Truck Forums - Arizona Tacoma Get Together For Charity

Hey Ya'll,

I was reading in anotherforum people talking about meeting, and hanging with other Tacoma owners. I like to attend, and sometimes organize gatherings of like minded individuals. I have been having monthly rides for my bicycle club(Freak Bike Militia-Phoenix Phreaks) since October 2007.

I would enjoy hanging out with some fellow Taco Heads, but gas is so expensive right now, and is just gonna get worse, so I think it might be better to try to plan an annual get together, and make it a big event. We could get sponsorships(free stuff) from local dealers, and from other business' that target people like us. If it was planned as a charitable event to raise money for a charitable cause, we could get lot's of free stuff to give away as prizes for participating. The Harley/motorcycle peeps do Toys For Tots around Christmas, we could do something like this too. I would prefer to try to do a local Arizona based charity event.

What do Ya'll think about this? Would any of you be interested in an event of this nature? Anyone wanna take on organizing it? I have a little experience, and would be willing to help organize, but prefer to have help.

I see this as a thing for anyone who is a Tacoma enthusiast, including people from all the other Tacoma forums, but we could include other Toyota vehicles, like Tundras, 4Runners, and maybe those other Toyota SUV's or keep it simpler with Taco's only. If we include the other vehicles we might have a better turnout, but the more people the harder it is to find a location, and with too many people the guys with those Blue and Red lights might try to interfere with our fun.

Business owners will provide prizes, and sometimes cash for these kind of events, and will often allow flyers to be displayed in their place of business, as long as their competition is not named. However I do believe that there is a Valley Toyota Dealers Association that might get us around chosing one dealer to hit up for donations and flyer display. Some of you might have noticed that there are a lot more people from California on forums in general, so including other forums would be a good way to gather more local Taco heads, and having flyers at as many places as possible will increase turnout as well.

Flyers cost money to make and distribute, and going to business' to obtain donations means time and gas too. Business' will donate things because it's good PR, and that is good advertising for their business. In my experience with the bicycle club we found out that business' like to donate gift certificates because it brings customers into their business.

The catch is that to attend you would have to donate to the charity. The donation could include something of value that you would get for your donation, and an entry to win one of the prizes donated by the business'.

I would expect we would need at least a $30 to $40 donation to get a t-shirt, or maybe as low as $20.00 for an event pin or button. The bigger the donation, the more excitement we will get from business' as long as we don't go crazy. If we asked for a minimum $30 donation, and sold extra chances to win for $20.00 we might be able to get some really cool prizes. The second and third time we did this event could see some awesome prizes. Maybe even a TRD Supercharger, or complete set of wheels and tires.

What do Ya'll think? Would this kind of event appeal to you? How much do you think would be an appropriate entry fee? Would you want an event shirt, or would a quality sticker be better? Any suggestions for an event name?

Arizona Tacoma Fest?

Later,

Allan Greenblazer[/align]