Preliminary Plans for Anime Expo 2006

[MurakiAsato]

Caitlin and I (I, Jessica am using her account) are making plansfor the group to go to Anime Expo 2006. We are preparing a packet of information about the trip that we will distribute at the first meeting. On this thread, we would like anyone who has suggestions about things to which we ought to pay particular attention to bring these items to our notice. These include past pit falls on trips, helpful websites, information they have previously gathered about going (this means you, Kyle), or suggestions about how we might go about organising this.

Thanks for your concideration,
Jessica

[Captain Crotchspike]

My biggest suggestion would be "Start NOW", since last year was at the very last possible minute and somehow fell into my hands, but I guess this is covered now.

The only real helpful site is www.anime-expo.org, since everything else are message boards and reports from last year, which is stuff that is easier to get across by talking to us (the people who went this year and last), but they don't have any of the real information up until later in the year as I recall. It should probably be about the same this year, though. Again, it's stuff that'll be easier to communicate in person.

The big thing is funding. This year came entirely out of my own family's pocket - I was relying on people paying me back (who, last I checked, all did but one so far). It's not going to be cheap, and even if the club(s?) manage to get a lot of money via fundraisers to pay for certain expenses, people are going to have to know that they'll have to pay some fairly significant sum of cash (anything we don't cover, food, spending cash, etc.) - Since we're starting earlier this year, this will likely (hopefully?) mean we'll have more people interested, and then we'll have people who can go and then can't and then can again and such which'll make the math even harder. I also want to set some kind of cut-off point this year - let's say May, perhaps? - so then we can settle down and get the math right. Then we can decide what our money goes to (probably the registration cost, maybe a chunk of the hotel cost).

Fundraisers are another important thing. We'll probably get most of our cash from working for the vendors during the year, and for that, we'll need some volunteers (can't just make Christy and Sam do it). Christy suggested giving benefits to people who help volunteer, but there's another thing we need to work out as a group.

We've also got to have drivers and we oughta let people know we're not paying for plane tickets. Assuming I'm not overestimating things here and we have enough people for at least two groups (it would've panned out this way last school year if we had started early and had Lexi's group on board), we're going to need people start asking their parents if they'd be willing to carpool. It's important that we're SURE they'd be willing to. Also mention that kids going by carpool should be prepared to help pay for gas (around thirty dollars per kid, I'd guess, assuming things don't get any better or worse next year - big assumption). I'm not going to rule out the possibility of one group going by plane, but they've gotta know we've got enough expenses to worry about as it is and that they'll have to pay for that.

Also, if you're going to make packets, make enough to have extras to give out throughout the year, as we want to step up advertising this year and hopefully have more members, who, with any luck, will drop in throughout the year.

Were you the guys we elected last school year to handle this? I can't remember.

[rei]

To answer your last question Kyle: yes we did elect Caitlin to organize this whole thing.

Make sure to make packets for me, and Jene... wait this brings another good topic for discusstion: can people who don't go to the school be included in the club's trip?

[MurakiAsato]

This is Jessica here, on Caitlin's account. She had actually not been able to remember who had been elected but she figured we ought to do something anyway. She will be making many many many copies of the packet now that she has a very large, competent office-scale printer/copier/scanner. Kyle, she will call you up at some point to ask you for phone numbers from last year. Rei, who are you? Also, it would be awesome if we could have students from other schools. We would be willing to organise that. We know of many students from other schools who would like to go. We will all be carpooling there, and we will be asking repeatedly throughout the year for parents who are absolutely capable of driving. I must flee, but I will return later.

Much love,
Jessica

[Captain Crotchspike]

Eheheh, that's easy enough to say, but we've gotta think about paying for ourselves first and foremost. I say if kids from other schools want to join in, fine, but the club's money goes to the club members. They can pay for themselves (that includes you, Pat and Jean) - it'd be stupid if we got a bunch of volunteers to work for the vendors only to get 1/16th of the profits thanks to other people joining.

Now, if we know of clubs from other schools who are doing their own fundraisers (i.e. paying for themselves) and would be willing to Voltron up a gathering with us, that could be good too.

Also, Rei = Patrick Dysart (president of Manga Board last year, now going into community college), and before he posts here which I know he probably will at some point or at least he'd better, Zargon = Jean Rene Broe (see above, only he was...Vice President? I forget).

[MURAKI]

hey, its Lorin, acting on behalf of Caitlin. I've already posted this somewhere else. . . but now I can post it here. This year Caitlin is setting up a website about the "2006 expo and us" as well as an email account for the same purpose. The site will be on geocities(if it ever starts working again) but the email is up. the address is [e-mail]

[Zargon]

captaincrotchspike said:

Zargon = Jean Rene Broe (see above, only he was...Vice President? I forget).

Yup, VP and damn proud of it. Vive la more than half a year late responses!

Sheeze, what happend to this group of Caitlins?! Now it seems to have dwindled down to me, Kyle, Lexi, and Andy.

[Captain Crotchspike]

I have no idea what happened there. I guess they...forgot?