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In the July issue of JWO, in the President's Message columm, he mentions that information and reps for the 2017 show will be available at the registration desk for the 2016 national meet in Kingsport. He says that the reps are from the "Mariott Albuquerque Pyramid North and the Albuquerque Convention and Visitor's Bureau." He said that they could take reservations right there if you wanted to, so it appears that reservations can now be made, and it appears that that hotel is the host hotel.
Here's the hotel's website. Looks like quite a place. My suggestion is to call them directly, make sure they really are the host hotel, and make your reservation directly with them. Don't try to do it through a third party site like Orbitz or booking.com. You probably wouldn't get the reserved block or rooms or the the OCA rate, and your reservation might get cancelled later on.
The event is July 18 to 23, 2017 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Called the Marriott and they said they are hosting the show but can't take reservations yet.Something about not having the blocked rooms loaded in the system yet. They told me to call back in a couple of weeks. I'm going to call in a couple of days and check again.
Rick,
Please keep us informed. I certainly will not pull a trailer all the way there but we might go & actually see the cars & do some shopping instead of selling.
The Albuquerque hotel had a guy on site in Kingsport who was taking applications for the rooms. You filled out a info sheet and that got you first on the list for when the reservations are being accepted. They did the same thing last year in Brookfield - by the end of the show, all the preregistration rooms were gone - I got one of the last ten they had available at the show. I don't know if they had the same level of interest this year.
given my dad lives just north of ABQ, I've been there a few times. Also given summer in the desert, I hope it's indoors too. It may be a dry heat, but 103 is still 103.
Rick,
Please keep us informed. I certainly will not pull a trailer all the way there but we might go & actually see the cars & do some shopping instead of selling.
I'll keep you posted. We're talking about flying since it's so far away. Looks to be a 20 + hour drive.
Originally Posted by costpenn
The Albuquerque hotel had a guy on site in Kingsport who was taking applications for the rooms. You filled out a info sheet and that got you first on the list for when the reservations are being accepted. They did the same thing last year in Brookfield - by the end of the show, all the preregistration rooms were gone - I got one of the last ten they had available at the show. I don't know if they had the same level of interest this year.
Now that you mention it I did hear something about that. (May have been you that told me). I'll call in a few days to see what's up. Maybe they can put me on a waiting list.
Really? You're not going to attend an OCA National meet because the temperature might be 90 degrees? You probably will therefore never attend an OCA meet.
Just for the fun of it, I looked up the average daytime highs for late July for the OCA National Meet cities for the future dates we know and going back to 2006. In only three cases (2009, 2010, and 2015) out of the 13 years listed is the average high significantly lower (defined as more than 5 degrees less) than that in Albuquerque. In two cases (2006, 2011), the average high was higher than that of ABQ.
2018 - Gettysburg, PA - 87 F
2017 - Albuquerque, NM - 90
2016 - Kingsport, TN - 87
2015 - Milwaukee, WI - 81
2014 - Cincinnati, OH - 87
2013 - Springfield, IL - 86
2012 - Des Moines, IA - 86
2011 - Reno, NV - 92
2010 - Sturbridge, MA - 82
2009 - Seven Springs, PA - 80
2008 - Dearborn, MI - 86
2007 - Bowling Green, KY - 89
2006 - Dallas, TX - 97
The point is, they hold the OCA Nationals in late July/early August somewhere in the United States. For most of the country, that means an average daily high of 85 or more. You can't avoid it.
If you're really going to claim, with a straight face, that it's just too darn hot in Albuquerque to attend the OCA Nationals, I'm going to just have to start rolling on the floor with laughter.
Originally Posted by oldsmobiledave
When can we have the Nationals in Seattle or Portland or Boise so us western Canadians and Pacific NW members can attend?
Now this is a legitimate questiion, and the answer is always the same. The center of gravity of OCA membership is in the Ohio/Michigan/Indiana/Illinois part of the country, and they want to hold the meets where there will be the best chance to have the highest attendance and give the most members the opportunity to attend. It also has, historically, required a local chapter to make a proposal to the OCA to host the national meet, and then there is A LOT of work to do on the part of that chapter. Some chapters don't have the manpower for something like that, and this may include chapters in the Pacific Northwest. I think there is only one chapter in that part of the country, the Puget Sound Chapter in Washington.
They DO periodically hold the meet in the "west" (Dallas 2006, Reno 2011, Albuquerque 2017), but it's only about once every five years. But with this new approach the OCA has, where they've hired a meeting/conference organizer rather than relying on the local chapters to propose to hold a nationals and do all the legwork, they might hold more meets in non-traditional areas. I think the fact that they're holding next year's in Albuquerque is testament to this.
There is a New Mexico chapter of the OCA listed, but they certainly don't seem very active in my experience (for example, they don't hold an annual chapter car show that I've ever heard of, and they don't have any kind of a newsletter, monthly, quarterly, or whatever, that I know of), and they certainly don't seem capable of hosting a national meet on their own. But there it is. I would participate in that chapter as it's the nearest one to me, but it's still a 200+ mile drive one way, and that's just too far to be practical for attending monthly meetings or whatever. But a Nationals will be in Albuquerque next year. Perhaps that bodes well for meets in other areas where we haven't often seen one, like maybe southern California or the Pacific Northwest.
Last edited by jaunty75; July 27th, 2016 at 09:05 PM.
Really? You're not going to attend an OCA National meet because the temperature might be 90 degrees? You probably will therefore never attend an OCA meet.
Just for the fun of it, I looked up the average daytime highs for late July for the OCA National Meet cities for the future dates we know and going back to 2006. In only three cases (2009, 2010, and 2015) out of the 13 years listed is the average high significantly lower (defined as more than 5 degrees less) than that in Albuquerque. In two cases (2006, 2011), the average high was higher than that of ABQ.
2018 - Gettysburg, PA - 87 F
2017 - Albuquerque, NM - 90
2016 - Kingsport, TN - 87
2015 - Milwaukee, WI - 81
2014 - Cincinnati, OH - 87
2013 - Springfield, IL - 86
2012 - Des Moines, IA - 86
2011 - Reno, NV - 92
2010 - Sturbridge, MA - 82
2009 - Seven Springs, PA - 80
2008 - Dearborn, MI - 86
2007 - Bowling Green, KY - 89
2006 - Dallas, TX - 97
The point is, they hold the OCA Nationals in late July/early August somewhere in the United States. For most of the country, that means an average daily high of 85 or more. You can't avoid it.
If you're really going to claim, with a straight face, that it's just too darn hot in Albuquerque to attend the OCA Nationals, I'm going to just have to start rolling on the floor with laughter.
Now this is a legitimate questiion, and the answer is always the same. The center of gravity of OCA membership is in the Ohio/Michigan/Indiana/Illinois part of the country, and they want to hold the meets where there will be the best chance to have the highest attendance and give the most members the opportunity to attend. It also has, historically, required a local chapter to make a proposal to the OCA to host the national meet, and then there is A LOT of work to do on the part of that chapter. Some chapters don't have the manpower for something like that, and this may include chapters in the Pacific Northwest. I think there is only one chapter in that part of the country, the Puget Sound Chapter in Washington.
They DO periodically hold the meet in the "west" (Dallas 2006, Reno 2011, Albuquerque 2017), but it's only about once every five years. But with this new approach the OCA has, where they've hired a meeting/conference organizer rather than relying on the local chapters to propose to hold a nationals and do all the legwork, they might hold more meets in non-traditional areas. I think the fact that they're holding next year's in Albuquerque is testament to this.
There is a New Mexico chapter of the OCA listed, but they certainly don't seem very active in my experience (for example, they don't hold an annual chapter car show that I've ever heard of, and they don't have any kind of a newsletter, monthly, quarterly, or whatever, that I know of), and they certainly don't seem capable of hosting a national meet on their own. But there it is. I would participate in that chapter as it's the nearest one to me, but it's still a 200+ mile drive one way, and that's just too far to be practical for attending monthly meetings or whatever. But a Nationals will be in Albuquerque next year. Perhaps that bodes well for meets in other areas where we haven't often seen one, like maybe southern California or the Pacific Northwest.
You might like hot weather but I don't. Personal choice. I'll respect your choice and ask only that you respect mine. New Mexico in the summer just isn't a place for me.
It is unfortunate that great cities like Seattle and Portland can't host the OCA nationals. Based on your explanation of the club priorities they never will. I know many Olds enthusiasts from the Pacific Northwest and Western Canada would attend but clearly that isn't happening.
We were talking on the way back about if the Nationals have to to be in July for any specific reason. I would venture that maybe when the average age of the OCA member was lower July was chosen to accomodate children's school schedules, but things have changed. A late May/early June or late Sept/early October meet would lower the average high temp significantly at most locations, and possibly open up more hotel choices at off peak times.
We were talking on the way back about if the Nationals have to to be in July for any specific reason. I would venture that maybe when the average age of the OCA member was lower July was chosen to accomodate children's school schedules, but things have changed. A late May/early June or late Sept/early October meet would lower the average high temp significantly at most locations, and possibly open up more hotel choices at off peak times.
A late May/early June or late Sept/early October meet would lower the average high temp significantly at most locations, and possibly open up more hotel choices at off peak times.
This would also open up places like Phoenix, which sees 110+ degree temperatures in mid summer, as a possible host.
I would guess that this has been discussed in the back halls of the OCA leadership as well, and I'm guessing the answer to why the show is always held in mid-summer is the same as why it's mostly held in the midwest and northeast. Which time of year gives the most people the opportunity to attend?
Kids are off school during the summer, and most adults take their vacations in the summer. But I think it would be worth it to hold the show in, say, late September or early October somewhere one year and see how it goes.
It is unfortunate that great cities like Seattle and Portland can't host the OCA nationals.
This isn't quite true. I did a little digging, and the OCA Nationals were held in Seattle in 2005. It would probably take another effort on the part of the local chapter there to bring it back to that area.
I had to do some real digging as I could not find a history of national meet locations at the OCA website, but I was able to find them going all the way back to 1985.
Year, City, Avg Late July High Temp, Comment
1985 Bloomington, MN - 83
1986 Santa Clara, CA - 85 - second year in a row west of the Mississippi River (Bloomington is just west of it)
1987 Lansing, MI - 82 - Olds 90th anniversary
1988 Parsippany, NJ - 85
1989 Grand Island, NY - 82 - "CAN-AM" Nationals, near Niagara Falls
1990 Columbus, OH - 86
1991 St. Louis, MO - 90
1992 Omaha, NE - 87 - second year in a row west of the Mississippi River
1993 Somerset, NJ - 86
1994 London, ON - 80 - First (and only, so far) Nationals not held in U.S.
1995 Greensboro, NC - 88
1996 Atlanta, GA - 90
1997 Lansing, MI - 82 - Olds 100th anniversary celebration served as OCA Nationals this year - no separate OCA national meet
1998 Springfield, IL - 86
1999 Dallas, TX - 97
2000 Parsippany, NJ - 85
2001 Denver, CO - 89
2002 Lansing, MI - 82 - Olds 105th anniversary, last show in Lansing before demise of Olds and last one in Lansing to date
2003 Cincinnati, OH - 87
2004 Des Moines, IA - 86 - First (and only, so far ) Nationals held indoors
2005 Seattle, WA - 76
2006 Dallas, TX - 97 - second year is a row west of the Mississippi River
2007 Bowling Green, KY - 89
2008 Dearborn, MI - 86
2009 Seven Springs, PA - 80
2010 Sturbridge, MA - 82
2011 Reno, NV - 92 - Hosted by Northern California Olds Club but held in Nevada
2012 Des Moines, IA - 86 - second year is a row west of the Mississippi River
2013 Springfield, IL - 86
2014 Cincinnati, OH - 87
2015 Milwaukee, WI - 81
2016 Kingsport, TN - 87
2017 Albuquerque, NM - 90
2018 Gettysburg, PA - 87
Over these 34 years:
Number of times the Nationals were held in a particular state when it was held in that state more than once:
Number of times the Nationals were or will be held in a state that touches the Atlantic Ocean - 7 (21% - about 1 in 5)
Number of times the Nationals were or will be held west of the Mississippi River - 11 (32% - about 1 in 3)
Number of times the Nationals were or will be held west of the Rocky Mountains - 4 (12% - about 1 in 8)
Number of times the Nationals were or will be held west of the Mississippi River two or more consecutive years - 4
Average late July daytime high for all of these locations - 86
What's interesting is to add up the percentages of the meets not held in the Midwest. 21 + 32 = 53%, more than half, of OCA meets have been held outside of the core Ohio/Michigan/Indiana/Illinois area. I don't include the meets west of the Rockies in this because they're included in the count of meets west of the Mississippi.
Wow that is a lot of information and I am sure lots of work to compile it. Thanks for doing it for the people who complain about the heat, where it is held etc. I was in Kingsport this year and it was hot and humid and yes living in Phoenix I can take the heat but dry heat not both.
I have been to many of the national meets over the years east of the Mississippi and have trailered a car to most of them, it was far and somewhat costly but I didn't complain about it I just made the choice to go or not.
To the people who think next year will be too hot, too far away may I suggest you get involved in those decisions at the board level and not just complain about why it is not closer to you.
Abq will have very low humidity, making the temperature much more tolerable. Furthermore, because of the altitude (5000 ft) it doesn't get up to the max until afternoon and then goes back downwards after 5 pm. There is a local OCA chapter, they do have an annual show (BOP).
OCA is looking at other months and at indoor venues for future Nationals.
I believe it should be held in places all over the country just like it is. I think it is the best way for the entire country to eventually take part in one. I am just very lucky with my location because when it is to far that year I get to at least go to the Homecoming. I can not afford to go to both each year so if the Nationals are to far then I still have options. I feel bad for the people far out West because it don't seam as if you ever get one close.
Abq will have very low humidity, making the temperature much more tolerable.
^^^THIS! I'll take summer in ABQ or even Phoenix over Kingsport or DC any day. 100 deg in Phoenix is MUCH more comfortable than 90 deg (and 95%) in DC.
This isn't quite true. I did a little digging, and the OCA Nationals were held in Seattle in 2005. It would probably take another effort on the part of the local chapter there to bring it back to that area.
The Seattle show was poorly attended, around 250 cars. The Reno show according to reports was one of the lowest attended Nationals in recent memory. The west coast shows dont get the number of cars or people that the midwest shows do. Its just a fact.
Personally Id like to see the Nationals stay in one place every year.
The Seattle show was poorly attended, around 250 cars. The Reno show according to reports was one of the lowest attended Nationals in recent memory. The west coast shows dont get the number of cars or people that the midwest shows do. Its just a fact.
I'm not claiming otherwise. I remember these complaints back when the Reno and Seattle shows were held. I remember people in my local OCA chapter in Ohio complaining rather bitterly about these Nationals being so far away.
It's just a fact of life that shows held in the far west will be poorly attended. I'm expecting the Albuquerque show to be no different. It could actually be the worst ever, attendance-wise, because it's so far away from other population centers (more than 400 miles from Denver or Phoenix, 650 miles from Dallas - and we're talking driving through some of the hottest, least-populated parts of the country to get there) and because there isn't a large contingent of OCA members in the immediate area. But the shows are held in these locations for PR purposes and out of fairness to the club members who don't live in the Midwest.
Originally Posted by TK-65
Personally Id like to see the Nationals stay in one place every year.
I think this would be grossly unfair to the members who don't live within a day's drive or whatever of the site. Even though the membership is concentrated in one area of the country, the OCA IS a national organization and needs to keep this in mind when determining where its national meet is held. I think the OCA does this.
However, I do think a compromise could work. Have the show in the same place or nearly the same place, say, four years out of every five, and have it in some substantially different place every fifth year to give people who can't easily make it to a show held at the regular site a chance to attend a national meet.
I believe that it states in the OCA bylaws that the National Meet is to be held in June, July, or August (this was a discussion at the General Membership Meeting this year). If we want to attract more younger families, the optimal time to have the Nationals is in the middle or late part of July as many kids start school in early to mid-August. When I was a kid, most of the national meets were right around the mid to end of June. I can only remember once that it was in mid to late August (Minnesota in 2004).
A couple more Nationals...
1983: Itasca, Illinois (outside of Chicago)
1984: Lansing, Michigan
July 26th, 2016, 12:38 PM
