Tejano Scott
TGT Addict
Hicksville Planning Committee:
It brings me great happiness to introduce a new concept that TGT is trying for the next few Hicksville events. TGT Staff has created a Hicksville Planning Committee, or HPC for short, to address several issues regarding the Hicksville event. The Hicksville event has taken on a life of it’s own and has always been run by the efforts of volunteers. As this event has grown from a few people to 80+, we’ve become acutely aware that we must become better organized and deal with some of the issues that promise to undermine the Hicksville event if not addressed in a more coherent fashion.
Please allow me to answer a few questions you may ask:
1. Who are the members of the HPC and how were they chosen? The members of the HPC were chosen based off their contributions to past events. The decision to add these folks was made by me alone, Tejano Scott. The buck stops with me. That doesn’t mean I don’t recognize the contributions of every member who has made this event great, but I think we can all agree the following folks have gone out of their way to donate time, money, and effort to the Hicksville event. The HPC Members are: Glockster69, Younggun, Elbe, Benenglish, Shotgun Jeremy, AngeliaH, JTyler, RobertC1024, Vaquero, Glockowner, and Orbitup. Site staff is working directly with the HPC to ensure they have everything we need to host & (possibly) grow this event in the safest way possible. TGT Site owners Kevin and Lee have been extremely supportive in allowing this to happen. All of the other admins/mods are fully on board and I thank each of them.
2. What will the HPC do? The HPC will help organize our volunteer efforts to make sure several of the issues we’ve identified are addressed in the best way possible. Frankly, this event has grown to a size that requires better advanced planning. The HPC is simply going to be given a separate section of the site to discuss some of the issues we are experiencing and interface with site staff. It will not be a dictatorship and all ideas, etc. are still welcome. When appropriate, major decisions will still be made by the larger group.
3. I have contributed to Hicksville and feel I should be included in the HPC. What’s left for me? This event is nothing without our volunteers. We will still need every ounce of support we can get and then some. Please give this concept a chance and harbor no ill will against anyone but myself-Tejano Scott. The HPC Members did not ask for this, it was thrust upon them and they have agreed to assist site staff with addressing issues that impact the future of this event. Your input and efforts are still needed- yesterday, today, and always.
4. What issues does the Hicksville event face that makes TGT Staff believe we need an event planning committee? This event was easy to manage when we had 15-40 people in attendance. Now we are consistently drawing 65+ people, there are legitimate issues that must be addressed. For example, 3 major issues that must be immediately addressed:
Size of the Event in relation to Range Capabilities: Let’s face it, we all love Hicksville. None of us can dream of holding this event anywhere else. But we are threatening to be too large for the range to accommodate. 1 bathroom, 2-3 full time range staff, parking, camping pre-Hicksville, space on the rifle/pistol lines, etc. We are being presented with serious logistical issues associated with our size. The HPC is working already with JD Hicks to address all of these issues. Once workable solutions can be proposed, we will introduce these to the group and allow everyone to provide input and ideas. But we needed to have a centralized message and speaker with JD, as opposed to 15 random members calling him and throwing out ideas. If we want to fix issues related to the size of the event, we had to have better organization.
Safety: We want this event to be as safe as possible. There are safety issues that must be addressed. Full time volunteer RSOs are something I heard numerous people suggest at our previous meets. That is going to happen. We also believe we need to be smarter about our grand finale, we’ve all seen how devastating a blast we can inflict on these poor helpless cars. We can only scoot the car back so far. We are very fortunate that we have a very safe group, but let’s always strive to be safer and smarter. This event would lose everything that we love if even 1 person is injured out there.
Financial Issues: The expenses for this event have grown each time we’ve hosted it. We raised $477 dollars in donations last time, a very good number. However, several members have donated hundreds of dollars in food, tannerite, cars, wear & tear on their vehicles/trailers having to haul a blown up car around. My current guess is it would take approximately $1500 to cover the true expenses of this event. This event will only be a money making venture for the Hicks family. The site/sponsors will receive exposure and good press in exchange for any services provided/donated. Volunteers who shell out money to feed, buy tannerite, acquire cars, etc. deserve to be reimbursed at cost. Time is free. Whoever hauls the car needs to be paid (at a minimum) mileage to/from the event, scrapyard, etc. Any disposal/acquistion costs of the car need to be reimbursed. Extra money raised via raffles, donations, or any money making ventures should go towards: a) any range improvements we can help JD make; b) gets rolled over into a fund that goes towards paying expenses for the next event. Like it or not, organizing money for events like this is going to require oversight so members know that the money being raised is going towards the cause, as advertised.
Summary:
I love this event. It started as a small simple Central Texas range day idea from Younggun, that saw people like Glockster69 and Houston Crew crash the party. The first event was really special and we knew we had an awesome venue and the chance to grow this event. Hicksville has grown faster than any of us ever contemplated. It is important to maintain an outstanding relationship with the Hicks family, better plan for the size of the event, dramatically improve safety, and raise sufficient funds to cover the expenses of those who pay to make this event happen. Please be on the lookout for the discussion thread for the next event very soon. It is imperative to pick a date and get moving as quickly as possible. Once we have a date, we will want to start organizing efforts ASAP and getting feedback from everyone for issues that you think need to be addressed.
Finally, once again, if you have an issue about the HPC please PM me personally. I do not want there to be anyone upset about any of this. This should be accepted for what it is- EXTREMELY GOOD NEWS!!! Thank you to the HPC members for their assistance and thank everyone who makes this event awesome. Lastly, and most importantly, Curtis wants all of you to never forget- he is still the handsome one.
It brings me great happiness to introduce a new concept that TGT is trying for the next few Hicksville events. TGT Staff has created a Hicksville Planning Committee, or HPC for short, to address several issues regarding the Hicksville event. The Hicksville event has taken on a life of it’s own and has always been run by the efforts of volunteers. As this event has grown from a few people to 80+, we’ve become acutely aware that we must become better organized and deal with some of the issues that promise to undermine the Hicksville event if not addressed in a more coherent fashion.
Please allow me to answer a few questions you may ask:
1. Who are the members of the HPC and how were they chosen? The members of the HPC were chosen based off their contributions to past events. The decision to add these folks was made by me alone, Tejano Scott. The buck stops with me. That doesn’t mean I don’t recognize the contributions of every member who has made this event great, but I think we can all agree the following folks have gone out of their way to donate time, money, and effort to the Hicksville event. The HPC Members are: Glockster69, Younggun, Elbe, Benenglish, Shotgun Jeremy, AngeliaH, JTyler, RobertC1024, Vaquero, Glockowner, and Orbitup. Site staff is working directly with the HPC to ensure they have everything we need to host & (possibly) grow this event in the safest way possible. TGT Site owners Kevin and Lee have been extremely supportive in allowing this to happen. All of the other admins/mods are fully on board and I thank each of them.
2. What will the HPC do? The HPC will help organize our volunteer efforts to make sure several of the issues we’ve identified are addressed in the best way possible. Frankly, this event has grown to a size that requires better advanced planning. The HPC is simply going to be given a separate section of the site to discuss some of the issues we are experiencing and interface with site staff. It will not be a dictatorship and all ideas, etc. are still welcome. When appropriate, major decisions will still be made by the larger group.
3. I have contributed to Hicksville and feel I should be included in the HPC. What’s left for me? This event is nothing without our volunteers. We will still need every ounce of support we can get and then some. Please give this concept a chance and harbor no ill will against anyone but myself-Tejano Scott. The HPC Members did not ask for this, it was thrust upon them and they have agreed to assist site staff with addressing issues that impact the future of this event. Your input and efforts are still needed- yesterday, today, and always.
4. What issues does the Hicksville event face that makes TGT Staff believe we need an event planning committee? This event was easy to manage when we had 15-40 people in attendance. Now we are consistently drawing 65+ people, there are legitimate issues that must be addressed. For example, 3 major issues that must be immediately addressed:
Size of the Event in relation to Range Capabilities: Let’s face it, we all love Hicksville. None of us can dream of holding this event anywhere else. But we are threatening to be too large for the range to accommodate. 1 bathroom, 2-3 full time range staff, parking, camping pre-Hicksville, space on the rifle/pistol lines, etc. We are being presented with serious logistical issues associated with our size. The HPC is working already with JD Hicks to address all of these issues. Once workable solutions can be proposed, we will introduce these to the group and allow everyone to provide input and ideas. But we needed to have a centralized message and speaker with JD, as opposed to 15 random members calling him and throwing out ideas. If we want to fix issues related to the size of the event, we had to have better organization.
Safety: We want this event to be as safe as possible. There are safety issues that must be addressed. Full time volunteer RSOs are something I heard numerous people suggest at our previous meets. That is going to happen. We also believe we need to be smarter about our grand finale, we’ve all seen how devastating a blast we can inflict on these poor helpless cars. We can only scoot the car back so far. We are very fortunate that we have a very safe group, but let’s always strive to be safer and smarter. This event would lose everything that we love if even 1 person is injured out there.
Financial Issues: The expenses for this event have grown each time we’ve hosted it. We raised $477 dollars in donations last time, a very good number. However, several members have donated hundreds of dollars in food, tannerite, cars, wear & tear on their vehicles/trailers having to haul a blown up car around. My current guess is it would take approximately $1500 to cover the true expenses of this event. This event will only be a money making venture for the Hicks family. The site/sponsors will receive exposure and good press in exchange for any services provided/donated. Volunteers who shell out money to feed, buy tannerite, acquire cars, etc. deserve to be reimbursed at cost. Time is free. Whoever hauls the car needs to be paid (at a minimum) mileage to/from the event, scrapyard, etc. Any disposal/acquistion costs of the car need to be reimbursed. Extra money raised via raffles, donations, or any money making ventures should go towards: a) any range improvements we can help JD make; b) gets rolled over into a fund that goes towards paying expenses for the next event. Like it or not, organizing money for events like this is going to require oversight so members know that the money being raised is going towards the cause, as advertised.
Summary:
I love this event. It started as a small simple Central Texas range day idea from Younggun, that saw people like Glockster69 and Houston Crew crash the party. The first event was really special and we knew we had an awesome venue and the chance to grow this event. Hicksville has grown faster than any of us ever contemplated. It is important to maintain an outstanding relationship with the Hicks family, better plan for the size of the event, dramatically improve safety, and raise sufficient funds to cover the expenses of those who pay to make this event happen. Please be on the lookout for the discussion thread for the next event very soon. It is imperative to pick a date and get moving as quickly as possible. Once we have a date, we will want to start organizing efforts ASAP and getting feedback from everyone for issues that you think need to be addressed.
Finally, once again, if you have an issue about the HPC please PM me personally. I do not want there to be anyone upset about any of this. This should be accepted for what it is- EXTREMELY GOOD NEWS!!! Thank you to the HPC members for their assistance and thank everyone who makes this event awesome. Lastly, and most importantly, Curtis wants all of you to never forget- he is still the handsome one.