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NASSAM 2020 Rapid City

18K views 118 replies 27 participants last post by  mysolst 
#1 ·
Hello, welcome to the NASSAM 2020 thread.

As was announced at the 2018 NASSAM banquet, those who brought you NASSAM 2015 (Pacific Northwest Roadsters - PNWR) with some help from Ohio, Arkansas, Minnesota and the wonderful province of British Columbia are happy to bring you the 2020 version of NASSAM, this time hosted in Rapid City, South Dakota.

This thread in no way is an intent to take focus and planning effort from the 2019 event (some of us are working on that one too), but rather to simply let the community know that there is a 2020 event planned for June 21-26, 2020. As this constitutes a long drive for just about everyone, so we thought we'd get the word out and perhaps folks could plan a once in a lifetime trip to see Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Custer National Park, Devils Tower and my personal favorite, the Badlands of South Dakota.

Best regards from PNWR and our cast of thousands.

Hope to see you in 2020.
 
#72 · (Edited)
Tuesday, March 17 - As promised, when I make updates to Facebook, I'll post them here.

Good Morning: Several counties in the bay area of California have taken steps a bit further in that they are putting a "shelter in place" into effect. They have provided guidelines for what is considered to be essential as to businesses that may remain open. The LA Times had a piece describing it, the link is below. Again, let's hope this isn't a preview for the rest of you. And remember, I'm just trying to keep you up on what may effect our event. But this is clearly seen through the lens of my eye, that is to say that I'm picking up on things that directly affect our family and potentially this event. Please keep up with news in your area and how that may impact you and yours. Rick and Karen

https://www.latimes.com/.../how-the-san-francisco-bay...
 
#73 ·
Hello out there: I suspect that by now most of you are under roughly the same conditions we have here in Washington State, something more than business as usual, but less than the California (parts of it) Shelter in Place. We wish you all the best. Just to reiterate, Karen and I take things one day at a time with regard to NASSAM 2020. The hotel is not holding us to any cancellation fees, so we were thankful for them to offer that. If you have any concerns please just email us at nassam2020@outlook.com.
 
#74 ·
Hello out there: I suspect that by now most of you are under roughly the same conditions we have here in Washington State, something more than business as usual, but less than the California (parts of it) Shelter in Place.
If you haven't heard yet, all of CA is Shelter in Place now.
 
#77 ·
#78 ·
Hello Friends: Its been a while since we last checked in.
Karen and I hope that all of you are safe and caring for yourselves. We, here in Washington State are at Day 1 of a 14 day "Shelter in Place". The reason for the quotes is that unlike the state of California, the state of Washington didn't use those words. Our instructions are just a bit stricter than in California, meaning that we've had even more of the economy shut down than the Californians have.
As for NASSAM 2020, we're simply in a patient holding pattern to see what comes of the next month or so. On or about May 1st we reach the point of the final planning stages for ordering t-shirts, making final arrangements with the hotel and so on. We are considering different options if we're unable to gather in June as planned, but it seems just a bit too early to make any lasting decisions. Please send any concerns you may have to nassam2020@outlook.com.
In the meantime Karen and I are both telecommuting, which she typically does, but I never do. Good thing we like spending time together! Best to you and yours.
 
#79 ·
Hello folks: People have been asking about the possible cancellation of this event which does seem a reasonable question. Here is our approach...On or about May 1st we have to make final arrangements with the hotel, order t-shirts and a couple of other things. Here in Washington State we are in a "Stay Home, Stay Safe" situation (AKA "Shelter in Place") until the end of April. Until then we are keeping the option open to have the event this year as planned. So, please keep an eye out because we'll likely make a call on May 1st. We have a couple of options we're looking into for postponement, one is to move to later this year and the other is moving to 2022, both of those options have pros and cons we're evaluating. So if we can all hang on until May 1st we'll see where we are at that point and what our options really are with our vendors and hotel. Best regards, Rick and Karen.
 
#85 ·
TS, I was just talking about the date. I think the area would be much better in the fall. Growing up in Nebraska, I know how miserable the area can be in the summer. I do know the college world series is cancelled, which was supposed to be happening about the same time. I attend the FJ Cruiser National Summit every year. There is talk of it being cancelled and it is in July.

I am hoping Solst every thing works out.
 
#87 ·
Hello Friends:

While we have not made a determination with regard to cancelling the event and will not make the decision until the early May, we have received a few cancellations, not relating to the pandemic situation.

In the future if you elect to cancel for whatever reason please email us at nassam2020@outlook.com and let us know what you would like to do with your registration fees. Please consider the following:

1. DDM made a deposit to rent a tent that is not refundable. Karen and I would like to be able to cover that cost of $1,100.
2. We intend to contribute any proceeds to the charity. Their needs don't go away just because our event did.

It is certainly understandable if you would like to get a refund. Keep in mind that the refund will be less any transaction fees.

Please note, we do not intend to fulfill orders for t-shirts, patches and coins by mail. The amount of work to accomplish the packing and shipment of those items exceeds time available.
Your decisions need not be posted publicly, email will work just fine.

Thank you for your support.

Rick and Karen
 
#88 ·
Hello folks. We're not cancelling yet, but just in case you might pencil in Rapid City for June 26-July 1, 2022. The hotel is allowing us until May 15 this year to cancel, but holding the 2022 dates for us. We couldn't get the week of the solstice in 2022 because the hotel is already booked. Let this be a lesson to planners, book your hotel about 2 1/2 years in advance.
 
#92 ·
Boy, you and me both!! :) We're hanging on by a thread. South Dakota is estimating they'll hit a peak of infections in mid-to-late June unfortunately. We're told by our contacts there that they do have out of state visitors. Our problem is that most everything we're planning is currently closed, and gatherings like ours are not being allowed. Unless circumstances change we can't have much of an event.
 
#93 ·
I don't know where the estimators get their estimations but, boy-O-boy, have they been way off here in Dallas and Texas in general. You know what they say, only estimators and weathermen can get things so wrong and still keep their jobs...haha
 
#95 ·
Not to make this political, but I hear that Trump will never get elected in 2016 and a bunch of celebrities are moving to some other country, so you have nothing to worry about. :) The early estimates here in Washington State were for 64,000 cases by last month. We now have just under 10,000. We are quite thankful that a bit of common sense and a little bit of over reacting has kept us to a relatively small impact. That said with all due respect to those affected, I do know someone who passed away from complications from COVID-19.
 
#97 ·
Just to clarify about NASSAM 2020 and NASSAM 2022... mysolst is the chief organizer for 2020 - South Dakota but is also helping with 2022 - California. I am the chief organizer for 2022 - California (with lots of help from Robert and West Coast Kappa Club), but am helping with 2020 also.

I was the one who first suggested (albeit behind the scenes) that if 2020 gets cancelled due to coronavirus, that 2020 take the 2022 spot and we will defer California a year. Mysolst has put a ton of work into 2020 and it is going to be a great event whether it happens this year or two years from now. California is planned, but flexible because we haven’t signed any contracts yet.

As an aside, the reason 2021 is out is because Michigan Kappa Club is already well into putting together what will also be an outstanding event for next summer.
 
#99 ·
Hello Folks: Just a note for those who have cancelled or plan to. Please be patient with Karen and me about the timing of refunds. We're trying to do refunds once a week in a batch rather than every day. We have six in the que right now.

We have not postponed the event yet, but we're likely to. Here in Washington state the governor is looking to extend the stay-at-home through much of May which is particularly problematic in trying to hold on to doing something in June.

Also, the states of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming currently don't want us travelling from Washington. Lots of other considerations as well. Tune back in next Monday. Stay safe. Rick and Karen
 
#100 ·
Will go out on a limb and say that by the end of May this whole pandemonium thing will be in the rearview mirror. Just saw on ABC Nightly News that earlier today that an estimated 40,000 people hit the beaches of sunny Southern California as temperatures there went up over 90*. Would hold off on your cancellation decision until the last possible opportunity as it looks like things are going to start changing for the better rather quickly. Good luck!
 
#102 ·
I suspect that any event held this summer is going to be poorly attended. The need to "social distance", the problems of attending bars and restaurants that will not yet have solutions, and peoples' need to get their lives back to normal are each going to eliminate some people. The most practicable response is to put all of the work and investment on hold and delay the event for a year.
 
#103 ·
Nobody wanted this event to proceed more than I. Although I suspect many would be on equal footing in that respect. I realize that for the gathering to take place en masse would be next to impossible to happen this year. Since I already have time off from work and have hyped myself up to going, should the possibility of cross state travel exist, I will be going up there anyway.I talked to Wayne (or was it Wade?) at the hotel and he offered to remove my reservations from the block and allow the same pricing. I know many hotels would be grateful for the guests. It will not be as much fun without the group but it will be a welcome departure from what I/we have now.
 
#104 · (Edited)
Good Evening:

I just tuned in to the Rapid City Council meeting. They have voted to allow some businesses including restaurants and bars to open beginning shortly with restrictions. For example, restaurants will be limited to ½ capacity, and they’ll try to keep tables six feet apart. I won’t go into further details, suffice it to say that the council is interested is seeing if the community can cautiously go back to work while keeping sickness in check. As one council member noted, they are not throwing the doors open. Currently Rapid City has no one hospitalized due to COVID-19, clearly, they would like to keep it that way.
We’ll continue to monitor the situation in South Dakota including businesses along the routes we’ve planned for the runs. There are some challenges, for example, Wall Drug is currently closed as it the visitors center in the Badlands. We may have to reroute runs in some fashion to make sure we have places for breaks along the way. Some of the restaurants where we’d planned to stop may only be takeout if they elect to open by June at all. If some of the existing restrictions still apply in June, we’ll end up making the runs ad hoc. We won’t have enough run captains for groups of five or six cars, so we may ask you to print maps before leaving home.
We spoke to the hotel today and they could not be more helpful. There was another group scheduled in the hotel at the same time as we’re there, but they have cancelled. Right now, the hotel of 267 rooms has about 10 rooms reserved per night. We’ve begun to explore ways that we would be able to meet restrictions for groups gathering including making the banquet into an outdoor barbeque. They’ve offered to allow us a much larger room for check in and silent auction which would allow us to keep our distance from ourselves. 😊
My point is that if we can gather it won’t be exactly what we had planned. We’re just interested in managing expectations for those of you who choose to join us. We’d hoped to make a decision on or about May 1st, but things are changing quickly around the country so we’ve planned another meeting with the hotel on May 15th to see where we are at that time. The hotel has agreed to help us keep the door open as long as possible which is about June 7th. If we can come, they would love to have us. I’m sure you can imagine that they care about their own health and well-being that we do not wish to jeopardize, but if things continue to look good, they will welcome our business. There is a Camaro gathering in Sturgis while we’re there, maybe we’ll see a few of those cars running around as well, they have yet to cancel their event.
We have had a couple of cancellations from folks who have concerns about their own age and health, we urge all of you to keep your own situation in mind. There is no problem for you to cancel, just let us know.
And let me also add, if we have waivered at all about the possibility of postponing the event it is simply because it is hard to judge what is going on around the nation. I think Washington state has the harshest restrictions in the country, consequently, distancing ourselves (no pun intended) from the cautionary sensibility of our governor has been challenging. There is some likelihood that our stay at home restrictions will be extended to June 1st shortly. So, if my posts have caused anyone confusion you have my sincerest apologies.
Best regards, Rick and Karen
 
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