As my last official act as Assistant Car Show Director of the BPG, I am reporting the results of the Car Show voting. The results are posted below, and a copy of the voting tally sheets will be sent to whoever is taking charge of the BPG car show. Here is how the voting tallied. Option 1, 20 Votes Option 2, 1 Vote Option 3, 41 Votes Option 3 was chosen by over a 2/3rds majority. Below is a copy of the Options, as they were posted on the various bulletin boards. The deadline for voting was extended to mid-March of 2005 in order to give everyone a chance to vote. Thank you. Duane Heckman 2005 BPG Car Show Options To all, This years Car Show was a very successful event. There were very few problems and everyone seemed to have a good time. However, I still hear talk about changing the show format. Below are the 3 options that I see the show can take. Please take the time to read over everything before placing your vote. Option 1 (Concours classes judged, all others popular vote.) This would leave everything like it was, with the Concours classes being the only classes being judged. All other classes would be Popular vote and the break for stock vs modified cars would remain the same. This would allow for Gold, Silver, and Bronze Concours trophies, and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place trophies for all other classes. (This year the regular class trophies were Winner and 2 Runner Ups. This would definitely be changed for next year, if we keep the current show format.) Concours classes again will remain as an option for cars in all stock classes. (Note; It is not within the power of any judge to force a car into one of the Concours classes. We can suggest, to an owner, that he/she should place their car in that class, but that is as far as we can, or will go, period.) Option 2 (Judge the entire show.) The Concours classes would remain the same, but now the regular classes would also be judged. This would require the following; 1. We would need to develop a 100-point judging system for the regular classes, with considerations being made to judge the modified classes. (The current 400-point system would be too involved to judge an entire show field in a reasonable time.) 2. We would need quite a few people, possibly as many as 24-36, to volunteer as judges, and we would also need possibly 10 more people for clerical help. The judges would not only have to be knowledgeable regarding the type of cars they will judge, but would also need to give up at least 2 hours of their time on show day. Time would be needed to familiarize everyone with the judging forms and to split them up into groups. Once the cars were judged, each teams judging forms would be checked over. If any problems were found, they would need to be corrected before each group could be released. Then the extra clerical volunteers would tally up the votes, and prepare lists for the class winners. 3. We would also need to put a system in place that would make the judging sheets available upon request. (I do this now for the Concours classes, but with only a limited number of cars.) I already see a few problems developing from this type of set-up; 1. If we figure the size of the show, and the number of people needed to run it, it would mean that a sizeable proportion of the contestants would be involved in judging the cars. This would mean that many of us would be working instead of looking at the cars, talking to each other, and having fun. (Welcome to my world.) 2. I see people complaining regarding the knowledge level of the judging teams. (Especially from someone that expected to win but didnt.) 3. This type of show would take longer to do then other types, and would probably require cutting further into the Racing schedule then last years show. Most people are talking about making the show shorter, so they can watch some racing. I have no problem with that whatsoever, but I dont see how this type show can be run in the time allotted. 4. And more importantly, the pitting of one Buick brother against another would increase instead of decrease over the type show (Option 1) used last year. Option 3 (Concours classes judged, all other classes participation only.) This is the opposite extreme, from an all judged event. Again the Concours classes would remain the same, but now all the other cars would be put in classes by year/model but with no differentiation between stock or modified. We could give everyone, including the Concours classes, a car show participation gift, like a larger dash plaque or something. This option would do quite a few things for us, 1. We could probably lower the cost of entering a car in the show because the participation gifts would not cost as much as the car show trophies. This alone would probably bring in more cars, as it would make it more attractive to owners. 2. There would be NO feuding in the regular classes about cars that were too nice. 3. There would be NO bitching about modifications. 4. This arrangement would give the entire show a much more relaxed atmosphere, and would help build the comradery that we all share, vs the opposite of pitting one Buick brother against another. (It would be like a large car show, where everyone got together to have a good time.) 5. The need for a small army of judges, and clerical help will be avoided. 6. The participation in the regular classes would definitely increase by a large percentage, because many of the supposedly "non-worthy" cars, which sat on the sidelines this year, would join in because of the non-judged nature of the show. 7. The participation in the Concours class will probably increase also, because they will get something whether they earn a trophy or not. Plus more entrance level cars will move into these classes so they can get their judging sheets and learn what to fix. To be honest, the only down side I see for this option is that some people will be unhappy that trophies will not be handed out for the regular classes. Most people will not care, but I am sure that some will not attend if they do not have the opportunity to take a trophy home. To sum everything up, here are the 3 choices again, Option 1 (Concours classes judged, all others popular vote.)(Like last year.) Option 2 (Judge the entire show.) Option 3 (Concours classes judged, all other classes participation only.) Please post, PM, e-mail, or snail mail, your vote for either option 1, 2, or 3. If you would rather call and talk about this, then PM me for my phone number. I will also give you the times you can call. If you do call, do not leave your vote on the recorder, but call back until you get a live body. The recorder is old and the messages sometimes get garbled. Note, only votes with a full name, and either a current V-8 or Turbo Buick call name, BPG #, GSCA #, or BCA #, will be considered valid, all other votes will be tossed out. If you would like to add a statement as to why you made your choice, please feel free to do so. I am also going to send this to Rick, so it can be published in the BPG newsletter. (I know it might seem strange, but not everyone uses a computer, and his or her votes must also be counted.) The deadline for voting is November 30, 2004. No, and I repeat, NO votes past that date will be accepted! This will give us plenty of time to set everything up for the show. I will keep a tally of the votes, from all sources, and let everyone know the direction the show will take, once the voting is over. Its your Club, and your choice. Thank you for your time. Duane Heckman 120 President Ave. Rutledge, Pa. 19070
