DMS Picnic - Post Event Deconstruction for Next Year

I think the auction would be great closer to the gift giving season,

The wind will be an issue if we are outside in Texas, almost any time
of the year, or weather! There is a reason I designed a wind proof
earring display for out booth, I remember chasing an earring display
down Main street in Dallas, and battling sleet and snow at the same
show 2 years later . That was the first weekend in April,

Food, too much is better than too little, One thing that can help is to
suggest to folks an amount to bring, like enough for 8 people, Now
that does mean than not everyone can try your favorite dish, but it does
help to make sure that folks don t take huge amounts home, also,

Thanks to whoever brought the fried okra! it was really good,

A suggestion, if folks eat at that Dicky s let them know you enjoyed
their meant at the Picnic, Tell other Dicky s the same. Let them
know that thy got business because of it. I think my hubby and I
will end up at Dickys more now, (we have tended to go to Springcreek)

A suggestion, lets make up some thank you certificates for them and for
the places that donated goodies, In the SCA we make photocopies with
a design that be painte in, so folks get something special looking, I could
easlity see a desgn with gears and paint brushes and saws and such alone
one side and a nicely calligraphy thank you, Copy them and then get folks
to color them in, I shows a special appreciation and in general folks remember
them, grat for the next time,
also when we have the list, we need to remember to thank the stores when we do in,

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This is makerspace; people do not sign up for stuff unless they have to. It was surprising how much food showed up.

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Thank-yous and tax writeoffs went out on Saturday to the companies involved. If anyone wants to make anything I will make sure it gets going. I will work on personal thank youā€™d to members this week. If anyone wants in on that let me know.

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How many businesses did we get stuff from?

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Iā€™d agree with a non holiday weekend. This weekend was packed for a lot of people. Adding another thing to it was impossible

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Company support:
Trinity dallas
Tanners Carrollton
Hobbytown USA Lewisville
Woodworld
Reynolds farmers branch
bookpixie design
Premier gallery flower mound
Ink asylum 26 tattoos and piercings hurst

I would have called more people/lined up more donations but the picking up of stuff was the issue for me. Very thankful for the members who were able to assist with that.

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Didnā€™t you also get something from Tandy?

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Yes sorry. The Ts are throwing me.
Tandy
Tanners
Trinity
All supported us

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Company sponsors for the picnic? You crushed it Nicole, just crushed it. Thanks for all you do!

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Yes, and of course Dickeys supported us with a super economical price for the catering!

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We have @rbox80 and Stephen the meat man to thank for that! Serious hookup.
I added potatoes the day before that hiked the bill up but gave us a tub of butter like no other.

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All of this is on the google form but I think it need mention again -

@dougemes and his wife gave a bracelet and an inkle loom
Fired arts gave a collection of ceramic goods
@Robert_Davidson gave a week in Florida at a beach house
@Cairenn_Day gave a jewelry assortment
@Comter gave a 3d printed dragon skull
@HankCowdog gave a pebble leather fieldsnote journal
Automotive gave free lift class passes
@Bill gave an arduino set and time with him
@wandrson gave his dulcimer stick and a framed print
@jeffbob gave an enormous box of turning wood and some yetis
@AlexRhodes and @MellissaRhodes gave a cornhole game
@Julie-Harris gave a diffuser necklace
Dan Q. Gave tattoo time (I canā€™t wait)
@creaturecarousel gave a delightful resin painting
@BenjaminGroves gave meat sweat lunch
@Kriskat30 gave cosplay item making

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@Tapper gave tutorial time
@JohnK gave some shapeoko art
@mkart gave some exotic wood
@Diplomat gave a custom chain maille bracelet
@mblatz gave tutorings for and end grain cutting board
3d fan donated a huge bucket of filament
@Hardsuit and astrud donated a fleece 8bit blanket
@John_Marlow donated a membership to a firearms legal organization for a year
@Heather_Williamee donated the creation of a maker portrait
@Photomancer donated his actual hair (did you read the note in the envelope in the bagā€¦Iā€™ll find it for you)

So many people helped lug things to the picnic. @BenjaminGroves (who was on ā€œa cotton candy machine thatā€™s radā€ duty) @heyheymama (who was on ā€œhey chill outā€ duty) @jphelps (who was on waterballon duty)

Kris sewed drapes for the bathroom
So so so many people helped setup at the park
@coloneldan picked up everything from dickeys and transported it
@coul made a target/game in 30m flat for the water balloons but was crushed by the wind (till next time)

So many faces were wiling.
My right hand men @mreynolds made shirts, double checked the silent auction items three times with me and gleefully ate frenchfries with me in the car. Heā€™s a dms hero. @Adam_Oas was the smile of the thing and didnā€™t make fun of me when I dropped a watermelon in Walmart or sent him to three different places at once.

All I do is put crap on a calendar people.

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Michael Paskar made the posters
@MellissaRhodes was on coach duty
@missydee1206 was on recording duty
@PearceDunlap loaned us the game

Questions:

  1. would it be worth it to do the online auction all the way to the end making it all bidding/payment online? This would be about $120ish I believe.
  2. Did you like the park?
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For me online would be worth it. I spend more online when Iā€™m supposed to be working than I do while chasing kids at the park. I donā€™t know if that is true for everyone though. Loved the park!

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Th park was great. We need to decide however far out theyā€™ll let us to reserve it and decide to do it - where the grills are. We can have several of us make reservations so we can get more space and more time.

It was a nice pavilion, tables and rest rooms nearby (didnā€™t use so canā€™t vouch for them). But there was a play ground for kids and open areas to run around in. You picked a great space ā€¦ as usual.

The advantage as I see it, I think our horde would be just as happy with, burgers, dogs, or whatever someone wants to throw on the grill. Have you ever seen left out in galley with the word ā€œFREEā€ on it go to waste? It was really nice that Dickeyā€™s did really good by us food wise. We need to patronize them, even if just once and make sure the manager hears a thanks. They hear that 50 or 60 times they know it was a success.

Same for Tanners - who knows how members we have from their referrals. But I hear it all the time.

These are great fundraiser events for community - you waved you magic wand and made all look so easy and simple - we know it wasnā€™t. Thank you.

If PR has storage space, Iā€™ll get a mini-fund raiser going Iā€™ll get us the heavier chafing dish frames that hold the disposal aluminum pans for fast clean up. Great for our events and potlucks. Between coolers, the large thermos jugs/tanks, some chafing dishes we are pretty much set.

Next time we need to invite some media - that way they see us as the community we are and not just a building with a lot of great equipment. We MAKE each other better ā€¦ a very pay it forward thing.

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Youā€™re most welcome, that is why i bought the kites. I hope she made some good lifelong memories :slight_smile:

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She definitely did - thank you again for the kite and all of your hard work on the picnic!

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  1. Online will be difficult for some during the picnic. If you want maximum revenue, a live auction at the end is the way to go.
  2. Yes. In hindsight, McGinnish would not have worked out. We really needed that pavilion with all of those tables together.
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And the shade it provided! I can deal with wind, but direct sunlight is a nono!

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