I was just about to say the exact same thing! I mentioned this to Gayla and Cynthia earlier today. I think that the original meetup members ought to be the committee that gets to vote and decide. We committed to the very first meetup and we were actually there. We KNOW that the members who were there are serious about coming so I think the ones that were there should get to choose.

while i agree.. i think it is being a bit unfair to those who for whatever reason coudlt' go last year.. it doesn't mean they are less committed or less serious about this coming year

I will again volunteer my organizational skills to coordinate the next meet up. I am the only original committee member from the very beginning of the planning stages who continued on the committee and attended the meet-up. I am also hoping that Lisa with all her wonderfully organized spreadsheets and Michelle who handled donations for the raffle and goodie bags will also be on the committee again.

Although I really like the idea of Nashville - last year when this process began, the decision was made to start at the central point of the US and then do one on each coast in subsequent years. For that reason only, I think that rules out everything in the middle of the US (Texas included) for at least next year. Personally, I would rather plan just one coast one year and the next coast the next year. That way if folks want to do both, it is much more reasible that two in one year.

Also, the time of year was decided to allow those who want to travel as families to be able to do so. Although holidays weekends can be good, prices definitely go way up for anyone traveling (both gas prices and flying/trains) and sometimes even hotel accomodations are more during holidays weekends.

The campground idea only works if the weather cooperates completely and also does not allow for any indoor activities or pre-arranged groups meals. In my mind, that also cancels that out (even with chalets and cabins available).

And finally, I do think the location for next year should be determined primarily by those who actually attended this meet-up!!!!!!

Okay - that is my complete two cents (at least for now)!!!!!

I was talking to Gayla and Cynthia today about the next location. I don't necessarily care WHERE it is as long as it is affordable, within a 12-hour drive for us again, and IN A HOTEL. I just don't see how a campground would work well...what if we have bad weather for one thing? Second, a few dogs got lost at our KC meetup a couple times (one of which we found in the hotel kitchen :eek:). The owners were worried looking for their babies..but can you imagine if we are OUTSIDE and one gets lost? We might never find it. I and others can NOT trust our dogs outside off-leash and that would really limit our fun at a yorkie meetup if our dogs can't get down and mingle with the others.

Okay...here's my thoughts on TEXAS again.... we have a LOT of active YT members in Texas. The Dallas and Houston meetups always have great turn-outs. If the meetup is in Texas I know that we'd have a huge turn-out of Texas members...I can think of many many many members that would come from the Dallas area, Houston area, Austin area, and central TX area. Also, we have some big vendors in Texas such as Tinkerbell's Closet (shanatink), Prissy Paw Fashions (crb), Fufu Fashions, etc....so we might have a great vendor turnout. Texas has a few very dog friendly cities, and there are Drury hotels if that's the direction we want to go in. And we'll be inside the majority of the time so I don't see the heat really being a concern. And like someone mentioned earlier, it's not as hot in Texas in June..more so later in the summer. And I think it's going to be hot anywhere we go in the summer.

yes yes and yes :) i think you all should organize it (assumng you all want to) and i agree with the coasts.. i forgot about that from last year. and the more i think about it the more i like a hotel :D

Thankyou for volunteering to get us going for next year! I'll definitely try to help in any way I can!

Well I didn't go this year for several reasons, the distance being one of them, but we did attend the year before in Ann Arbor. I realize that wasn't planned by YT though.
I think realistically it's going to be difficult to pick a location that will work for everyone coast to coast. Maybe two would be the answer, I don't know.
I know we would love to go next year and meet tons of people and Yorkies from YT!
I love the idea of IL,IN, MI, TN, NC or SC.

Just another thought, if you do want to make this more about chilling out and spending time with just the group, then it seems to make sense to try and find a place that is easily accessible to get to and affordable to stay.

I would love to actually attend one but this year it was just too far away. Therefore I will keep an eye out to see where you guys arrange the next one and hopefully I can make it. :D

well im all for the eats coast or wesor texas as long as its a town with puppy stores so i can shop for my pup i know dallas has glamour dog and la/hollywood has fifi and romeo i do plan on going to stores that sell pet stuff

Thanks for volunteering to step up and organize. I especially agree about the fairness of doing it on one of the coast since it was in the midwest this year. I too think there only needs to be one big meetup per year, I think if there were two it just wouldn't work out as well and both would have low attendance.

I just want to say .... Jodie You did a Great job and I would love for you to do it again.

I also need to say.. That if we want more people to come we really need to try to keep costs down. I hope that we can accomplish this.

i mean east coast or west coast or dallas texas

I would have liked to attend the one in Kansas, but at this particular time...it was lack of funds.

I personally don't like the idea of each coast. Too far one way or the other for alot of people. Why not take the map of the U.S., divide it in half and then pick a central location for each half...kind of like everyone in each half meet in the middle? Just a thought.


Wanted to clarify....only one meet up each year, but centrally located in each half.

:thumbup::thumbup: Affordability is a HUGE thing I think. We want a nice place to stay, in a nice location, etc....but it's also got to be affordable.

We did the best we could with needing to use a hotel type of venue and will do our best again. The hotel costs were actually very reasonable if you were sharing a room. Even with getting an extra "Parlor" so our room was kind-of like a suite, each of us paid under $100 for a two night stay. With Cyndi and I driving, we had an extra two nights (one in KC and one in IN) but our costs each were only $200 total. Gas was another $150 each and as we brought tons of snacks with us, we didn't eat out at all. We registered as soon as registration opened up so that was only $50 fo each of us as well. So, for a 5 day weekend trip, our total (minus shopping) was $400 each.

I doubt anyone can do much better than that without being at a camping-type of a venue. If I just wanted to hang out, a camping venue could be nice. But to organize speakers, have vending, and have activities, a camping venue just doesn't offer the facilities we need. Also, everything we did was private for our group to help protect our babies (and ourselves) from potential theft. This was a strong consideration in everything we planned.

my thoughts
 

I couldn't agree more, but that's just my opinion ;) And if we want as many people as possible to attend, then we kind of need to get everyones input and where they would and wouldn't go. I do understand about not wanting the extra vote from those who really don't have any intention of coming, but maybe the whole donation thing like Cindy said would help weed that out?? If your serious about attending then $10 to get things started should be reasonable, and then it could go towards the meetup.
I also agree with getting some kind of committee together here soon, or this thread is just going to go on forever the same way. Nothing being decided. Jodie, I say go for it! Or anyone else except myself, as I am sooo not that organized to be of any help, and you know what needs to be done. :D
Just my 2 cents for what it's worth;)

I know you guys are talking about one of the coast...but i did a little research that might surprise you....i map quested the areas most of the ones that have been talking on this thread so far....and it is very interesting that Nashville TN is very centrally located to all of you...each of you were within 6-12 hours away ....with the closest being Columbus Ohio (wasnt sure of the city so used it for example) and the farthest being College Station Tx....except for Ontario Canada and some in California and Nebraska...I know you guys are trying to be as fair as you can....and from what i saw about the KC meetup...you guys did a great job with the organization....so im glad you are in charge again.....again this was just research to see how far everyone would have to drive or fly

are there dog stores in nashville or pet friendly shops iv never been there

i will need to investigate that a little more...Ido know that they have quiet a few dog-friendly parks there.....and someone said earlier that Drury Inns are very pet-friendly( no fees).....and i have actually stayed in the Drury Inn there ,,,,it was very nice......let me see what i can find out and i will get back with you ladies..

well im 11 hours from nashville tn

what part of NC?

Thanks for the research! I've heard TN can be nice...and if it's within a 12 hour drive, then I think we from College Station could probably make it. Was there are Drury Hotel there?

when i map quested it College Station TX is 12 hours and 31 minutes from Nashville....and yes they have a Drury Inn....it is less than 2 miles from the Airport

i live in elizabeth city nc its a small town but growing . i like living im a small town i just cant shop in a small town cause there are no stores i always have to drive 1 hour away to virginia to shop . i do not have my baby yet im still looking

:DMichelle, I found this for Nashville....
Nashville Airport - Drury Inn & Suites

555 Donelson Pike
Nashville, Tennessee, 37214
P: 615-902-0400 · F: 615-902-0400

This is my two cents about voting to decide a location:

I think that either-

A) in order to vote you must be a donating YT member

or

B) You should have to donate a small amount $5-$10 in order to vote


I don't really agree on only letting those that attended this year to be able to vote.

If the location is decided early enough then I will try my darndest to save up enough money to come. There are some places that I will just not spend money to go to (since I will probably make it more than a just a wknd trip).. but you can't please everyone and I realize that. If a location is choosen for 2009 that I don't want to go, I'll just wait for the 2010 meetup.

I don't think you should have to be a donating YT member. There are already soooo many privledges to being a donating member, and I know some non-donating people feel like they aren't as special or important. I feel that the meet up is one thing that shouldnt have anything to do with donating members.

Though making a small donation to weed out the people who aren't actually interested sounds like a good idea to me. The money can be put towards the meetup to make it more affordable for people.

JMHO! :)

My reasoning for suggesting that was because typically the ones that are serious about the site and do things such as the meetups are the ones that donate to the site as well. But I see your point.

I agree 100%

I did a little Mapquest'ing for us Ohioan's since there are a few. I used my town of Wooster which is kind of central for Ohio as a starting point to get idea's on drive time and distance to a few locations that have been mentioned.
Chicago, IL.~~~~~6 hours~~350 miles
Nashville, TN~~~~~7.4 hours~~476 miles
NYC, NY~~~~~~~8 hours~~470 miles
North Carolina~~~8.5 hours~~500 miles
Georgia~~~~~~~12 hours~~765 miles
Orlando, FL~~~~~15 hours~~992 miles
Texas~~~~~~~~21.5 hours~~1350 miles
California~~~~~~35 hours~~2500 miles

I can do the top 4, but no way the bottom 4 as I will be driving, lol!