: How about a Rendevous in Florida this winter? If there is any interest in one
: feel free to e-mail me.I will run this by the members of our club for
: evaluation

Rendezvous is not some commercial entity, like a doctor's convention, that you can contact and dicker with, and lobby them to come to your area.

If you want a rendezvous in Florida, get your club to plan one themselves. Set a date, find a beach to hold it on, and send a few letters to those companies that build kayaks, or sell plans, components or accessories.

A single committed soul can get this all arranged, but it is a lot of work. I suggest a planning group of two or three with a coordinator, and try to get some volunteers from your club for those occasional odd jobs, like doing call backs with potential demonstrators, or driving over to a state park to drop off a deposit check for campsite rental.

You'll probably find some local shops that are interested in being present. it can be great publicity for them. If you get them lined up early then they can help promote the event. Maybe you can get them to kick in a few bucks to help sponsor it, too.

Promoting the event through the internet bulletin boards is relatively cheap. You'll want to set up a web page with most of the info.

A note via e-mail to a few paddling groups may help. Let the paddling magazines know your intentions a good 6 months in advance and you might get a mention.

Of course you will want to notify your local newspaper(s). They can do advance articles on your club, and maybe send a reporter or photographer to the event. The local news coverage is really a nice thing for the local sponsors. National people won't get much benefit. But mention them prominently on your web page, and be sure to have links to the webpages of any sponsors.

If it looks like you are getting requests about this from people over 100 miles away you might see if you can negotiate a group discount at some local motels or hotels.

Your local paddling and boat building experts can put on demos for beginners, and teach short seminars on the beach, or you might want to see if the hotels that are housing your visitors have meeting rooms you can use. There is frequently a fee for this, so having sponsors can be a big help.

Oh, and let me know when your group gets this rolling. I haven't had a vacation in Florida since 1975. About time I got back there.

Best of luck to you in this. Doing it the first time is the hardest. The second time it is easier.

PGJ