volunteer Luncheon ran significantly
overtime and several (including the Coordinator) were late to or absent
from a subsequent activity. They (Mood Restaurant) just do not have the
"bandwidth" in their kitchen and serving staff to handle a handful of
six-tops in a timely manner. The year this happened (2012) it was rated
4.16 for enjoyment with 24 responses, which is not that bad at all,
really.
However, in 2013 the turnout was much smaller and the enjoyment rating
was 3.70, the lowest of all activities that year, IIRC, with only 10
responses.
I would like to see a venue for this activity which is more convenient
in location and with a lower price point.
As an alternative to a luncheon, I've thought off and on that some kind
of an "Afternoon Social" for volunteers and prospective volunteers could
work.
Comments, ladies? (gentlemen?) :)
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Voting status clarification:
Two concerns have been brought up regarding voting eligibility.
The first is in regards to SOs having voting status, and yes, it's
well-established that a SO who actively participates in organizing
his/her partner's activity (or one of his/her own) is of voting status.
One omission to the voting status list has been corrected. That couple
should now receive two "ballots" each time a vote is called for.
The second is the voting status of someone who appeared on the list of
assistants but did not attend or participate due to illness or injury.
It is the unanimous opinion of the three members of the PM team that
this condition is currently not included in the rules defining voting
status. We're still discussing this, and a motion may be raised in the
near future to set some ground rules for cases such as this.
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Administrivia:
This is the Diva Las Vegas 2016 organizational list.
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 2016
(Dates to be announced)
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Archives of this list appear on the web at:
http://www.geekbabe.com/annie/org16arc/
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To send material to this list: Send submission as regular e-mail to
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Received on Wed Jul 22 2015 - 02:56:29 CDT
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.2.0 : Wed May 11 2016 - 05:54:23 CDT