JANUARY GATHERING UPDATE; URGENT

[David Pratt]

JANUARY UPDATE!!!

It is now less than a 2 Months until the 2020 Bill D's Monacoers Gathering


THIS UPDATE IS LONG AND INCLUDES CHANGES AND A LOT OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE GATHERING. I suggest printing it out and keep for reference.

Again I want to thank everyone that has Registered and Posted that you will be attending Bill D's 2020 Gathering at Lazydays RV Resort in Seffner,
Florida. Tuesday, February 11th, 2020 thru Sunday, February 16, 2020;

As of this date  We have only FORTY EIGHT (48) Members that have Confirmed they have made Reservations with Lazydays for the Gathering. This is short of our 50 Coach Minimum to keep our group discount.

Any Members or Guests that are going to attend the Gathering and are not staying at Lazydays RV Park, but are going to join us for the Evening meals must make Reservations with Lazydays and notify me by email. Lazydays will collect your money when you register at the office for the meals only when you check in.. This will make sure that they have a correct head count for the Meals. There is no charge for anyone who wants to attend any of the Seminars.


THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS LONG AND EVERYONE WHO IS GOING TO ATTEND THE GATHERING SHOULD SAVE AND/OR PRINT THIS OUT.

I WILL BE POSTING OTHER UPDATES AND INFO AS THINGS PROGRESS!!!!!

The Bill D's Monacoers 2020 Gathering is going to be held February 11th, 2020 thru February 16th, 2020 at Lazydays RV Park, 6210 County Road 579, Seffner, Florida 33584.

FOR RESERVATIONS CALL; 1-800-905-6627

The following is the Reservation Rates and Preliminary Agenda for the Monacoers 2020 Bill D's Gathering.

REMEMBER, The Rates for the Gathering include your Full Hook Up Site with 50AMP service, all (5) of the Evening
Buffett Meals, all the Seminars/Presentations during the week .

Rates for the 2020 Gathering are as follows;

Couples - $533.61 includes all Taxes, Two Adults per coach, Pets included.

Single - $467.15 includes all Taxes, One Adult per coach, Pets included.

Meals Only and Seminars - $132.00 plus Taxes per Couple or $66.00 per Individual

These Rates reflect a 10% discount based on a minimum of 50 Coaches. We will lose the discount if we have less than 50
coaches.

Lazydays has blocked 60 sites for the 2020 Gathering, FIRST COM - FIRST SERVE!

YOU MUST BE A MONACOERS YAHOO GROUP MEMBER TO BE ELIGIBLE TO ATTEND THE GATHERING

Lazydays is now accepting Reservations.

When you make your Reservation you will be asked for a credit card number for a deposit. Your Credit Card will not
be charged until you check in for the Gathering .

After you make your Reservations You must post to the Forum you have confirmed your site so I can CONFIRM THAT YOU ARE A MEMEBR, keep track and have a record of those who will be attending.

AGAIN;; When you have confirmed your Reservations with Lazydays please post to the Forum notifying me that you have registered.

There is still plenty of time to get your  Registrations in and have a great showing.

Any comments or suggestions are welcomed. You can either post them to the forum or Private Email Me.

We are working on a Flea Market Program so members can sell their unwanted parts, so bring your unwanted stuff. Your Junk may be somebody else's TREASURE!
 
The Lazydays Chef will also be doing a Presentation, "Unlocking the Mystery’s of Microwave/Convection Oven Cooking" on Thursday, February 13th at 1:30PM;

I CANNOT EXPRESS ENOUGH THAT IT VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE NEED AS MANY MEMBERS ATTENDING THESE SEMINARS AS POSSIBLE. THE PRESENTERS ARE THERE FOR YOU AND TO GIVE YOU VALUABLE AND UPDATED INFORMATION AND TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS. IT IS GETTING VERY DIFFICULT TO GET THE PRESENTERS TO COME AND PARTICIPATE WHEN NO ONE SHOWS UP FOR THEIR PRESENTATION.
EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT THAT INTERESTED IN THE TOPIC THAT IS BEING PRESENTED, EVERY MEMBER SHOULD ATTEND THE SEMINAR OUT OF RESPECT FOR THE PERSON WHO IS GIVING UP THIER TIME TO PRESENT THE INFORMATION TO YOU. YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU MIGHT LEARN!

The following is the Preliminary Schedule and Seminar Agenda for the 2020 Monacoers's Gathering.

ALL THE PRESENTATIONS/SEMINARS ARE OPEN TO ALL THE LADIES, PLEASE ATTEND!!!!!

2020 Bill D's Monacoers Gathering Schedule and Seminar Agenda;

Tuesday, February 11th, 2020 – Arrival Day & Registration

5:00 PM - Meet and Greet Party, Includes; Honey Baked Ham  Served with Sweet Potato Casserole, Green Bean Casserole, Garden Salad, Fresh Baked Artisan Rolls and Butter, Variety of Layer Cakes; assorted soda, water, tea, coffee (Reg & Decaf)

Wednesday, February 12th, 2020 - Seminars/Presentations;

• 9:00 AM - TYRON Bands Run Flat System and Tire Safety & Maintenance by Chuck Thatcher
• 10:30 AM - Body Caulking and Slide Floor Rot Repair & Maintenance by Chris Throgmartin
• Noon - Lunch
• 1:30 PM - Roof Care, Maintenance and Renovation Chris Throgmartin
• 5:30 PM - Baked Chicken Buffet Dinner; Includes:  Roasted Lemon Herb 1/2 Baked Chicken Served with:  Garlic  Mashed Red Potato's, Green Bean Alondine, Mixed Greens Salad w/Dressing, Fresh Baked Artisan Rolls and Butter, Apple Pie, Assorted sodas, water, tea, coffee (Reg.&  Decaf)

Thursday, February 13th, 2020 – Seminars/Presentations;

• 9:00 AM - Roadmaster Chassis Suspension Handling and Sheppard Steering Upgrades by Van Williams and Craig French.
• 10:30 AM - Fire Suppression and Fire Safety - FireFight by Jim Bounds
• Noon - Lunch
• 1:30 PM - Microwave-Convection Oven Cooking Class - Lazy Days Chef., NOT CONFIRMED!
• 5:30 PM -  Traditional Meatloaf Dinner Buffet; Includes: Meatloaf,  Buttery Mashed Potato's, Sautéed Broccoli, Garden Salad w/Dressing, Fresh Baked Artisan Rolls and Butter, Red Velvet Cake, Assorted sodas, water, tea, coffee (Reg.&  Decaf)

Friday, February 14th, 2020 – Seminars/Presentations;

• 9:00 AM - Cummins Engine Service and Maintenance by Cummins Rep - Dave Eaton
• 10:30 AM - Cummins/Onan Service and Maintenance by Bert Henderson
• Noon - Lunch
• 1:30 PM -  Allison Transmission Service and Maintenance by Allison Rep - Derek Gallo
• 5:30 PM -  Roast Beef Buffet Dinner;  Includes  Roast Beef w/Au Jous; Served with Scallop Potatoes, Roasted Vegetable Medley, Classic Caesar Salad, Artisan Rolls and Butter, Cheese Cakes; assorted soda, water, tea, coffee (Reg & Decaf)

Saturday, February 15th - Members Open Round Table Day

• 9:00 AM – Until -  Roundtable Maintenance Q & A hosted by David Pratt - Meet your Moderators, Open Discussions to Discuss Problems, Upgrades, Modifications, Technical Problems and Fixes with any/all of the attendees at the Gathering.
• BRING YOUR QUESTIONS AND PREPARE TO TAKE NOTES!!!!
• THIS IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT FOR NEW MEMBERS TO THE FORUM AND GROUP.
• This Round Table Discussion will be open all day to also include visiting other Members Coaches to see and Compare Modifications & Upgrades
• 5:30 PM - Southern Barbecue Buffet Dinner – Includes: BBQ Spare Ribs, BBQ Chicken & BBQ Pulled Pork.   Cold Slaw, Baked Beans, Corn Bread, Chocolate Chip cookies. Water/Assorted Sodas/Iced Tea and coffee (Reg & Decaf.

Sunday, February 16th, 2020– Departure Day

[Frank McElroy]

A PDF file copy including the agenda is also in the download files for easy hard copy printing.

[CountryB]

If we can't get to 50. would it be cheaper for those of us "48" attendees to just pay for "two more sites" (share the cost) - rather than all of us losing the discount and having to pay the full rate?

Is it just the cost of the "site" - or is it the full price of event (meals, seminars, etc.) that would have to be bought, to receive the discount?

[David Pratt]

We would lose the discount on the complete package,( RV Site and Evening meals) there is no charge for the Seminars. There is over a month before the Gathering and Lazy Days is accepting  Reservations. Our 60 sites are locked in until February 1st. I am sure we will have a few members who are on the Fence that will make their Reservations and put us over the minimum..

And there is always the "Negotiation Factor". We were up to 56 confirmed Reservations, but had 8 cancellations in the past month for various reasons that some did not notify me on the Forum.

I deal with this for every Gathering and I thought by posting early last year that it would improve the attendance. Last year we had over 60 coaches, I doubt we will get that many this year. This is a tough time of year for trying to fit the Gathering in where it does not interfere with other Venues or maybe there is just not that much interest anymore.

Chris Throgmartin and Scotty Hutto have been a great help trying to spread the word to other Monaco groups to get interest in coming to the Gathering. We just can not get over that 50-60 coach barrier.

It has been a Busy and Distracting Year, Moving to our new Website and dealing with all the Boggess Monacoers sites and forums has not helped either.

No reason to panic!!!!

See you all at the Gathering!!!!

[RustyTools]

Thanks for asking that, Mike.  I was wondering the same thing, and if it would be appropriate to suggest it.  Here's hoping it all works out!

 

Last year, I started out on the trip with a very bad sinus infection and almost totally-plugged ears (and missed hearing a lot,  even sitting in the front row), but we still went and it was pretty-much the highlight of my year.  Oops, I just realized you could take one of two ways - that the Gathering was either that good (...which it definitely was!) or that my life is that boring (...uhh,  no comment).

So, come on people.  SIGN UP * !  The things you'll learn from the fabulous presenters and the fun you'll have visiting with similar-minded folks can only be had at The 2020 Monacoers Gathering!   

* Besides, what else are you going to do in the middle of February?  This is Florida, baby!

Edited January 9, 2020 by RustyTools

[Chad Y]

We are hoping to be able to make it again. We will not know for sure til around the end of this month, but really hoping too!!

 

Chad and Lorre Y

07 Neptune

Central NC

[J & Di Cooper]

Hello All,

We've just recently joined  this site, referred here from our Colonial Virginians friends Dan and Pam.

At the moment we're 90/10% coming,  should have the various loose ends tied up by tomorrow, one way or the other.

Enjoy the journey.

John and Diane

2005 Windsor

Lynchburg Va

 

[J & Di Cooper]

Hello David,

We did call Lazy Days this afternoon and made our reservations to attend this event.

Justin could only confirm we have a spot from Feb 11th until Feb 15th,  i.e. he could not confirm site for Feb 16th.  However, he did charge my credit card the full amount of $533 saying this was a new policy, collect payment at the time reservation is booked.  He advised me to call back everyday to check for any possible cancellations for Feb 15th, thereby freeing up a spot for the last night.

Looking forward to meeting all the other Monacoers in a few weeks.

Enjoy life,

John

[David Pratt]

John

Lazyday's is not supposed to charge your credit card until you register when you arrive on the 11th as per our contract.  They only take your CC to make the Reservation. They have not done this to anyone else that I am aware of. I do not know who this Justin is. The Lady's who are handling our event at the Registration Desk are Barb and Rebecca.

Lazydays was holding 60 sites for the gathering until 02/01/2020 and then any sites that were not taken were going to go back in the system to be rented.

I will check into it tomorrow and find out what is going on. Unless they had a rush of reservations for the Gathering they should have been able to accommodate you.

You di tell them that you were part of the Monacoers Group??

[J & Di Cooper]

Hi David,

Yes, I did talk to Justin about ensuring I was part of the Monacoers group and wanted a site with the group.  At first he said they were completely booked out, after some discussion he decided there was 1 site left but only from Feb 11th until Feb 15th.  We discussed if i would be open to moving to another area for the last night and he knew that was somewhat of a hassle,  but i agreed as it's not really that big of an issue if needed.  However as of this afternoon they did not have another site available for Feb 15th, he advised me to call back everyday to check on possible cancellations.  I will do that.  

Not a huge issue that he needed to charge my card today,  just thought it might be good to pass along to others.   Of note, he did say they would send me an email with the confirmation number and the charges,  I haven't got that yet,  however he did give me a reservation confirmation number #16587659.

I will contact them tomorrow morning to confirm and check status update.

Looking forward to meeting the group, i've learned several very useful bits of information from the posts.

Thanks for your speedy reply.

John

David,

I noticed the 2-1-2020 cutoff date, that's why i called today.  Our other obligations were not 100% rescheduled until this morning.

Best Regards,

John

[David Pratt]

John

I spoke with Lazydays and Justin is a new hire and in training. He was not informed by Staff about the Gathering and how to handle the Reservations for the group.

Lazydays released the balance of our sites to be rented because there was not any more Members making reservations and they were need the sites as the Campground is full. They held them for as long as they could.

They told me that you should call everyday to check availability for a site for the whole gathering.

They have had another cancellation today, so you might call and see if you can get  that site. They will do there best to try and accommodate you. Try to speak with either Barb or Rebecca.

[Mel S - '96 Safari]

1 hour ago, David Pratt said:

John

I spoke with Lazydays and Justin is a new hire and in training. He was not informed by Staff about the Gathering and how to handle the Reservations for the group.

Lazydays released the balance of our sites to be rented because there was not any more Members making reservations and they were need the sites as the Campground is full. They held them for as long as they could.

They told me that you should call everyday to check availability for a site for the whole gathering.

They have had another cancellation today, so you might call and see if you can get  that site. They will do there best to try and accommodate you. Try to speak with either Barb or Rebecca.

David

Are you saying that the "new hire training" at Lazydays is the cause of John's problem?

If that's true, methinks  that Barb or Rebecca, (or someone higher up the Lazydays food chain),  should:

1.)  Arrange for John to have a reserved site for the whole gathering.

2.)  Call John with that news.  (and an apology).

[David Pratt]

The only mistake that Justin made was charging John the whole amount of his stay up front, MAYBE.

I posted back in April  2019 the dates for the 2020 Gathering. I posted the rates for the Gathering in August when Lazydays Started Taking Reservations.

I also have stated  in every Update that if you were thinking of coming to the Gathering to get your reservation in early as I could only reserve 60 sites. As I stated in every Update, Lazydays  was only taking your credit card number and not charging you to hold the reservation. That way if someone had to cancel you would not lose your deposit, but you had a confirmed site until you cancelled.

The original cut off date that Lazydays was holding was January 1st, 2020 and because of cancellations of some members and hoping that the late comers would get their reservations in, I was able to convince Lazydays to extend it to February 1st. Lazydays said they would try but they were being overwhelmed with reservations, so because there was not much activity from the Monacoers Group they released the sites a couple days early. At that time we had only 48 coaches registered for the Gathering. I seriously doubt that next year if we have a Gathering I will be able to get Lazydays to block more than 50 sites for us. 

Lazydays Policy on reservations changed this year and now when someone makes a reservation for any stay they will collect a deposit for the whole stay except for Groups.

Individuals making reservations that are coming to a Group Rally will only be charged  a deposit for one night to hold a site.  when John made his reservation the Gathering sites were all taken and the group reservation was over and Justin just followed the current policy as he understood it.

Johns problem was just a misunderstanding by a clerk and hopefully can be resolved to his satisfaction.

If John calls in everyday and checks, they will probably be able to accommodate him. I had another member cancel today and I sent John an email to call Lazydays and try to get his site before the rented it out.

No one owes anyone an apology. Lazydays bends over backwards to help me put the Gathering together every year. It is a lot of work and not easy to do to keep things working smoothly,