I think ranking preferences might help the discussion. I also agree that picking a F2F site walking distance from the hotel is good, though I don't hate the limo plan.

Also, deb, I have one question: what happens if you're in the middle of a relapse come F2F time? It's great that you're willing to take so much on to yourself, but if we plan for you to cook and then you can't for whatever reason, Plan B becomes very important.

(Though Plan B could probably be a trip to Trader Joe's, and we'd all happily much on cheese and crackers. Still, it seems worth asking.)

Lyra, it's a good point and one I'd already considered (the exacerbation issue, that is). But the very last thing it would affect would be the food prep - my entire object would be ease and low cost.

Trudy made the point about why not go out for dinner first, and I sat here nodding; my own take is that official catering at the event is going to drive up the cost. But two chafing dishes full of chicken and pasta for hot food, a tray of stuffed mushrooms and two vast bowls of different salad, are going to run about a hundred dollars maximum, based on 50 people. Two bucks per person - since I already have the equipment, retired caterer, and therefore there's no rental cost involved - is a lot better than $15 to $20 per person at a local restaurant. Hell, it's cheaper tham MacD's.

I'd choose the food prep for quick and easy.

As one of the many whose attendance depends on the overall cost, I really, really appreciate all of the efforts to keep our costs low. Although when I win the lottery, I'm totally renting out a five-star hotel for us. Possibly in Greece or Italy.

Also, I'm down with having prom in an offsite location, but I think it would have to be within walking/easy-wheelchair-transport distance to the hotel, for all the reasons already given. I loved being able to change costumes at the DC F2F, and/or just escape to the solitude of my room for a few minutes. Also, having the prom in the hospitality suite meant that we could hang out there until all hours, and I don't know how likely it is that we could book another space for prom with the caveat that some of us may stick around until 4 or 5 in the morning. (It may in fact be very likely--I don't know.)

Kate, yep - prom onsite is at the top of the list to ask about. All part of the options - hence, gathering how people feel about it.

I'm not a math major, but the sum on this one seems simple enough: the lower the total cost per attendee, the higher the attendance percentage. Options. Options are our friend. As many as I can find.

What JenP said in regard to old hash. Not to re-hash anything but I'm pretty much in total agreement with what she said about last year.

New stuff: I'm flexible with prom being on or off site and I'm flexible with dates. Whatever allows for as many people as possible to attend, that's what I'd like to work toward.

Ok, here's my thinking:

I have, from my initial post, been proposing a "Hell, yes/Sure/No" ballot, which would be helpful in getting initial numbers. I think, if we do a ranking instead, we need to make sure it is possible to only vote for some of the dates/locations, so, if a person can't do one of the places, they can, essentially, vote "no" on it. My ideal solution would be the "Hell, yes/Sure/No" with the ability to vote for a favorite, in case there is a tie.

I also strongly think we need to hold off on making price-ceiling decisions until after the date vote, so we know how many people are still in the "planning on coming" crew.

Whatever allows for as many people as possible to attend, that's what I'd like to work toward.

I think we're probably all in agreement on this point.

It seems like either preferential voting/ranking or the extra verbiage that's been mentioned will help with that.

Debet, if you want help with drafting the ballot or reporting results, I'd be happy to jump in. All the horses in this particular race would be winners for me.

Thanks, -t, I may take you up on that.

What if we did run-offs? I brought this up last year too late so now I'm doing it nice and early.

If we're again split roughly four ways, maybe we could re-vote on the top two. That might give us a more accurate picture of what people can/will do.

Trudy, for sanity reasons, I'd rather do a single ballot to start out, unless/until we need a run-off. We can set a threshold for a run-off, if that would make people more comfortable?