Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Branches CEG National Conventions Let's try this again - 2002 Spring Zing location

Speaking as one of the main committee members and organizers for SZ 2001 let me apologize for any flames that have erupted! I know Mark didn't mean to ruffle any feathers; the fact is all of us who did the main SZ 2001 planning have just been really busy and still somewhat burnt out as well as trying to orgainze events for the SVT/SHO Society, so we don't have quite the same amount of time to put towards publicity, etc. (not YET anyways). We certainly welcome national support for Spring Zing and appreciate the offers for hosting the convention in different locations. It's a good feeling to know that Spring Zing will live on in other enthusiasts!

Mark & myself were just a little concerned that someone may try to "take" Spring Zing away from us, hence the mentioning of the trademark. No ill harm was meant by this! We understand that Spring Zing is nothing without enthusiasts and the last thing we wanted to do was ruffle some feathers. Mark, myself and The SVT/SHO Society in general have invested more time, money and effort into Spring Zing than most people will ever realize, and I guess we're just a little bit sensitive whenever someone mentions hosting Spring Zing. Mark just wanted everyone to know that, for the time being anyway, Spring Zing will be headed up by himself and the SVT/SHO Society. Once again, my personal apologies for any ill feelings, that was certainly not intended!

As for future plans, moving Spring Zing around to different locations is certainly a viable option. As for Spring Zing 2002, planning is ALREADY underway (in fact, SZ 2002 plans were being made as soon as 1 week after SZ 2001!) It WILL take place once again in Michigan but rest assured it WON'T be a carbon copy of last year.

Beyond that, I don't have much input. I will be stepping down as President of the SVT/SHO Society here in a few months, so my involvement in Spring Zing 2002 will be CONSIDERABLY less than the role I had in this year's event, so all I can say is that Spring Zing 2002 will be held in Michigan.

If I may add some additional input on this matter...being involved with the Taurus SHO community for a few years now I've learned a bit about conventions, events etc. and I think I have some good tips/suggestions to pass on.

First of all, for Taurus SHO owners there is really only ONE national event, that being the national convention which takes place every July. The convention is never in the same location (at least not consecutively) and I think that's a good idea...that way different parts of the country have a chance to participate when they otherwise may not be able to. Turnout for this event is usually somewhere between 50 and 100 cars, but I never understood why there was only one national event. Taurus SHO owners are just as enthusiastic about their cars as Contour owners, but a large, organized event to supplement the national convention never materialized, and I think it's keeping an awful lot of SHO owners isolated. When the SVT/SHO Society inherited Spring Zing, part of our vision was to create a 2nd national event for Taurus SHO owners as well as a great national event for Contour owners...as such we were disappointed with the SHO turnout and general lack of support from the SHO community, but the Contour turnout was simply incredible. I personally see NO reason why there cannot be two or even three national Contour events staggered around the country at different times of the year. I feel these events could co-exist quite peacefully...that would give more options to more enthusiasts and I think it would be great idea! I encourage other clubs, organizations and even specific people to organize, setup and host a national event of your own! Just keep in mind that these things take TIME to plan and more TIME to advertise. Try to give at least 10 months notice of a national event, try to keep costs to a minimum and above all listen to what the enthusiasts want! Keep in mind you won't be able to satisfy everyone, but that doesn't mean you can't try to!

Seriously, this is EXACTLY what we did here in Michigan with the SVT/SHO Society and Spring Zing. I bought my first SHO a few months after XChang bought his SVT...at that time there were absolutely no clubs of any kind in this area, so we started our own, advertised the hell out of it, conducted things very professionally, and it took off. We did the same thing with Spring Zing...I won't say that Spring Zing will always stay in Mi, but if the SHO people won't listen, maybe the Contour folk will...MORE NATIONAL EVENTS!