Tin Can Tourists Wiki

Rally Hosts - include your rally fees in the over cost of the rally and consider that compensation for the tremendous amount of work that goes into planning and running a successful rally. Hosts typically pay for their camping fees unless they can negotiate this with the campground. Sometimes campgrounds will comp or discount the hosts camping fees for bringing the rally to their campground.

Co-hosts and volunteers - if the rally host decides whether or not co-hosts and volunteers will receive any compensation (up to covering the rally fee). Some rallies are quite large and a co-host might be needed to manage and facilitate such a large event. Depending on the workload involved, consider some form of compensation.

All attendees must be Tin Can Tourist Members and membership fees are required to be collected for the event to be considered an “Official Tin Can Tourists Rally”. The membership fee is $20 and $10 of the collect fees from new members is available for the rally host to use towards the financial needs of the rally.

The decision to collect the camping fee and registration fee separately or together is up to the rally host and based on the campground registration process and size of the rally.

Decide if it's going to be a Regional Gathering or a Vintage Gathering. A Regional Gathering may include a Concours if desired. Contact Forrest for assistance and any clarification required.

When scheduling, check for other vintage rallies within your regional area to avoid conflicts - there's 52 weeks in a year and it’s nice to have a variety of event dates to attend. The vintage Yahoo groups are beginning to set up rallies, so it would be advisable to check for conflicts.

Start off with a small rally and build on its success. There haven’t been any unsuccessful TCT Gatherings. Our experience has been that a first time Gathering will draw between 20 and 35 units.

Pick an area where people can park/camp together in a state, municipal, or commercial campground with full or limited hook-ups. A campground that allows attendees to reserve their site directly has proven to be the most advantageous for the hosts.

Depending on the host’s preference, non-campgrounds may be preferable. A gathering on private land with shared utilities or in a boon dock setting can be very successful.

A central meeting room or tent will provide coverage in case of inclement weather and provide a place for group functions.

An area for group campfire creates a natural meeting place for attendees to socialize and tell tales.

Have a sign-up sheet so that people can volunteer to assist during the rally. This will give new members and opportunity to contribute to the success of the Gathering and meet and be met by other members.

Use e-mails to distribute information and updates for all TCT members.

The website and the Down the Road section of the newsletter should be used to attract regional residents to your Gathering. Provide contact information and a method to request registration material. Use the TCT site for online registration, as well as, a downloadable registration form for regular mail registration.

Base the rally costs on the site fees, if you’re handling site reservations, and then a set “rally fee” to cover expenses such as group meals, and any other costs to be shared by the group. Regional Rally Concours awards will be provide by TCT at no expense to the hosts.

Advertise early on the internet and via our newsletter Tin Can Tales. Advertise the Open House and Concours locally via available media.

If possible, greet people as they arrive. It is important to assign an individual to help park people as they arrive. Parking assistance (backing in) may be necessary for some attendees. Hand out a “goody bag” with a finalized schedule, window sign, attendee roster, emergency numbers and material on selected local attractions.

Join in “Happy” or “Social Hours” in the late afternoon. These are great ways to recap that day's events, explorations, and to plan any events for the following day. At the first Social Hour introduce those that are attending their first TCT Gathering. If the group is relatively small, all attendees may introduce themselves.

Plan a group event for the last evening. Catered meals, BBQ's, potlucks and a Pizza Night have been utilized successfully.

Plan a tour of local attraction or prepare directions for self-guided local trip reflecting the attributes of the area.

Allow for “free time” for personal exploration.

Plan an Open House, and time to prep for it. Window Signs with owner’s name, city, state and the year/make and model are appreciated.

Provide information on local houses of worship.

Entertainment at rallies is always a plus – Encourage people to participate if they have a special talent. Park Rangers are another source of entertainment, they are usually very willing to come to a rally and give a presentation on the local surroundings.

Seek interested individuals to be designated photographers (digital preferred) for TCT website postings, also, see if someone is interested in blogging daily for the Tin Can Tourists Campfire Blog. The blog can become a great piece for the newsletter.

Send pictures to Terry Bone (terrybone@comcast.net) to post on TCT Photopost

Add items to this page of elements that worked, so others can learn from the experiences