Official Team Gotmead IMF Thread

Hi gang!

I saw a few threads starting to talk about the Festival, and realized we'd better get started around here! Sorry, between family and the websites I have to maintain, I've *really* buried the last couple months....

OK, so here we go:

Gotmead.com is a Sponsor for the Mead Festival this year. So, we'll have a table there.

Oskaar and I will be planning on getting adjoining rooms to form a Gotmead Crib for us to hang out in. If you'd like to get in on it, just let us know so we can all coordinate getting rooms together in a block, and I'll approach the hotel for us. We will already get the IMA rate.

I'm also planning on taping interviews on the tasting floor, as well as taping the talks the IMA puts on again this year (yeah, I know, I know, I gotta finish editing *last years'* tapes, I'm working on it!).

So, if you're planning on going, and would like to help out with taping either shows or interviews (I've got the equipment), then I can guarantee you some Gotmead swag, and am working on getting some freebies from the Mead Festival as well for helpers. It would be great, I'd get to stop and actually talk to you guys (you who were there last year know I sort of flung out 'hey y'alls' as I ran by to my next duty last year, LOL).

Also, I'd *really* like to form a MeadFest Tasting Team to do formal tastings of commercial meads for putting in the GM mead review section, since we expect over 100 commercial meaderies to attend this year. We won't get through all 100, but we'd have a great time, and I think we'll all learn more about tasting wine from those who will be there to add their expertise, like Oskaar, and I hope, Dan and Ken Schramm. I can also likely grab some commercial meadery owners to hang with us so we can have some conversation on whatever subject.

So, who's game? Lets have a party! I'll compile all the data here in this thread, and we'll put up a special schedule, room numbers, etc, whatever data we need so you can navigate the MeadFest in GM fine style!

Don't book now. Lets get a tally, and I'll have the room info soon from Julia at the IMA. Then we'll get the discount, etc., and can block out rooms all at once. It will be easier to keep us all together that way. And, if I have a number, I may be able to negotiate an additional room as a 'party room' or suites or some other perk for us.

Guess I'd better whup up a Team Gotmead shirt design!!!

OK, I just got the word that I will have 3 sets of tickets to the Festival, that is, 1 ticket for each tasting session for each night.

So, I'll need the following people in the Gotmead Posse:

1. One person, preferably a computer geek, to volunteer to tape the talks, of which there will likely be 2 hours each night. You will need to sit and monitor the <unspeakable word> computer to ensure it doesn't decide to spontaneously stop recording in mid-talk. You'll be setting up the computer, placing the microphone, and minding the equipment during the talks, and ensuring it reaches my room unbroken (this is my business machine) after. I will show you what to do ahead of time, in case you're not up on voice recording software.

2. One person to help me manage the table. This person should be comfortable as a sales-type person, able to sell or at least convince a prospective advertiser to pick up a packet and consider buying ads on Gotmead.com (more ads means less needed subscribers). Also able to discourse about Gotmead intelligently, what we are, what we do, and what we're about.

3. One person who is *really* outgoing and not afraid to talk to strangers willing to interview festival-goers, meadmakers and commercial operators about the festival, what's going on, and what sort of time they're having. Short, to the point, and we'll work out some base questions ahead of time. But you have to be able to temporize and improvise too.

For all of this, I will provide all the equipment, and will be expecting those who wish to apply for these positons to give me some kind of informal resume with their qualifications, since you will be representing the site. Of course, you get a uniform in the form of a Team Gotmead shirt with 'Staff' prominently shown.

If interested, please do *not* respond here, please send me your qualifications and such to gotmeadATgotmead.com.

Accepted positions receive free t-shirts, free tickets to the Festival, party time with Team Gotmead and don't be suprised if various commericial meadmakers yet to be named show up (cause I've met a lot of them over the years), and the knowledge of knowing you helped your favorite mead site do what needed to be done to make the IMA go a bit further on, yaddayaddayadda, yackety-schmackety. You know the drill. If you wanna help, drop me a line.

Vicky - for once in my life, trying to be organized

Hi Rhianni, and welcome to my Place!

Yeah, this is the same IMF, and I hope we'll see you there! Now that I've finished re-installing the website from the crash, I'm setting up a room block, getting the folks who will be helping me with taping and running my sponsor table organized, and trying to schedule some gatherings for tastings. Keep an eye on this thread, I'll be announcing things here.

Vicky - backing up the working copy of the site as we speak...