[Cookstar]

I heard from Marsha at Tapoco Lodge today:

Hey Chris,

What date in September? Would you be blocking rooms and then everyone confirm with their own credit card?

If the dates are not filled already, we could block all rooms until April 1, 2007 with no cost. After that we would need a deposit (I'll have to get back to you on the amount) *OR* credit card number for all rooms *OR* credit card numbers for individual rooms. We have a 30 day cancellation policy when it's a group that has all rooms.

If you have the whole lodge and Everyone eats, we can change our menu to fit whatever your group would like. We can do a large meal or something smaller. Probably for breakfast it would be easier to have a buffet.

Also, Graham County Travel & Tourism has funds for groups to use. You can use it for a meal or entertainment (ie band) etc. My husband is on the T&T board. What you need to do is email www.grahamcountytravel.com and tell them what you would like to do with the money. Also, include that you came to Graham County last year as a group, where everyone stayed, and let them know what you would be interested in.

Hope this helps. Be sure to let me know the dates you are interested in.

Thanks,

Marsha

My response:

Marsha,

Our meet is scheduled from Thursday through Sunday, September 6-9 so we would be staying there on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. I doubt we can fill all the rooms on Thursday night but Friday and Saturday nights are a real possibility.

I think blocking all the rooms and letting everyone confirm with their own credit card is a great suggestion. Our deadline could be April 1. Since we're really not a formal club with members paying dues, paying a deposit to block all of the rooms really is not feasible. Can you give me some more details on how this process would work? Also, are the room rates still the same if we have all the rooms?

As far as meals are concerned, I think breakfast buffets on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday would be a great idea. I would definitely like to have at least one group dinner there, probably on Saturday night. I'm not sure about Friday night yet or lunches. On Saturday of last year's meet, we drove the Dragon-Cherohala Skyway loop and ate lunch in Tellico Plains, TN. I will have to get back to you about those meals. I will email the T&T board soon about funding for the Saturday night meal.

I made an informal announcement on the website this week about our meet. The response has been overwhelming! In just a few days, 33 members have posted that they were interested in the meet and it is still nine months away. Last year, we had 16 members attend after around 25 said they were interested. We are well ahead of last year's pace.

Thanks,
Chris