I too am a shy guy and passed by the tent a few times and just so happens no one was there. I am not making excuses because there is only so much time in the weekend and I had to make choices. I come down with family members who are not members nor computer people. Makes it tough to split time with vendors, guys in my car year, looking at other cars, and coordinating meetings and food with the family.
Here is my take on the whole we aren't a great website or we never have enough people at events. I was talking to the guy with a 70 Mach next to me, he was in the Mustang Club of Central PA and they had a hopping tent. Granted they are the local club but just listen to that statement, "Central PA" meaning a concentrated group of people that see each other often and have monthly meetings in person.
NYM is a state wide website and NY is huge, the event coordinators do an awesome job for their regions but it is a tall order just for regionals. When something is bigger than one region we start dividing and it doesn't take long to lose people along the way. People are in other smaller clubs local to their region, also the numbers of people that can make an event outside their region are fewer. When the same 20 people go to their regions NYM events and then maybe 5 of them can make something like Carlisle they are not as familiar with others like a very specific regional club like Central PA. That takes a lot to overcome, I am sorry it is that way but it is. Given the huge gaps in car years, regions, lack of face to face events where people get to know each other it is a huge ask to to expect all of NYM to show up in PA and be a cohesive unit.
We have huge numbers and nothing against Mike who created this but the roots of this club is the Web even though I am sure the intention was to be a big car club with functions. Forums and internet came first and regions and events came second. A lot easier to have a huge online presence and socialize with people across the entire state. I am on other websites like Vintage Mustang Forums and a 69-70 only forum, I am sure they have huge numbers too but they also deal with the same issues. The VMF forums had an outside MORE parking spot at the 50th in Charlotte that you can only get with 25 cars or more. Most of those people came back and said they never spoke to more than a handful of VMF people, they saw their cars but people were never at their cars long. Just too hard to identify, you don't see them monthly if ever other than an avatar. I probably walked by ten NYM's and had no idea at Carlisle. Matter of fact @
reptilla walked past me in Applebee's in Painted Post on Sunday and I knew I knew him but it only made sense when i saw him get to his car. I recognized the car he got in before I could put the name to his face inside (sorry Reptilla that was me in the booth next to you).
Another thing that is a reality for me and maybe not others but I don't commit to things until the last minute based on the weather. I don't have modern conveniences such as actual working wipers and a defroster that does something. Probably the same for others even with new cars, waiting to make sure it wont hail or snow for some shows in NY. I hate laying out there that I will be there to every event only to back out every time.
I am sorry that I did not know about the tent, I assumed the tent was provided by Carlisle like last year? Did we pay last year, I thought if the enough people registered under our name it was given to us?
I don't know, maybe I am nuts and this is the reason we don't show well but I feel like I needed to get that off my chest. I know that is being selfish sometimes not to get super involved but there are circumstances that work against us. Family, kids, geography, other hobbies, work, and weather make a huge number of people online really small on paper at any event. Sometimes even being a die hard car guy isn't enough anymore to make every single event consistently.