Closing Ceremonies, How big a deal

amiles said:

I gave up on closing ceremonies some time ago. The never ending platitudes of the oldest bike not ridden to the rally and the youngest infant brought make me sick.

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I have a different take on closing ceremonies. All these rallies we all go to happen only because a large group of volunteers donate their time to make them possible. In some cases they will spend up to a year of what could be time riding or with family and friends to make it possible for their fellow riders to have a destination. They don't get anything out of this other than a feeling of accomplishment, maybe a hat or tshirt - and a Thank You. To me, the least that everyone who goes to a rally owes these people is that Thank You. That very few minutes where these folks can be recognized for all their work and effort. But for them, none of these things would be there for the rest of us. For me, it's easy work to sit through these ceremonies and realize that for every minute I spend they have spent dozens or hundreds of hours.

Greg I can't argue with you as to the importance for showing proper appreciation for the folks that make the rally possible and happen.

I have always felt that the majority if not all of the distance, age and whatever else awards are a waste of time and sitting through them ads insult to injury.

If you look in the latest ON, you'll see the list of awards is significantly curtailed, I'd guess in an attempt to appease the folks who find them useless.

I for one enjoy them, three cheers for traveling 21,000 miles to the rally; yeah for the little 6 year old who clung to her dad for 600 miles to get to the rally - she must be so happy to get a mug or plaque and the attention. How cool for the couple who came two up on their old airhead, how you must have planned and prepped that bike. A round of applause for everyone who came to the rally and found a way to make someone else happy. And my sympathy to those of you who can't take some pride and joy in other's happiness.

GregFeeler said:

I have a different take on closing ceremonies. All these rallies we all go to happen only because a large group of volunteers donate their time to make them possible. In some cases they will spend up to a year of what could be time riding or with family and friends to make it possible for their fellow riders to have a destination. They don't get anything out of this other than a feeling of accomplishment, maybe a hat or tshirt - and a Thank You. To me, the least that everyone who goes to a rally owes these people is that Thank You. That very few minutes where these folks can be recognized for all their work and effort. But for them, none of these things would be there for the rest of us. For me, it's easy work to sit through these ceremonies and realize that for every minute I spend they have spent dozens or hundreds of hours.

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+1,000.

Here, here!

I enjoy the closing ceremonies. I like to see how far people have come, how old, how young, how many - it shows the enthusiasm that people have for the rallies. And for those few who receive an award, they have a recognition of their accomplishment.

I may be a little biased (or maybe it is insight) since my son has won the youngest rider award twice. He will forever remember at age 15, riding his Ninja 250 from Texas to Vermont and back again, and receiving the plaque which is now on his bedroom wall. It brings back memories to me too when I see it.

This year my daughter will be riding her Ninja 250. She is certainly enthusiastic - she's already started to pack her gear. Whether she wins an award or not, she'll have a great time at the rally and will be watching the closing ceremonies with (almost) everyone else.

To me, along with volunteering, the closing ceremonies are all part of the rally experience.

gsmetal said:

I have NEVER understood the awards ceremony part of the closing ceramony.

Does anyone really care who's the "_________" (insert your obscure title here)?

Oldest sidecar rider
Youngest passenger
Rider that rode with a pet

The only reason people go to these is to be held hostage for the door prizes.

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I agree 100%.
I'm a firm believer in short/sweet closing ceremonies!
gsjay

mccodavj said:

I enjoy the closing ceremonies. I like to see how far people have come, how old, how young, how many - it shows the enthusiasm that people have for the rallies. And for those few who receive an award, they have a recognition of their accomplishment.

I may be a little biased (or maybe it is insight) since my son has won the youngest rider award twice. He will forever remember at age 15, riding his Ninja 250 from Texas to Vermont and back again, and receiving the plaque which is now on his bedroom wall. It brings back memories to me too when I see it.

This year my daughter will be riding her Ninja 250. She is certainly enthusiastic - she's already started to pack her gear. Whether she wins an award or not, she'll have a great time at the rally and will be watching the closing ceremonies with (almost) everyone else.

To me, along with volunteering, the closing ceremonies are all part of the rally experience.

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+1

Perhaps for some of us it's sour grapes. I cannot ever see myself being in the running for any of the awards. It seems that at my age and place in life that I will never qualify to be awarded for attending the rally regardless of which combination of distance, passengers, member of the animal kingdom or age of machine that I manage to bring along.

I receive my great enjoyment from the anticipation, planning, riding and just being around my fellow enthusiasts at this great homecoming that I don't need to be bribed by a plaque or coffee cup to attend.
We may not all be friends but in a large sense we are family at our big reunion.

I actually attended the closing ceremonies at the second Vermont Rally (first time since I swore off them at the first Vermont Rally) I was astonished/horrified to hear the story of an awardee who had spent months if not most of the prior year riding around the country apparently tallying up mileage for his total to the rally. As i remember it seemed as though he was never home but for very brief periods. Frankly I wondered if his wife had thrown him out or some other problem was evident. I still wonder if I should have enjoyed watching him be awarded for this accomplishment or feel sorry for him for the same reason. Share pride & joy in this? hardly.

Regardless, to me the closing ceremonies rank up there in torture with the Friday end of the day assemblies that I was forced to attend at good old Monticello Junior High school in ancient times. I suppose that some of my fellow inmates enjoyed sharing pride & joy in those extravaganzas that I never did.

Compared to the monotone reading of many many names of those being honored to a restless crowd,
a really nice write up in the ON with pictures narrating the names of those pictured makes a wonderful permanent record of those who's volunteer efforts make the rally the wonderful reunion that it is.

Closing Wishes

I aspire to be the oldest rider some year and to win the grand prize. I just hope it's not the same year. Please wake me if they call my name.(Douglas Williams)

With all points in mind, I wonder if there isn't some way to tighten up the ceremony so that stuff like recognition still gets covered but also so that we don't put people to sleep with endless droning on. There's gotta be a way to do this.

Instead of looking at this as if it belongs only to the Rally, consider it as the closing ceremony of the ANNUAL meeting of the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America.

"Recognition" goes beyond the rally itself. This is where we give out Life-Time awards, Exemplary Service Awards, and the like. Take time to look around you, and listen carefully - - some of these people on the stage are the ones who built the club and made it what it is today.

Another facet that involves a large portion of time are the door prizes themselves. Frequently the donors of those LARGE door prizes - - those vendors, who so generously support our rally, our club, and our members - - want their 3 minutes of stage and microphone time. Now, multiply that times the 8 (or so) major awards, and that can take nearly a half-hour right there.

So come to the awards ceremony. Bring a beverage and sit with your buddies. LISTEN and applaud for those who deserve our thanks and our recognition. We are a class-act. When it's time to say thank you, let's do it right.

sue said:

instead of looking at this as if it belongs only to the rally, consider it as the closing ceremony of the annual meeting of the bmw motorcycle owners of america.

"recognition" goes beyond the rally itself. This is where we give out life-time awards, exemplary service awards, and the like. Take time to look around you, and listen carefully - - some of these people on the stage are the ones who built the club and made it what it is today.

Another facet that involves a large portion of time are the door prizes themselves. Frequently the donors of those large door prizes - - those vendors, who so generously support our rally, our club, and our members - - want their 3 minutes of stage and microphone time. Now, multiply that times the 8 (or so) major awards, and that can take nearly a half-hour right there.

So come to the awards ceremony. Bring a beverage and sit with your buddies. Listen and applaud for those who deserve our thanks and our recognition. We are a class-act. When it's time to say thank you, let's do it right.

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+1

amiles said:

Perhaps for some of us it's sour grapes. I cannot ever see myself being in the running for any of the awards. It seems that at my age and place in life that I will never qualify to be awarded for attending the rally regardless of which combination of distance, passengers, member of the animal kingdom or age of machine that I manage to bring along.

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I don't know - since you included "member of the animal kingdom" you might be the first winner of a new award - if you use your imagination.

I receive my great enjoyment from the anticipation, planning, riding and just being around my fellow enthusiasts at this great homecoming that I don't need to be bribed by a plaque or coffee cup to attend.
We may not all be friends but in a large sense we are family at our big reunion.

Click to expand...

Well said.

I actually attended the closing ceremonies at the second Vermont Rally (first time since I swore off them at the first Vermont Rally) I was astonished/horrified to hear the story of an awardee who had spent months if not most of the prior year riding around the country apparently tallying up mileage for his total to the rally. As i remember it seemed as though he was never home but for very brief periods. Frankly I wondered if his wife had thrown him out or some other problem was evident. I still wonder if I should have enjoyed watching him be awarded for this accomplishment or feel sorry for him for the same reason. Share pride & joy in this? hardly.

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Maybe you should consider that for this rider, this was a life long dream. I like to put on a lot of miles myself, but always focus on the quality over the quantity. But, that threshold is different for each of us. A lot of riders have a great time day after day just riding. It's a byproduct that they rack up impressive mileage totals.

Regardless, to me the closing ceremonies rank up there in torture with the Friday end of the day assemblies that I was forced to attend at good old Monticello Junior High school in ancient times. I suppose that some of my fellow inmates enjoyed sharing pride & joy in those extravaganzas that I never did.

Click to expand...

I've found it's not too difficult to share in the joy of someone else's accomplishments. I look at it that if one of us wins - we all win.

Compared to the monotone reading of many many names of those being honored to a restless crowd,
a really nice write up in the ON with pictures narrating the names of those pictured makes a wonderful permanent record of those who's volunteer efforts make the rally the wonderful reunion that it is.

Click to expand...

There are often stories like that in the October "rally issue" of the Owners News. And, over the last several years, we've kept the Closing Ceremonies to about an hour, and in that time recognize the volunteers who make the rally happen, present special awards - some for lifetime achievements, announce the following year's rally Chairs, give attendance statistics, and give away a door prizes, including the bikes. Not bad for an hour.

The_Veg said:

With all points in mind, I wonder if there isn't some way to tighten up the ceremony so that stuff like recognition still gets covered but also so that we don't put people to sleep with endless droning on. There's gotta be a way to do this.

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Everything that needs to be said and accomplished can be done in 75 minutes.

The problem is people are invited to speak that have little experience in front of a large crowd and they really haven't spent any time planning on what to say. Vendors are a perfect example of this, rather than pick a number and shake hands they want to delivery an unrehearsed infomercial.

The awards can be done quickly with an advance call of the winners to come down front. This has been done a few times with good success.

It really comes down to preparation and a desire for the folks in charge to deliver a ceremony that honors those who need to be honored, handles annual club business and gives out some great prizes in a efficient and entertaining way. I've heard active BOD memers say that "it doesn't matter how long the closing ceremony takes" so I'd be ready for the long haul in Johnson City.

robnye said:

I've heard active BOD memers say that "it doesn't matter how long the closing ceremony takes" so I'd be ready for the long haul in Johnson City.

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You must have better ears than I do, Rob - 'cause I've only heard EVERYONE push for a short ceremony - including all the Board members.

Short is Sweet...

As of now the Closing Ceremonies Co-Chairs have the time at 1 hour 15 minutes (75 min) based on an 1800 hours start time. They have co-chaired this committee for West Bend (75 min) and Gillette (82 min). Actually, West Bend came in 74 min/40 secs, and Gillette 7 min longer than the scheduled 75 mins. Believe me, the volunteers on this committee want this task completed ASAP...the Beer Garden will be calling after all!

Riding Like the Wind (toward the twisties next Friday)...

CHASMAN