Scott, I was unaware of the DATR history. Isn't the show only like 4yrs old or something? I distinctly remember the E719 | DATR convo earlier in the year, but still thought that the show was concieved here and by the core 719 folks and was largely put on by 719 folks, which in my mind makes it primarily 719's show. If there was no 719 input, there would be no show, so they aren't totally seperate entities.
DATR is in it's
SEVENTH (7TH) year.
So let me say this again. NO
DATR existied
before 719. Before means it came first, meaning there was no such thing as 719. It was basically Scott and alot of help from his friends, most of which weren't even VW enthusiasts. Scott put up his own personal time and money the first couple years to get DATR off the ground.
DATR was
not conceived here by the core 719 folks. There was no such thing as 719 had not even been thought of, let alone conceived.
DATR was conceived by me suggesting to Scott one day that Colorado Springs needs it's own VW show/event. Scott took that suggestion and built DATR from the ground up. Niether I nor Scott were directly affiliated with any type of VW Club and 719 was not in the picture.
Be careful how you define "input" , if by input you mean that 719 has in the past provided a lot of folks to work at the show setting up and running different things at the show...then yes your definition is correct.
If your definition of input meant that 719 members have input and a say so as far as anything concerning how the show is organized or ran then you are wrong.
I'm not trying to downplay 719's contribution to DATR in the past as we all know it probably wouldn't have achieved the notoriety that it did without all the help 719 members contributed at show time. Let's not get it twisted though.
Yes, DATR is an entirely separate entity from a ownership/ management perspective.What most people have no concept of is the huge amount of hours that the planning committee pours into DATR. That is truely where all the "heavy lifting" gets done.
As for the current state of DATR. I'm not going to shoot anyone a line of bullshit. We all know that Scott was the person that made the DATR world go around. When Scott found out that he would be moving away from the Colorado area I know for a fact that he trained/groomed some people to fill his shoes once he was gone. All was well until prior to last year (the first year it had to be ran without Scott around) the key players that Scott groomed as his replacements threw their arms in the air and flat out quit. No transition to a new planning committee, nothing, nada. Just, "I quit" Goodbye.
As some of you know a few folks rallied together last year and threw a show together. Yeah it wasn't one of the best years but it was better than nothing. This year has had it's growing pains as well but things are moving forward, albeit at a slower pace but that's because people are learning. I think eventually if people stay dedicated to the cause DATR will once again be the event that Scott made it to be. It's just going to take time.
One thing..as far as updates go and this applies to the planning committee. Sometimes saying you have no updates is better than making no updates at all. Know what I'm saying?
