BA-DA BA-DA BING BANG RALLY - Atlantic, IA

[Another Ahab]

It just seems like only a year ago that it was time for the BA-DA BA-DA BING BANG Rally.

PM me, if you are not in my super-secret club and receive the emails.

Hey, GUNNUT, you know the old saying:

- "Any two people can keep a secret if one of them is dead"

So how can anybody except you know about your suoer-secret club?!

 

[GUNNUT in Iowa]

Hey, GUNNUT, you know the old saying:

- "Any two people can keep a secret if one of them is dead"

So how can anybody except you know about your super-secret club?!

There are about 70 individuals that receive the "informational" emails including three "group lists" of about 20 per list. So . . . maybe 130 or so folks in the Super Secret Club. I do imagine some of those folks forward the messages to others. I am not all that concerned about somebody getting the information. I just try to keep the email addresses close to "home" so everybody doesn't get a bunch of spam.

I also have a "group list" of the Owner/Operators only. That list has about 35 folks that just receive information about the Rally concerning them and their vehicles. Of course, the Owner/Operators are in the other list.

After typing all of that, a couple of things start to be obvious. It is a pretty big Club - and - it might not be as secret as I think it is.

 

[GUNNUT in Iowa]

It appears I am a little late on announcing my decision.

ARISE has NOT been able to have any meetings to discuss the Rally.

There has been no request to the City Council for a parade permit.

The Owner / Operator participation gifts have NOT been ordered.

All work on the construction of the special display has halted.

The medical items from my Military Collection have been returned to their proper storage locations (now, that is some irony, huh?).

The “extra super secret” door prize will not be awarded. In fact, I am not real sure what I will do with it – except I will strip some parts off of it.

The “FREE STUFF” table will not happen and I expect most all of it will end up in the dumpster.

The trophies that were ordered last year are still sitting in the boxes and the labels have been printed. I am not sure what to do with them.

Posters have already been printed and some have already been distributed. I hope anyone planning on coming will call first. If you know someone that is planning, please tell them about this message.

The sixth annual BA-DA BA-DA BING BANG Rally scheduled for May 16, 2020 is canceled. This cancellation is effective immediately – and possibly permanently.

Thanks to all of you that contributed to the success of The BA-DA BA-DA BING BANG Rally.

Steve L.

 

[Another Ahab]

The sixth annual BA-DA BA-DA BING BANG Rally scheduled for May 16, 2020 is canceled.

Cancelled for 2020 understandably (dire circumstance dictates dire measure), but surely the postponed Sixth will have it's day in the sun someday, don't you think maybe, GUNNUT?

2021? 2022? 2222?!!!

 

[Major Asstyrd]

Odd ending, seems like a post about the virus and government cancelling the event is not there.

GUNNUT you have the organizational skills and energy to help lead a MVPA convention. I don't know how many volunteers there are in your area but most jobs will be event week so possibly volunteers can come from all around. Maybe some of the past participants in your show would want to work on it and take some credit?

The MVPA seems to have loosened their rule about needing a local affiliated club to be the host.

 

[GUNNUT in Iowa]

Odd ending, seems like a post about the virus and government cancelling the event is not there.

GUNNUT you have the organizational skills and energy to help lead a MVPA convention. I don't know how many volunteers there are in your area but most jobs will be event week so possibly volunteers can come from all around. Maybe some of the past participants in your show would want to work on it and take some credit?

The MVPA seems to have loosened their rule about needing a local affiliated club to be the host.

Thank you for the kind words.

Some further explanation on my decision.

Currently our state (Iowa) governor has only issued one "order" that will effect the Rally. We do NOT have any type of "stay at home order". We do NOT have a requirement to wear a mask in public. We do have forced closings of many private owned business, but most are doing the best they can to keep a cash flow - take out orders, curbside service, home delivery, limiting access numbers, etc. We do have mandatory school closings, no graduations, no sports, etc. Most of the activities in the city parks are closed.

The primary "order" is the "no more than 10 people in a group" thing. I serve on the Atlantic Color Guard and participate in military funerals. Our yearly average number of funerals in the last 6 years is 19. This year we have done 4 - and the last one of those was on January 17th. We can't even participate in a military funeral because there will be more than a total of 10 people at the service. There is no indication this order will be removed in the next 30 days. There is an update from the governor every weekday with the "latest and greatest" (mostly numbers). This order alone will prohibit the BA-DA BA-DA BING BANG Rally from happening.

There is one other issue. The governor decided I don't need to get my hair cut so she closed all of the barber shops. To show my acknowledgement of her order, I have decided I don't need to shave. I look like Hell, but visual reminders sometimes work the best to illustrate a point.

My wife and I considered postponing the Rally back in January. We have always wanted to go to the rally in Findlay, OH. Of course the Bing Bang Rally is on the same weekend. This year was especially noteworthy because of the MVPA National Convention. We decided it would be dangerous to not have the Rally one year since we thought it would be difficult to get it going again. Wow! How things work out sometimes? No rally in Findlay. No MVPA convention in Findlay. No choice on the Bing Bang Rally this year.

It was a tough decision. One of the things I really like to do at the Bing Bang Rally is to have a "special display" of items from my military collection. In fact, I have even been purchasing specific items to add to this year's proposed display. I also spend a little extra effort making the actual display memorable. This year was going to be the medical section of the collection - just a little shy of 200 items. Have you ever tried to make a giant band-aid (over 2 feet long)? I made one prototype and had plans and materials to make at least two dozen of them. Oh, well I still have the materials for the band-aids and over 100 feet of cotton gauze.

Last December I bought and picked up in Corpus Christi, TX a new fuel tank for my MB. I also got a dash panel and firewall for an MB. I did not need it, but I thought perhaps some of the Bing Bang owner/operators might enjoy winning it as a door prize. It looks like it will remain sitting in the garage at The Armory for quite awhile now.

Yes, I do have organizational skills. Back in 2014 I received a phone call from a couple of guys that wanted me to put together an Honor Flight to Washington, DC. I had never done anything like that, but they asked - and paid for it - so it happened. It is easier than normal when folks just give you over $100,000 and say make it happen. They called on March 13th. We went "wheels up" on June 17th - 96 days later. One hundred sixty two folks had a very memorable experience.

However, realistically the city of Atlantic does not have the facilities available to host an MVPA convention. There are many reasons but the truth of the matter is a town with less than 7,000 people just doesn't have what the MVPA needs.

The good news is that everybody that responded to my email about this year's Rally indicated they would see me next year.

Thanks for letting me vent.

You folks do remember you are the reason there is a BA-DA BA-DA BING BANG Rally in the first place, right?

 

[Major Asstyrd]

Great background, thanks. But what about Omaha? There is some interesting military history there and maybe some sites for tours. Or other cities bigger than where you are. These conventions need to go to all parts of the country and even though your area is not too far from past convention sites you would draw MVs and people who have not attended those shows. No doubt there are a LOT of MVs within a one day tow away.

If or when you do another regional event, try to not step on another MV event, especially if its bigger because they will step on you. Move to a different venue if necessary. Be a month away from the other show or do it the week before or after to catch participants who will make a loop.

Including a swap meet / vendor event will attract more people and MVs. People will travel to buy or sell. It's worked for our big annual events in North-Central California since the 1970s. I have worked on dozens of these since the 1980s plus some non-swap meets and I have seen the difference. Not to say pure social, display, and/or driving events aren't important because they are.

My 2 cents worth.

 

[WalkingToFreedom402]

We appreciate all of the work that you put into this yearly Steve.

I think that the opposite may be true if you skip a year especially under these circumstances...even more people could make the effort in 2021.

 

[GUNNUT in Iowa]

We appreciate all of the work that you put into this yearly Steve.

I think that the opposite may be true if you skip a year especially under these circumstances...even more people could make the effort in 2021.

So . . . no Findlay in 2021 either?