Birth of this Forum
 

Since I am new to this forum, I am curious as to who started it. It looks great and very "familiar" to the big "CV" Forum. Any ideas on how to get this more active. We need more online activity and interaction with us Florida people. There must be a way to get this rolling. Perhaps make it a Corvette dating site for the singles....LOL Maybe more information about good and bad dealer encounters with sales and repairs. Who has been happy with delamination fixes? Most fun place to take your vette in Florida! Help me here...:banghead:

Well, I guess I have to take the rap for starting this place.......

As for getting it moving along, well honestly right now is the peak of my busy season with my business, so there's very little time available to do much about that. All it really takes is to extend invitations to other Florida Corvette owners you come across and to think of new interesting conversation here and contribute to ones already existing. Kind of a catch-22, though. We need more people here, but need to give them a reason for sticking around. And the reason they would want to stick around is because there are already a bunch of people here having lively conversations.

The BEST advice I can give is to LET NO QUESTION GO UNANSWERED. Someone posting a question and not even getting a single reply is about the most frustrating thing for anyone to go through. It makes them feel completely ignored. So make the effort. At least acknowledge that you have read their post and have tried to think of a helpful answer.

As for the suggestion about good and bad dealer encounters, that is what the BOARD OF INQUIRY forum here is for. And for fun places, the ON THE ROAD forum was set up with exactly that in mind.

So I think the building blocks for a solid foundation are all in place. All we need to do is to get some people here willing to start putting the rest into place.

And yes, I am working on getting some business cards made up and maybe some one page flyers to be handed out at Corvette shows and such. I would like to take out some ads in some of the Corvette magazines, but honestly, that takes more $$ then I am likely willing to throw around right now. So if you can think of someone who might like to be a sponsoring advertiser here, drag them on over. If I have the $$ coming in, then I can pump it right back into this site.

And thanks for your thoughts. And if you don't mind, I may move this to the Feedback forum where I think it would be more appropriate and likely to get more feedback from other members.

Oh well, back to the salt mines..............

The way to get this rolling is for you to post more:thumbsup:

I'll be going to a car show tonight and two all Corvette shows in the next month. Of course I'll be mentioning it to everyone I talk to. The business cards would be great Rich. I can chip in a few bucks if you like. Through PayPal maybe? I honestly wish I was more creative so I could come up with some ideas for a logo.

And you certainly don't have to tell me to post more :hehehe:

Scott

Would also be willing to throw in some $'s to help with cards Rich.

Jack

what are the dates and places of the shows? i would be willing to do the business card thing also. i visit old town for the saturday night cruise and there seems to be a few vettes that show up there. perhaps that could be a place to get some exposure.

Well I have a member here working on a card design, but it seems he is kind of busy with other stuff. He is actually helping me out with this, so I can't really flog him too harshly............ :rolleyes:

Well I do appreciate the offer, but honestly I just don't see this site getting the traffic to be worth much to anyone yet. I just feel I am not offering enough in return to even think of taking your money......

Heck it looks like many of the people who have already registered here aren't even visiting regularly any longer..... :nonod: Sort of puts a damper on my enthusiasm to try to get more sponsors. They just aren't going to be seeing the numbers to make it worthwhile to them.

All in due time, I guess.

The offer is always open Rich, just yell.:thumbsup:

Jack

September 2nd is Corvettes on the Pier in St. Petersburg and September 16th is a show at Dimmitt Chevrolet. I know at the Dimmitt show there will be lots of vendors. They will have Valve Cover races and what they call a "muffler rapping contest", which is just loudest exhaust at WOT.

Both flyers can be found above in the Calendar section. Hurry if you want to actually be in the show, you have to register soon. Hope to see you at both.

Z06Rocket also made me aware of a show at Old Town in Kissimmee the first weekend in October called VetteFest. Not much info on that one, but you can Google it.

I went to a local (Well 50-60 miles away for me) show tonight and took many, many pictures. When I have some time I'll post some of 'em up. Here's a teaser. '63 Stingray, '69 Yenko Camaro, a chopped Purple '55 Chevy and numerous other cars. Some really cool drag cars. I can't remember if it is the biggest weekly show in the county or state. During the better months, they can have up to 500 cars there!

Scott

i will be at the dimmitt show on the 16th for sure. i would like to catch the one at the pier too but it depends on work.

It is bottom line that the registered forum members need to keep responding to posts and starting new threads of interest. Hopefully getting the word out at shows will be a big help. Perhaps we could all do business cards on our computers and put member of "Corvette Forum. com" on them. I know several people that just put a pic of their vette on the car and maybe a phone number and email that they give out to new friends they make at events. Great job, Rich! :thumbsup:

I guess I'm going to have to try to find someone else to do the business card design for me. I've already contacted a place I found online. I guess I need to do my part in this if I want this site to get up a good head of steam and beginning to move along and not go stagnant.

I may look into 1 page flyers as well as they seem to be real good attention getters. Business cards will often get shoved into a pocket and forgotten about. Heck, I know I do that myself.

Got a big reptile show coming up next weekend, so if I do well there, maybe I'll have some extra money to throw into this.

But in the meantime, word of mouth invitations are probably the best thing you all can do to help out.

And yeah, I AM thinking about that logo to put on my own windshield again.... :shrug01: The ULTIMATE sacrifice, I guess.......

Thanks guys...

is that the one in daytona? if so i have a few friends that are going to be there.

you should have a little contest for all the members here. have a recruiting drive to see who can get the most new members to join in a month. the incentive could be a free membership to the site :lmao: or free snake or t-shirt. it would be nice to see the site take off and grow because it is nice to have a more local site to visit. the attitude on here is very relaxed and friendly. it is a good change from some of the bigger sites. i would be willing to do something, either windshield sticker or business cards or flyers whatever you want to go with. i would be willing to chip in on the cards or pay for the sticker.

How about CorvetteFlorida.com?:hehehe:

Good ideas. Rich You have a PM bro.

Don't know why this thread died out. :shrug01: There are some great ideas here.

There is also a Fantastic show in Venice on 9/10, but the real fun is the party / dinner the night before. Check out www.venicefloridacorvettes.com Also check out Tampabay Vettes http://www.tampabayvettes.com/tampabayvetteevents.htm for a good listing of clubs and events around Central FL

People get involved for a slew of different reasons. Club politics don't do much for me anymore, but I'd like to find some new friends for local cruising. So (and I have not really looked) why not have a forum section that is for events around the state. or Things To Do / Places To Go Doesn't have to be an all Corvette event, just something a bunch of us can cruise to. There is a Concourse De Elegance in November somewhere around Orlando ~ just examples.

Rich, as for $$ contributions, why not offer a voluntary "Supporting Member" opportunity for $20. I think people could and would help a little.

Try linking with other sites. The person who owns Corvette Valley lives in S FL and would be happy to not only assist, but I'll bet give some advice on how to get this start up off the ground.

He's kinda squirrely :lmao: but still a good guy. :rofl1:

All just my $.02


:wavey:

RocketSled made a great Corvette Florida screensaver in another thread. I love that thing.

cool screen saver! how many will be at corvettes at the pier this weekend?

If it is not raining, I will be there. How will I know you? :wavey:

I will be there as well Twisted. From about 9-1ish.

If you are "showing", you need to get there closer to 8 or you won't get in.

:wavey:

i will be in a red z with borla stingers. not going to be showing the car though. i am about 6'2" with a flat top. i will wear a grey t-shirt. we should all try to pick a spot to meet up at a specific time.

I don't know if you've been to this show b4 or if you've been to The Pier on show day, but here are some tips for anyone going.

1. If you ARE showing, get there as close to 7AM as possible. Parking for the show is directed and difficult to back into (They have ramps to get you up the curbs and all that manuvering takes a while.) Also, once you are in, you are there for the duration!

1. If you are NOT showing, you would be better off to take your daily driver. You MIGHT be able to park along the pier entry way but unless you use Valet parking, that's going to be iffy.
   
   You should plan on parking in the P-lot @ the W end of the pier entryway and ride the trolley into the pier

1. That day is also a B'day party for the pier so expect it to have lots of people and kids.

Tom :wavey:

Tom, this is a preregistered event. I've paid my $20, so I'm in.

As for the time, I've been told numerous times that they are not parking anyone until 9:00. On the flyer, it says parking on a first come, first served basis... Preregistration only. I'll have Z06Rocket chime in.

Response from Z06Rocket, whose club is putting on the show.
A link to the Corvettes at the Pier thread.
http://www.corvetteflorida.com/forum...read.php?t=111

Z06 is correct.

That may be, but review the pics above. You can see that all outer perimeter parking is above a significant curb. There are only a couple of ramps available to get cars up on the step and they have to be dragged into place for each car. (to get them in AND to get them out) This all takes time.

Additionally, the club directs where you park on a first come first parked basis. The best place to be so that you have some shade and breeze is along the back (E) row. The S side of the pier gets good foot traffic but the N side is like being cast into the wilderness.

I’d still suggest arriving early.

This show is staged by SunCoast Corvette Association of which I am also a member. It is their premier event. They’ve been at it for a long time and do a first class show.

That said, again, refer to the pictures. If you are up on the step, your ability to leave early is severely limited, so if that is your intent, be sure you let who ever is parking you know that you will need to exit early.

Whether this is your first Pier Show or one of several, SCA will do their best to see that you have a great time.

Hope to see you there.

Tom:wavey:

thanks for the heads up. i will be in a black frc with yellow stripes on the left front fender, black motorsports and B&B bullets not the red z lol. i will look you guys up that are in the show.

Hey guys, got the PM from Madn3ss. The pier won't let us open up the gate till 9am. If you want to be there 8:30 or 8:45 ish then thats cool, but I wouldn't be there much before that. You might even be forced to drive in circles down the main span by the Pier security guards if you're sitting too long. We do not have any control over the security guards since they are employed by the pier.:toetap05:

Suncoast Corvettes will not be bringing their vettes because of limited space. We want to keep all available spaces open for registered participants who will be trying for the trophies.

It is going to be parked on a 1st come 1st served basis. If you come with friends then stay together if you want to park together. Tempers get hot with owners who sit and idle too long so the best thing for us to do and try to keep as uniform as possible is to just have the cars park in the order they arrive. We normally start on the east side, work to the south side then go to the north side. I hope with the rain that all the people who pre-registered even show up. Having said that we WILL try to make as many people as happy as possible. Customer service is the key, and we do want you to have a good time.

Parking does take a few extra minutes, but nothing too extraordinary. I've seen shows in standard parking lots that take forever to park because we all now how particular the Corvette owners can be;) :D .

If you have to leave early we will drag the portable ramp over to your car so you can easily clear the curb. I've seen a few leave early each year. No big deal except that some door prizes and such will not be done yet.

Looks like Ernesto will be in the Carolinas on Saturday so I hope to see as many of you out there as we can. It might be a liiiittle wet but the show will go on. It will give all of us a reason to polish up the rides again.:wavey:

Great idea about flyers announcing the website. There are several shows coming up in our area - Central and on the East Coast...

Eckler's at Old Town March 30-31
Corvettes @ Uptown Altamonte April 14
Vettes at the Port (Cape Kennedy) April 21
Vettes at the Light (Ponce Inlet Lighthouse) May 5th

Do we have a logo yet? Give me some creative ideas for the text, and I'll be happy to have 500 or 1,000 b/w flyers printed for distribution.

I'd also be happy to distribute flyers at each of the above shows...
and, place flyers in our "Goody Bags" for Vettes at the Light.

PS... Rich Z, While you're in Daytona this weekend there's an open car show at the Speedway ... usually about 3,000 cars and lots of vendors. It's a smaller version of Turkey Run and a nice show (bring your snakes) !!!:thumbsup: .

Do you have a website or contact info on this? :wavey:

Try this site
http://daytonabeachcarshows.com/springdex.html

Eh?? :confused: :confused: Am I supposed to be in Daytona? Nobody told ME that! Have I been subpoenaed or something?

Well, I'm planning on being in Crystal River (guess I had better check, though) this weekend, but maybe I had better go incognito instead.....

TKU. Maybe I can make it next year. :shrug01:

Wear something Anonymous! Nobody will know who you are! :lmao:

What time do you think you will arrive? Are you showing or just going?

T :wavey:

Well, in reality we're just going. But we paid for admission so we can park with the other people who are showing. I've got far too many rock chips and scratches on the C5Z to be considered as a contestant! But they are SHINY rock chips and scratches..... :rofl1:

Besides, this way we won't have to walk as far and I can show off the CORVETTEFLORIDA.COM window decals.

Got a BUNCH of those myself! Now if I could find a wax that left a Dark Bowling Green Metallic residue instead of white, I could just fill all the chips in! :rofl1:

Dumb question here, but is the show Sat or Sun? I may run up.

T :wavey:

Saturday, the 24th...... At least that's when we will be there. With rumors flying that I'm supposed to be in Daytona, well, now I'm nor sure what is really going on.......... :ack2:

Actually, I found it here http://www.citruscorvettes.com/CITSSIV/CITSSIVmain.htm

Trying to decide whether or not to make the trip :shrug01:

I have the flyers that Rich created and will be at the following shows:
Eckler's at Old Town March 30-31
Vettes at the Port (Cape Kennedy) April 21
Vettes at the Light (Ponce Inlet Lighthouse) May 5th

Anyone needing flyers can catch up with me at the Eckler's Reunion.
I hope to be wearing a prototype polo shirt to that event :grd: