[dlvorg] A few discussion topics - comments please ...

In this mailing:

Org List
Several discussion topics
Bahama Breeze details
Review of survey comments
Shooting and other activities
My new Exotic Car Venue
Administrivia
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Org List:

This is the DLV 2017 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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Several discussion topics:

Again, thanks to all who have responded and volunteered! :) We'll plan
on starting the actual programming and scheduling of the activities
within the next few weeks.

No comments were received regarding using the 2016 of suggested hotels
(Flamingo, Paris, Four Queens) as suggested hotels for DLV 2017. If there
are any objections to declaring these hotels by acclamation, please say
so within this next list cycle.

We'll be opening some topics for discussion both this week and next.
Your input will be appreciated.
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Bahama Breeze details:

Dionne writes:

Please start a separate thread for BB.

There are several open issues that need to be discussed;

-agenda, estimated headcount & start times for each activity
-Kevin, the guitarist & PA system with cost
-HH times for us versus restaurant
-any other questions to resolve to finalize the event
. . . . . . . . . .

Annie responds:

First of all, thanks again for taking this on! The BB evening has been
one of our brightest shining stars since 2010.

In my not so humble opinion, much of the BB evening falls into the
"ain't broke, don't fix it" category, but if you (or anyone) has some
ideas of how to make a great thing even better, now is the time to say
so.

Let's talk about headcount first, and Bev and others, if you think these
numbers are off a bit, please say so.

In recent years we've usually seen a total headcount for the evening at
just slightly over 100. (Or rather we usually stop counting at 100.) :)
Out of those, between 60-70 or so full meals will be sold. Add to this
quite a few appetizers and seemingly countless drinks.

As far as timing, here's the way it's been the last few years:

5:00pm: New Attendee Welcome and Orientation (Bahama Breeze) - ms
6:00pm: Happy Hour (Bahama Breeze) - ms
7:00pm: Get-acquainted Dinner (Bahama Breeze) - ms
8:30pm: Welcome Celebration (Bahama Breeze) - ms
9:00pm: Official Group Photo (Bahama Breeze) - ms

IMAO, timing ain't broke, don't fix it! :)

We have never stuck to hard and fast times regarding when one phase of
the evening starts and when the other ends. People usually start sitting
at tables and ordering dinner soon after the HH timeslot starts. This is
a good thing, of course, since it evens out the workload for the kitchen
and service staff.

We usually try to "read the audience" regarding the timing of the group
photo. Doing this is a huge discontinuity and we do not want to do it
too early, particularly if the crowd is actively socializing.

It will be up to you if we have any kind of "program", whether it be
just welcoming the folks, belting out an aria :) or plugging various
activities to come and such. One recent suggestion was to have the
coordinators of the major activities say a few words about them.

The only adjustment I might suggest, and this really depends on a topic
I plan to open next week, would be to either designate all or part of
the Happy Hour as a "New Attendee Reception", this being more actively
organized. Hold that thought please. More next week.

As far as entertainment (guitarist), in the past, it had been a
throw-in, but for the last few years, Beverly has been covering it. I do
know that the funds are there for it this year, and, IMAO, ain't broke,
don't fix it unless you have specific other ideas.

One thing I would suggest is again confirming the staffing level. It is
SO MUCH more enjoyable if we have a bartender in the Gazebo Room and
enough service staff to cover meal and table drink orders. In 2015 the
service level was an issue and I still have not heard straight answers
WRT if our "hostess" was on or off the clock and if she was or was not
supposed to be assisting with table/drink service.

Those are my thoughts and observations. Any others?

Comments, please. :)
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Review of survey comments:

Annie writes:

As we begin the planning details of our 2017 event, let's take a few
minutes to review a few of the 2016 survey comments which might be
relevant to our planning in this phase of the project.
. . . . .

These four comments all hit on more or less the same thing.

+Keep working on having a schedule with "fresh" activities.

+Also keep up with the new different events. This is what keeps
+Diva special.

+it seems that DLV does the same events, year after year.

+Great new events this year (Wayne Newton, Pin ball, Off Strip
+Bistro) and great bring-back of old events (Limo, Eritic
+Heritage).

This reinforces the fact that we need to keep things fresh!
. . . . .

+We need to pick less expensive places for lunch. My partner and

+Please keep the lunch down in price and central locations. I was going

+Overall this is the best TG event on the planet but please keep the
+lunch cost down.

If there is ever a requested mandate, this is it! Of course it's up to
those coordinating the lunches to call the tune, but reasonable pricing
and convenient locations are what the Teeming Millions are shouting out
for.
. . . . .

+Why was there no tour of Amy's store this year? Also why was
+there no English Tea this year?

The reason for this (both of them) is that no volunteer made them
happen. High Tea fans and Just You fans (and fans of any of several
other types of activities), now is the time to make some preliminary
plans.
. . . . .

+VOICE LESSONS! VOICE LESSONS! VOICE LESSONS! Only a few have got the
+voice down good. Most don't seem to even try. I know this would be
+demand and great attendance even if you had to charge for it.

This has become a recurring suggestion.

Cami, I think it was you who brought this up a couple of years ago. Do
you still have an interest in moving forward with this?
. . . . .

+Organize car pool-match drivers and riders, share cab or uber to

+Main issue for me, as an out of towner from Australia, was how
+transport to various events.. Id rather we meet somewhere as a

+We also need to recommend transportation by Uber and Lyft it was

Does anyone have any ideas on anything we can be doing to help out with
transportation?

Years ago we had more of an organized ride share thing, which worked
well for a while but broke down as our headcount kept creeping up.
. . . . .

Every time I read this one, the more I like it and think it may just
work!

+How about this. A sign-in table at the Flamingo. No, not an office
+or suite or anything that costs money. Just have the sign-in lady
+sit at a table out in the Flamingo lobby for one hour a day down
+by the CluB Cappucino and the beer bar.

I want to give this a try, and I'm willing to staff it if nobody else
is. I might question the necessity of a full hour each day, maybe more
like a designated half hour. What I think would also be great is if
those who are collecting payment for various activities could either be
there or else authorize the check-in host(ess) to accept payment on
behalf.

We can discuss this in more detail when we talk about check-in and name
tags.
. . . . .

+Being new to Diva, I did feel that there were a lot of groups already
+formed and it is hard to meet new people. People were friendly to me
+but most went back to their group. Not complaining because I
+understand people are comfortable with people they already know.

+I met a lot of first timers and hung around them. Thanks for putting
+on Diva. I had a good time.

This "improvement" was also reflected in ...

+Girls were much more friendly-er this year.

and

+Crowd was far more friendly this year. Last year seemed like
+everyone was in a bad mood and complained about everything and
+everything. Less complaining and more happy and friendly this
+year.

My interpretation of this angle, for 2016 that is, is an improvement
with room for further improvement. I think we most definitely had an
improvement in the effectiveness of the Newcomer Orientation and it
looks like we're converging on an effective session.

I'm going to be talking about the new attendee situation in a bit more
depth next week.
. . . . .

There were a few comments on the DLVText group text service. We gave
this a very good shakedown at Pinkfest this year and my observation was
that it was quite handy and worked very reliably. I think we can now say
that it's ready for prime time and I would like to promote it more this
coming year.
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Any further comments on any of these?
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Shooting and other activities:

Vanessa writes:

I plan on being there and be happy to help on shooting again..... also
willing to help on Nordstroms makeovers or host an evening meal.
. . . . . . . . . .

Thanks Vanessa!

We'll consider shooting a "go" for 2017 and we'll definitely take you up
on an evening meal.

Sara has first refusal rights for the Nordstroms Makeovers but has not
responded as of this writing. (Sara? Got yer ears on?) If she declines,
you can certainly have this one. Thanks again. :)
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My new Exotic Car Venue:

Beverly writes:

Here is something that might be an idea for an activity for DLV2017.

Kate (celebritycars.com) writes:

http://files.constantcontact.com/66fc6c51401/89807e62-1b13-4919-8e95-3ab30a92889f.jpg]
http://files.constantcontact.com/66fc6c51401/a2336f90-e74b-4bbb-9e13-90c6752f4a69.jpg]

Dear Friends,

It was a pleasure working with you in the past and I wanted to let you
know that I am now handling the events for Celebrity Cars Las Vegas.

This multipurpose venue is an excitingly versatile car gallery and event
center conveniently located just minutes from The Strip. It features a
unique, customizable layout with distinct spaces that can be used
separately for intimate gatherings or left open for lager events.

Filled with millions of dollars in exotic and classic cars and
motorcycles, and nearly 20,000 square feet of space, Celebrity Cars
Event Center was designed to host corporate dinners and receptions,
trade shows and training seminars, special occasions, themed parties and
social events such as weddings, fundraisers, charity functions, bar/bat
mitzvahs, and more.

Thank you and looking forward to working with you all in our new venue!

http://files.constantcontact.com/66fc6c51401/031087eb-cc0f-4aa2-8efc-7ba1becac5a7.jpg]

We will work with you to make your next event special in our one of a kind venue. We offer:

* A variety of menus and bar packages or we will work with you on
customized menus

* Professional event staff

* Modern decor with high ceilings, over 30 ft. high

* Main Showroom (15,000 sq. ft.)

* Rear Showroom (5000 sq. ft.)

* Ample parking

* Freeway and billboard visibility

* Full size LED billboard above facility -24 hour usage

* Raised platform area for staging

* All ages facility

* Over 80 Exotic and Classic cars plus Motorcycles that can be
strategically placed based on the size and theme of the event.
. . . . . . . . . .

Thanks, Beverly.

The two "car" activities both scored above 4 on the enjoyment scale.

All? Is this something that you think our people would be interested in?

Comments please. :)
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Administrivia:

This is the Diva Las Vegas 2017 organizational list.

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

dlvorg_at_divalas.vegas <--- NOTE: New address, all lower case

Diva Las Vegas 2017
March 26 - 31, 2017 (tentative)
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

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Received on Thu Oct 27 2016 - 04:06:59 CDT