Sunshine Chapter Meet at Silver Sands

[Bill]

It seems like internal chapter politics has been a larger issue than the move itself. I am not sure that airing all the Sunshine Chapter's dirty laundry on this forum is in the best interest of AMCA members in general and it certainly isn't in the best interest of the chapter. Maybe many of the inner conflicts could have been solved in a different way that did not involve asking folks to pass judgement on matters that do not concern or affect them.
I have not been happy with some of the changes I have seen in my own chapter, but the members have the club they want so who am I to beat my chest and try to make it what I want it to be? I did not renew my membership and solved my problem without a lot of drama. Everybody's happy with no high blood pressure.

[Kris H]

Bill, just so you can be more informed, the ongoing problem with the Sunshine Chapter is the move itself! It is not internal but includes the club as a whole, that means every member. Are you a Sunshine Member? The conflict has to do with a handful of people who have their own interests at heart rather than the club. Maybe you should ask Joe Gimpel and Cal Sorenson why they lied to the National Board last year when said they had the full backing of all members to move the meet to the Silver Sands? Maybe the next thing Joe and Carl will do is have a closed board so no one, you and me and all the others, can just sit back and watch it all disappear. Then we can watch the Joe and Carl donkey show at the Silver Sands every year. I am posting here so all the members can see both sides of the story. The members can make up their own minds on this issue and vote! I know I will be there and so will a bunch of other people.
Matt, I really can't believe you thought this was a great place? I think you might want to talk to more than Joe, JoAnn and any other person that wanted the move. As far as seeing old friends I do that at every meet I go to. This event has three elements, friends/parts/motorcycles. The friend thing is automatic, the parts and motorcycles are the most important part because without those two you might as well go to your neighborhood bar and have a beer! Can you get your bike judged at the bar? Don't think so. As far as the Eustis Fairgrounds go if the move would not have happened our chapter had first rights of refusal on the brand new venue in the works, but because it moved we lost that right. Another huge mistake by the powers that be!

[exeric]

I agree with Kris 100%. Regardless of what side you're on, or how you feel about any of the contentious issues before the AMCA; this move was executed by short sighted officers in the Sunshine chapter with no regard for the consequences, and made for their benefit. Bikerdds will scream about transparency and voting on the National AMCA level but he is very quiet about this back-room deal (made by newbe's) that had a direct effect on the AMCA membership that patronized Eustis for 14 years.

I will not bemoan the loss of the best venue (Eustis) the Sunshine chapter ever had. I will say that the Florida meet in late winter is going to be crippled, but worse than that is the damage done to an already bloodied national AMCA. Add to that, the hard feelings, and deep divide that will now exist between many members that have been seperated by this stupid, ill conceived, pointless, selfish move.

Joe Gimple has never come to this forum to explain, or justify his personal reasons for moving the winter meet.

Richard Spagnoli has never come to this forum to give the national's position.

I know this is all moot now that it's a done deal, and I don't expect anything to change. It's now Silver Sands whether you love it or hate it.

[DanM]

At a membership meeting during the meet, Richard Spagnolli explained the meet venue is the Chapter's decision, not the AMCA board.

[MeanGene]

At a membership meeting during the meet, Richard Spagnolli explained the meet venue is the Chapter's decision, not the AMCA board.

I don't think that was ever the issue, the issue as I understand it that the decision was made by a couple officers without the input or vote of the general chapter membership- and no matter how you slice it, that just ain't right- period

[felthamw]

I have to be careful here lest I get "censored" again as I was earlier on this subject on this forum. Something about "level heads were prevailing"?
NOT.
I am a Sunshine member AND a National member. A silent one, but my job keeps me from physically being involved. (maybe when I retire...)
My main purpose in joining the AMCA was judging. I like the challenges presented.
But let me be clear here - physical involvement or not within the Sunshine chapter - I WAS NOT ASKED.
It is the principle.
And I am upset about that. I am an American and we savor the right to vote.
And yes, I can always not renew my Sunshine membership.
Wayne Feltham #4329

[exeric]

I don't think that was ever the issue, the issue as I understand it that the decision was made by a couple officers without the input or vote of the general chapter membership- and no matter how you slice it, that just ain't right- period

You nailed it MG.

[rtwdoug]

my views......

I liked Eustis, but I went to the new venue, because it was the AMCA meet. I did stop by eustis thurs on my way, and not many people were there, but I heard it got busier.

So, when I got to the new place, it looked ok, but, I found I had been given a vending space in the back field. Maybe 50 people walked by on friday.
the layout was really poor. Most people didnt know there were vendors in the back field.
Then it rained. Now it can rain anywhere, but it turned it into a 'swamp meet'
drainage ditches crisscrossed the place, and they were overflowing. people were spinning thru the mug, making a nice soup. even the sandy places were bad, & full of water.
But, like I said, rain can happen anywhere, so you just deal with it.
The main problems I saw,
no bathrooms. I saw 1 or 2 portajohns, and one indoors, that had 3" of water on the floor by friday. 1 shower. it was pretty horrible.
no trashcans. I had to hunt to find one, and I actually saw 3 during the weekend, all of them overflowing.
the layout. its not laid out good for a swapmeet, in my opinion. its a big D shape, with 2 other fields off in the rear with no signs pointing people to those areas.
When I went to the office to see about solving my vending space/flood problem, I was directed to move into a place 8" under water. Finally, another sunshine guy (whose name I'm sorry I forgot) helped me find a spot between a couple RV's. I went from 2 spots to the end of just one, but at least there wasnt water. I dont think most of the organizers in the office went outside during the meet (I know some did)
I did talk to one of the chapter bigwigs about my problem/request, but he didnt seem to interested.
the final problem, the location. not a store within miles. no close hotels (I camp, but still its nice to have a close option) no gas station. no restaurants (and the on site food....bleh) and traffic sucked because of the neighbor bar.

I've been a vendor at eustis for years. Sorry but if the VMA does another meet at the fairgrounds next year, thats where I will be.
Its just a better place, as far as I am concerned.

Just my opinions
Doug

[TimR]

rtwdoug, Thanks for posting your opinions. I see that this was your first posting, I would like to welcome you to the forum.

[rwm]

with so many imperfect swap meets out there maybe we should end them. everybody stay home end sell on ebay. if you want your bike judged place a photo on buzz's site.plenty of knuckleheads to tell you what is wrong with it.look at all the problems we have rhinebeck to many police, high priced admission, some lack of shade, gates open at 9 am. vendors must stay all weekend.
jefferson always has mud, long food lines did i say so much mud you need a tractor to pull you in and out. it gets cold at night in oct.
southern national has snakes in the bathroom! and the people are just to damn nice.
davenport is to damn hot to many things to look at, loud motorcycles kicking up dirt from the race track. fights at the bod meeting and judging is going away.
hebron ct. if i remember right the bathrooms are outhouses with wooden seats.
wauseon has overfilled trash cans with stink and bees.it's over by noon sat. the race track throws pea gravel all over your parts. kids on motorcycles
2 dates have 2 meets taking place on the same day that are each 800 or more miles apart.
so sell your parts on ebay and be a profiteer or keep them and be a hoarder. sit at home in your living room eat chocolate from william sanoma and stay dry.

ps i have met some of the nicest people at these miserable muddy swap meets. it's a shame if they end but i think most of the people here would be happier with out them...rob

[c.o.]

Well if that doesn't put things into perspective Rob, then I don't know what will. I've watched the complaining and the uproars rear their ugly heads here and I can't help but think that all the griping sounds of children throwing tantrums. It seems to me that the problems in Florida are personal and it's an us vs. them mentality.Too many people have personal agendas and don't think about the group as a whole. I've never been to Eustis but I've heard that it's a good start to the antique meet season and have often thought I'd give it a go one day to take a break from winter. I've put that idea on hold until the smoke clears now as it appears that neither meet was what the old one was. Splitting people up and making harsh changes to what folks were used to was clearly not a good idea. I really hope that the Sunshine Chapter can mend it's wounds for the good of all, especially for the folks in Florida and all the vendors who make their livings at these meets. If not a vote, the powers that be should have at least consulted folks to see what the general consensus was before making a decision to move. What happened down there just wasn't right.

Rob, as far as people being happier without the meets goes... can you imagine the carrying on if they all went away? Some folks just can't appreciate what they have until it's gone.

[DanM]

I would like to update Rob's post-

The Yankee National at the Hebron Lion's Fairgrounds (347 Gilead St, Hebron CT 06248) has a new restroom facility with several showers, hot and cold running water, and toilet seats made of good old plastic! We're only 3-5 miles to gas, restaurants, food shopping, hardware store; 10 miles to hotels; 0 miles to great riding!

For those that like to tent, we have a series of covered shed which help keep out any rain- first come first served of course.

We have water and electric for RVs, paved roadway, a large building with concrete floor for our banquet and indoor judging if weather requires it.

You can come on site anytime Thursday and after.. Leave when you want, but I hope you'll stay all weekend.

Friday we have a steak banquet at 6 pm

We have a great mystery ride at 9:30 am Saturday, field games at 1:30, Yankee style judging and awards at 4:30.

Sunday we'll do AMCA judging 9-12.

Hope to see you ALL there.

Yes- it does get hot some times, and it might rain too!! Sorry about that......

Dan

[Sargehere]

Nice to hear sense finally being spoken postmortem, re: the Florida meet situation, particularly by Doug & Cory, above, in the aftermath of this little debacle.

With the vision provided by retrospect, it is obvious that the whole dust up was unnecessary; apparently brought on by one or two individuals with a specific agenda to bring the traditional chapter-run national meet nearer Daytona, and who obviously acted in haste ( "little cards announcing the [unnecessary] move handed out at Wauseon") (did they really think that was all it would take?) and who apparently didn't stop for a second to think through the possible consequences of such "top down" dictation, in a club supposedly of equals, so diverse and so far-flung. Quickly, everyone affected took sides, for or against, driven by their own personal wants/desires/and or loyalties.

Literally hundreds of people were affected by someone's questionable brainstorm. Everyone's plans were altered: motel reservations, restaurants and sleeping and scheduling plans, not to mention that space reservations for vending sites made in-good-faith with those very chapter officers themselves were entirely "out the window," and "back to square one," after, in many cases, years in which those up-ended people had become comfortable with and looked forward to once-again greeting old friends, many of whom had always rented adjacent spaces at Eustis. All this hard-earned comfort was shot through so that someone wouldn't have the inconvenience to commute fifty miles to Eustis?

There's no "perfect" old cycle meet, but (for what, fourteen years?) a lot of people were very satisfied that The Sunshine Chapter Winter National Meet, which is traditionally the first weekend of Daytona Bike Week, had FINALLY found a place to call home, after decades of wandering, seemingly lost, from park to parking lot, and "all over the state of Florida." If you're wondering at all what led to the formation of the "Vintage Motorcycle Alliance" for the purpose of preservation of an antique motorcycle swap meet at Eustis, there's your explanation.

People, erstwhile respected AMCA-member vendors, many of them, simply felt used by a small chapter "leadership" that they felt cared not a whit how many people were affected by a rash decision. The chapter officers apparently thought that it would happen by their fiat, and to hell with the consequences. Presenting the horsey-smelling place as a take-it-or-leave-it "done deal" was supposed to "sneak it in?" The county's plan to build an ever-better Lake County Fairgrounds was even raised as a fallacious reason for our move, as if the chapter would be left "homeless" unless we (the AMCA) moved in haste.

Lake County Fairgrounds isn't going away. It's the site of, for one, the annual Lake County Fair, and also many, many other recurring events by organizations like ours. The present facility will remain viable until an entirely new, brand-spanking new venue opens in a few years. Then, loyal incumbent organizations will likely have first call on scheduling events in the new facility. I personally think the all-weather facilities in Eustis for judging to be among the best I've seen on the AMCA circuit: it has a comfortable meeting room for the judging seminars and breakfast meeting, leading directly outdoors to a roofed, paved shelter plenty big enough for all of our motorcycles, and an entire gymnasium-building very nearby if the weather really storms.

Yes, Eustis is over forty miles from Daytona, the home of some of the current officers of Sunshine Chapter. That's a long commute, if setting up an event out there, but Florida's a big state. And they knew what they were getting into when they ran for chapter office. OTOH, a lot of attendees like it that far away from "Biker Heaven/Hell." Many of us who have already experienced the week-long Daytona street party consider the whole Daytona circus an extended drunken, over-commercialized exercise in excess.

We are a different breed of ("mature") bikers, and many don't want that drunken party forced down our throats. Fifty miles is plenty close enough to the Cabbage Patch for many of us. No, the drunken partiers didn't bother us at the horse place this year, but it's the first time the AMCA has been there; I think that they simply haven't caught on to our presence, yet.

[murph]

meets

with so many imperfect swap meets out there maybe we should end them. everybody stay home end sell on ebay. if you want your bike judged place a photo on buzz's site.plenty of knuckleheads to tell you what is wrong with it.look at all the problems we have rhinebeck to many police, high priced admission, some lack of shade, gates open at 9 am. vendors must stay all weekend.
jefferson always has mud, long food lines did i say so much mud you need a tractor to pull you in and out. it gets cold at night in oct.
southern national has snakes in the bathroom! and the people are just to damn nice.
davenport is to damn hot to many things to look at, loud motorcycles kicking up dirt from the race track. fights at the bod meeting and judging is going away.
hebron ct. if i remember right the bathrooms are outhouses with wooden seats.
wauseon has overfilled trash cans with stink and bees.it's over by noon sat. the race track throws pea gravel all over your parts. kids on motorcycles
2 dates have 2 meets taking place on the same day that are each 800 or more miles apart.
so sell your parts on ebay and be a profiteer or keep them and be a hoarder. sit at home in your living room eat chocolate from william sanoma and stay dry.

ps i have met some of the nicest people at these miserable muddy swap meets. it's a shame if they end but i think most of the people here would be happier with out them...rob

I was wondering when someone was going to say that! Thanks

[fillibuster]

I was wondering when someone was going to say that! Thanks

I want to agree. Good post.
I went to the Eustis meet in 03, thought it small in attendance, endured a little rain, and the only Indian parts I found came off a harley vendor's table. But I was pleased to be far from the rat race, comfortably isolated in our own little world.
The Eustis move seems similar to the Vikings move from Farmington to St Paul. But the most effective down side of that move was reduced vendor participation. The facilities are pristine, and I like that for my grandsons and their mothers (a mother could even launder diapers!), the display hall is so huge it could house everybody from the Eustis meet all under one roof, and the camping spaces are very convenient due to the attendance nature.
It's sad that I can't see the many familiar vendor faces from the Farmington meet, that I miss! And I hope the Viking chapter does something to bring them back, somehow. But I'll be there with bells on, with my family as an annual event, if things like work stay out of the way.

Good luck to all you Sunshiners on working this out. I like to say it's not just your meet, it's ours too, and that goes for Davenport and all others too.