THE 2021 Montana MOA Re-Schedule (previous 2020 Great Falls Thread)

March 25, 2020
Thank you for registering for the 2020 National Rally in Great Falls. I know you are ready to Saddle Up & Ride and put the current health crisis in your rear-view mirror. Our Rally Team is working hard to make sure we are ready for you in Great Falls and I want to share with you some thoughts about the National Rally.
Obviously, there is much uncertainty about the future. The health situation is very serious and of great concern to our members. I recognize the severity of your concerns for your health, safety and future travel plans. I want you to know that we will take every precaution to deliver a safe and healthy rally in June. If the situation forces alternate plans or makes a safe environment impossible, we will adjust so that our members can feel secure in the Rally environment. As of today, we have every intention of putting on a great show for you June 25-28, 2020 and we are working hard to make that a reality.
Currently, I expect to have a much clearer picture of the future by May 15. I understand that your personal situation or tolerances may not allow you to wait for a decision. If that is the case for you, our refund policy allows for a full refund of your registration fees before May 25. If you need to make a decision today for your own peace of mind, please contact the member services team at (864) 438-0962 or membership@bmwmoa.org and we will be glad to accommodate you.
I want to assure you that we will make the best decisions about the Rally with our members health and financial well being in mind. The MOA has always been about community, friendship and fellowship and our greatest responsibility at the Rally is to keep our friends and family healthy and safe.
For all of us, I am hopeful for good news in the coming weeks. Until then, please be safe and stay healthy. I look forward to seeing all of you at the National!
Sincerely,

Ted Moyer
Executive Director
BMW Motorcycle Owners of America

akbeemer said:

March 25, 2020
Thank you for registering for the 2020 National Rally in Great Falls. I know you are ready to Saddle Up & Ride and put the current health crisis in your rear-view mirror. Our Rally Team is working hard to make sure we are ready for you in Great Falls and I want to share with you some thoughts about the National Rally.

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I, and about 5,000 of my closest friends, have our fingers crossed.

Important Crosspost (#1) from the C-19 Thread...

...Thoughts from the legendary MADDOG himself:

Based on past practices, I'm .99 positive that contracts are in place for 2021.
Let's hope they give me the biergarten again.

MADDOG BG Chair. The beer must flow!
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Important Crosspost (#2) from the C-19 Thread...

...The response from our esteemed colleague GREGFEELER:

Speaking as a former Board Director and club President for over four years, as well as Rally Chair for Salt Lake, I can assure you that the contract for the 2021 rally has been in place for some time. Although the contracts vary significantly, all require substantial per-payment starting with execution of the agreement. Typically, 60% to 100% of the fee is paid in advance of the rally. There are incidental costs for services used during the rally which are only known after the event and paid then. Provisions for cancellation also vary and I have no idea what they are for Great Falls, but believe it's entirely possible that some kind of "act of God" provision *may* come into play if the mandated lock downs and travel prohibitions continue. If so, this could be of great financial importance to the club.

The way these agreements work, there is no viable option to just push out Great Falls a year and then continue on with the zone rotation schedule. However, it may be possible to reschedule Great Falls for the next western zone rally in three years. Under a situation like this the attitude of the site operators combined with the contract provisions determine what can or can not be worked out. The back end process for securing a rally site are far more complex in many cases than you might assume, so it follows that cancelling a rally will have many moving parts. For those anxious to have the club cancel Great Falls, please give Ted Moyer, our Executive Director, and the Board of Directors time to do their jobs and make the best decision to the extent that such a decision is theirs to make and not made for them by third parties.
Greg Feeler
Ambassador & amateur K-Bike collector, it seems
1972 R75/5, 1990 K75, 1990 K1, 1992 K75S, 2003 K1200RS

hexst said:

I suggest that if this event falls through because of the circumstances that we reschedule there as soon as possible in spite of our goals for different regions, based on the extrordinary hospitality the City and Staff at Expo Park has shown over the last year.A contigency plan I am sure is in the making!

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Agreed!
They have gone above and beyond...

Joe

Whatever the year... Great Falls ASAP!!!

hexst said:

I suggest that if this event falls through because of the circumstances that we reschedule there as soon as possible in spite of our goals for different regions, based on the extrordinary hospitality the City and Staff at Expo Park has shown over the last year.A contigency plan I am sure is in the making!

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I'm feeling at least slightly optimistic...
at the 63 day mark until my ride departure, that THIS YEAR is still a possibility.

And I'll be flexible on a "go/no-go decision" and itinerary... until a least first week of June.

Quarantine measures and staying safe are the order of the day.

"travel'n" John

There are so many dimensions to this dilemma. One of course is what does Montana do. Others include whether it would be safe to ride there from Florida, or New Hampshire, or California, or Louisiana, given the conditions in all of the intervening states. Add in the risk tolerance of individual members asking, "I wonder who slept in this motel room last night." Then there is the demographic of typical rally attendees and the pattern of seriousness when Covid-19 is caught. And also, given all of that how many people would the BMW MOA need to come to the rally to make it a financially non-disaster? Just food for thought.

ALL valid points... and your sentence concerning "financial practicability" could well be the MOA's deciding factor.

There are certainly many considerations in play as of this date.

Just when we have this month of June Rally thing about figured out... this would have been a nice year for a July rendezvous!

flyhi2cfar said:

Just when we have this month of June Rally thing about figured out... this would have been a nice year for a July rendezvous!

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From what the health and science experts are saying, it is doubtful that July will pass as COVID-19 free.

We don't know when the borders between our two countries (or states and provinces) will be open to freely travel back and forth again.

It is very obvious that while some limited relaxation may be possible once through the first wave a return to normal and events such as the rally will have to await a vaccine. The vast majority of the population will remain susceptible to the virus. Risking a second wave would be pure folly.

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flyhi2cfar said:

ALL valid points... and your sentence concerning "financial practicability" could well be the MOA's deciding factor.

There are certainly many considerations in play as of this date.

Just when we have this month of June Rally thing about figured out... this would have been a nice year for a July rendezvous!

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Yes ... lots of dimensions and perspectives to consider. What Paul states is certainly food for thought .... but the other side may be that there is such a need to folks to feed the economy and the businesses in such a need for revenue they may very well be anxious for us to show up. Much like they are starting to say here in NC ... "that the shut down can't continue much past May 1st of the state economy will be in depression state"

You really just do not know. Hence the wait and see logic works for me.

gsinnc said:

Yes ... lots of dimensions and perspectives to consider. What Paul states is certainly food for thought .... but the other side may be that there is such a need to folks to feed the economy and the businesses in such a need for revenue they may very well be anxious for us to show up. Much like they are starting to say here in NC ... "that the shut down can't continue much past May 1st of the state economy will be in depression state"

You really just do not know. Hence the wait and see logic works for me.

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I just heard Dr. Fauci state that the economy cannot fully open back up until we have in place extensive vaccination. Until then we can hope, and we can debate but to avoid a big second wave of deaths the economy will take a back seat to human life whether we like it or not.

PGlaves said:

I just heard Dr. Fauci state that the economy cannot fully open back up until we have in place extensive vaccination. Until then we can hope, and we can debate but to avoid a big second wave of deaths the economy will take a back seat to human life whether we like it or not.

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I don't disagree philosophically .... but that is not always how things work. Economic impact and the risk of a depression is a strong motivator especially in an election year.

There is no doubt that we will all be at risk until there is a good vaccine.

People are going to do whatever they want and just lifting a stay at home order is not going to bring things crashing back to normal. No matter what the politicians want. The new normal is going to be different than what we are used to. If one looks around the world at other locations that have lifted their stay at home bans, people are slow to get back out there. Fear with no cure is a very big motivator.

One thing that a pandemic brings to the fore, is that we are all in this together. The virus is a big equalizer and it doesn't care who you are or where you live. One would hope out of this that there is a bit more cooperation around the world. Us and them just doesn't cut it.

The key word in the estimable doctor’s comment is “fully”. There is a great deal of space between where we are and fully.

Volunteers

On another note...We all know that the rally "runs" on the many hard-working {yes,even me} volunteers, & committee chairs that put in countless hours Without naming names, I know of one KEY chair that cannot come in from Canada because his international travel insurance has been cxl'ed. I would bet even money that chairs {and vendors} will probably be contacted to see what their plans are. It might be crucial to having a "viable" rally. Just one more part of the calculus.
And Paul {FARGO} Glaves is right to echo my concern about facilities from my home in Ct. to Montana.

MADDOG BG Chair. {but not this year} "The beer must flow."

I just heard on the new that Trump is working on a plan of how to get the country back to work. It will probably happen sooner than some would prefer. It is not an easy decision but like others have said "this is war" and when you are in war you need to determine what your expected and acceptable cost/loss will be. But those decision are what help ultimately save the country.

The measure of a society is how well it cares for its most vulnerable.

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gsinnc said:

I just heard on the new that Trump is working on a plan of how to get the country back to work. .

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When asked he said he would go by Dr Fauci and Dr Birx's recommendations if they feel he is opening things too soon.
He would like to open things by end of the month but that date is not set in stone.
At best I'm guessing we will only see partial lessening of restrictions in parts of the county.

Lee said:

When asked he said he would go by Dr Fauci and Dr Birx's recommendations if they feel he is opening things too soon.
He would like to open things by end of the month but that date is set in stone.
At best I'm guessing we will only see partial lessening of restrictions in parts of the county.

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He is putting together a "task force" to decide when to start to open the economy back up. I really like Fauci and value his opinions ... but I get the feeling that at some point he and Trump may part ways on how to proceed.


https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...-taskforce-study-reopening-nation/5133024002/