TDIFest 2014 -Looking for Expressions of Interest

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Chris Tobin

Veteran Member
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Apr 16, 2011
Location
Tennessee
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'06 Jetta TDI
Chris It's not about the money. Fred doesn't have answer to nobody, is the bottom line. If you support how he runs his site make a donation. It's great feeling you come to site were no company can dictated what can be said or not said about there product.

Now drop it please.
Dude, chill out... I'm not sure what your issue is but you are making my question much worse and making it seem like someone is trying to hide something...

If I am to get involved in trying to bring a future 'Fest to the Chattanooga area along with some corporate involvement those are issues that would be brought up and would need to be addressed. Without knowing goals or even basic info about past events and expenses it is hard to get people involved...

When I spoke with Fred via email prior to the Lexington, KY 'Fest and in person he seemed like a really great guy and he was very nice to both my wife and I over the whole weekend while we were there covering the event. He was also helpful when I was writing the event coverage for the Diesel World magazine article. Not once did he give me the "I don't have to answer to anybody" bottom line attitude that you did in your post so I just don't get why you are doing it???

I have personally given this website a lot of national magazine exposure and I drive a TDI and would like to have a great 'Fest so what is your issue???:confused:

I am not trying to expose "Watergate" or anything like that and I do not think anything like that is going on at all... I just think it would be good for those that want to propose a 'Fest know what the goals are, what it takes to operate and what has happened in the past. When this thread is asking for volunteers to put in their time and suggestions it seems like a very reasonable request...

Heck if Fred was making Billions and living in the Bahamas on a private island from the site, that would be cool with me! He though of it and built it why shouldn't he be rewarded for his hard work... it might even inspire others to go out and try something similar for themselves...

Anyhow, sorry for ruffling your feathers, I just don't understand why it did???:confused:
 

CoJoNEs

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2003
Location
Cincinnati
TDI
2002 Golf; 2015 Golf
As one of the organizers of a past fest I can see why Chris Tobin is asking the question. Having an understanding of the profit goal helps when it comes to pricing the venue, event costs, food costs, etc.

Like you found out Fred is an amazing guy, very nice, very personable and happy to spend a weekend just enjoying himself. He considers the TDIFest to be for the members of TDIClub and not for himself. As organizers of the fest we did our best to get some additional perks for Fred (room, food, whatever comped or paid out of our budget) but it's honestly more about bringing a great experience for all members.

We pretty much broke even on the events with the cost of the hotel (reserving room, spaces, food). Donations, raffle and auction brought in all the money which then gets passed onto TDIClub.
I was horribly scared (like many other organizers) when it was coming close to fest time and we were not even close to breaking even. Eventually registrations were enough to cover the minimum on the hotel and for the spaces we reserved and I wasn't as worried. Then count in the donated items for raffle, auction, or donated $ and at the end of the weekend we were able to send a check to Fred to support the TDIClub for another year but it really isn't about the end dollar amount.
 

Chris Tobin

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2011
Location
Tennessee
TDI
'06 Jetta TDI
As one of the organizers of a past fest I can see why Chris Tobin is asking the question. Having an understanding of the profit goal helps when it comes to pricing the venue, event costs, food costs, etc.

Like you found out Fred is an amazing guy, very nice, very personable and happy to spend a weekend just enjoying himself. He considers the TDIFest to be for the members of TDIClub and not for himself. As organizers of the fest we did our best to get some additional perks for Fred (room, food, whatever comped or paid out of our budget) but it's honestly more about bringing a great experience for all members.

We pretty much broke even on the events with the cost of the hotel (reserving room, spaces, food). Donations, raffle and auction brought in all the money which then gets passed onto TDIClub.
I was horribly scared (like many other organizers) when it was coming close to fest time and we were not even close to breaking even. Eventually registrations were enough to cover the minimum on the hotel and for the spaces we reserved and I wasn't as worried. Then count in the donated items for raffle, auction, or donated $ and at the end of the weekend we were able to send a check to Fred to support the TDIClub for another year but it really isn't about the end dollar amount.
Thanks... So generally speaking the registrations should be enough to cover the expenses then the extra stuff like the raffle and auction go to making up any deficit and running the site for another year...
 

CoJoNEs

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2003
Location
Cincinnati
TDI
2002 Golf; 2015 Golf
Thanks... So generally speaking the registrations should be enough to cover the expenses then the extra stuff like the raffle and auction go to making up any deficit and running the site for another year...
Yes that's how we worked it. From what I was told a lot of other fests were run the same way
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
I'll go ahead and throw it out there... after all of the Fest expenses are paid, our goal for the event is to generate in the neighborhood of $10,000 - $15,000. Building a little slush fund is essential so that we have the ability to continue operations if one TDIFest falls short and doesn't generate any funds.
 

Chris Tobin

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2011
Location
Tennessee
TDI
'06 Jetta TDI
MonsterTDI09, DFTT man, DFTT! :D
REALLY! I'm a troll?!?!?! I have been a member on here for a little longer than you, are you a troll too? And I have written several articles in a nationwide magazine to promote and direct readers to tdiclub.com!:D

What exactly have you or MonsterTDI09 done for tdiclub???:eek:
 

Chris Tobin

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2011
Location
Tennessee
TDI
'06 Jetta TDI
I'll go ahead and throw it out there... after all of the Fest expenses are paid, our goal for the event is to generate in the neighborhood of $10,000 - $15,000. Building a little slush fund is essential so that we have the ability to continue operations if one TDIFest falls short and doesn't generate any funds.
Close to $1000/month makes sense to me, thanks for sharing...
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
Close to $1000/month makes sense to me, thanks for sharing...
You're welcome. And on that note, this thread has run its course. Anyone wishing to further discuss specific location options, please feel free to start a thread in this forum about your location of interest. Discussions do not have to be for 2014... you're more than welcome to plan farther down the road... perhaps 2015 or 2016.

As for your snide remark about what Monster has done lately, both Monster and Mrs. Monster have volunteered countless hours of their time supporting several recent TDIFests.
 
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