Cruise Moab 2020 has been canceled

[Hulk]

The following email was just sent to all Cruise Moab registrants:

March 17, 2020

Dear Cruise Moab registrant,

We are disappointed to tell you that we are canceling the April dates for Cruise Moab 2020. Depending on the situation, we may reschedule for later this year (in the fall), but we cannot commit to anything at present.

If you’re wondering what changed:

1. The Southeast Utah Health Department has ordered that all Moab-area hotels, campgrounds, and other lodging-related businesses be closed to nonlocal visitors starting tonight at midnight.
2. Easter Jeep Safari has officially canceled their entire event.
3. President Trump has issued new guidelines to avoid social gatherings in groups of more than 10 people.

Refunds

• In the next week, we will send out an email asking for your preference concerning your refund. We’ve already heard from some people who want to donate their registration fee towards the costs we have incurred and/or the land use organizations that we help fund annually. You will have a choice to receive a refund, a partial refund, or no refund.
• Our plan is to either provide refunds or accept donations. We prefer not to issue credits for a future Cruise Moab event.
• We will refund 100% of your money for raffle tickets, food, and BLM fees.
• We need to do some accounting to determine the rest of the refund we can issue (since we already have t-shirts and other merchandise).
• We’re sitting on a big stack of awesome CM2020 shirts and other merchandise. We need to figure out whether to mail these to everyone or sit on them in the hopes we can hold an event in the fall.
• It will probably be a week or two before we issue refunds.

Rescheduling

• Things are too uncertain to predict whether we can hold a rescheduled CM event in the fall. If we do have a fall CM2020, you will receive the first opportunity to re-register for the event.

On a personal note, I can’t tell you how disappointed I am about this. I first attended Cruise Moab in 2001 and have been involved in planning the event since 2003. This is the first time in 23 years that we have canceled. If we saw any way to have the event safely, we would not be canceling.

If you have a question or comment, please send us an email at registration@cruisemoab.com.

Best regards,
Matt Farr
Cruise Moab 2020 Chairman

 

[Rzeppa]

This is the right thing to do and hats off to the committee for coming to this painful conclusion. We as a country, as a world are in an unprecedented situation. You guys have kicked ass. This is totally out of our controls other than roll with what health experts have recommended.

 

[stusic]

It's making the hard choices that shows true leadership.

 

[PabloCruise]

I guess this would have been to place to ask about updating the event site: https://www.cruisemoab.com/

I am sorry, this is so disappointing after all the work the Committee has put in.

 

[AimCOTaco]

As one of the sponsor coordinators for Cruise Moab I wanted to share that our sponsors have been just great through the cancellation and changes and are looking out for the events well being alongside your committee.

If you are fortunate enough to be experiencing life 'near normal' do consider supporting these small businesses that support us. Have a look at www.cruisemoab.com for 2020's main sponsors.

 

[DomOfTheDead]

I never received an email regarding refunds and preferences. I would like to receive a partial refund and donate the remainder for merch if possible. Has there been an update i missed? I would sure like to have some sweet CM 2020 merch to dry my tears of sorrow.....unless a fall rescheduling is a potential, then i will happily wait.

 

[AimCOTaco]

You haven't missed it Dom, it's in the works...

Some of you may also have noticed a post by Ross Woody, TLCA president on facebook or cross posted other places; the gist of which is the TLCA is working toward allocating some funds to help the TLCA sanctioned events impacted by this to cover any financial losses.

Really great stuff happens in this community right!?

It's a complex situation and taking time to settle so you can expect further outreach from the committee before long.

Thanks all!

 

[AimCOTaco]

As one of the sponsor coordinators for Cruise Moab I wanted to share that our sponsors have been just great through the cancellation and changes and are looking out for the events well being alongside your committee.

If you are fortunate enough to be experiencing life 'near normal' do consider supporting these small businesses that support us. Have a look at www.cruisemoab.com for 2020's main sponsors.

 

[BC9392]

In the original post dated March 17, it was stated an "email would be send out" . In Apr 2 post Andy said it was "in the works". It is now May 27 and I have received no refund nor email. Would somebody update on what's going on?

 

[Hulk]

In the original post dated March 17, it was stated an "email would be send out" . In Apr 2 post Andy said it was "in the works". It is now May 27 and I have received no refund nor email. Would somebody update on what's going on?

1. Hello BC9392, we might be able to help you if you identified yourself. I think your first name is Bob. We have 4 Roberts and 2 Bobs registered for CM2020. Which one are you?

2. Also: @MountainGoat is working through the refunds. I checked in with him yesterday and he said he was nearly done with these. It sounds like it is a tedious process and he can only process a limited number of refunds each day.

3. Finally, there was indeed an email sent to each and every registered person for CM. This email was sent on 4/17. Here is the text:

As you know, we were forced to cancel Cruise Moab which would have been taking place this week.​

​

We are ready to begin processing refunds. To do so, we need to know a few things: ​

• We need you to tell us if you want a refund or not. You can also get a partial refund if you prefer.
  • We're going to ship official CM2020 t-shirts and schwag to you, so we need to confirm your shipping address.

Please go here to take care of this. It will literally take 60 seconds to complete.​

https://www.cruisemoab.com/refund/​

​

If you have any questions, feel free to reply to this email. ​

​

Best Regards,​

Matt Farr​

Cruise Moab 2020 Chairman​

I cannot tell if you responded by filling out the form on the CM website because, again, I don't know who you are. If you want to put your name in your signature, here are step-by-step instructions on how to do so.

 

[mcgaskins]

You guys got any merch for sale yet?

 

[BC9392]

1. Hello BC9392, we might be able to help you if you identified yourself. I think your first name is Bob. We have 4 Roberts and 2 Bobs registered for CM2020. Which one are you?

2. Also: @MountainGoat is working through the refunds. I checked in with him yesterday and he said he was nearly done with these. It sounds like it is a tedious process and he can only process a limited number of refunds each day.

3. Finally, there was indeed an email sent to each and every registered person for CM. This email was sent on 4/17. Here is the text:

As you know, we were forced to cancel Cruise Moab which would have been taking place this week.​

​

We are ready to begin processing refunds. To do so, we need to know a few things: ​

• We need you to tell us if you want a refund or not. You can also get a partial refund if you prefer.
  • We're going to ship official CM2020 t-shirts and schwag to you, so we need to confirm your shipping address.

Please go here to take care of this. It will literally take 60 seconds to complete.​

https://www.cruisemoab.com/refund/​

​

If you have any questions, feel free to reply to this email. ​

​

Best Regards,​

Matt Farr​

Cruise Moab 2020 Chairman​

I cannot tell if you responded by filling out the form on the CM website because, again, I don't know who you are. If you want to put your name in your signature, here are step-by-step instructions on how to do so.

Name is Bob Crossman
My apologies. I remember seeing the form for the refund. However I also remember there were some posts objecting to an automatic $60 deduction for a t-shirt, patch, & mug. I know that I did a comment/post regarding that> https://risingsun4x4club.org/xf/threads/cruise-moab-refund.29211/#post-343885 However, I guess I should now presume, that the $60 deduction is going to occur regardless of club member input. I felt this issue was not resolved based on posts. I will submit form .

Name issue: Thank you for info on how to add my name to my handle. That has been done. I sent an pm/post/email requesting info on how to add a tab/folder.etc (such as the "general chit chat" ) that could hold "new member info" only and never got a reply. I think there is a ton of info that could be put in there. 1. HOW TO FIND OR FIGURE OUT WHAT A PERSONS REAL NAME IS. And I would have been happy to help make this happen. As a fairly new member I find the forum terrible frustrating as all the older members know how to negotiate it and I can only presume they don't feel anything needs to be done. I have discussed this with others who feel the same but have no idea how to make this happen.

Thanks Bob

 

[MountainGoat]

Name is Bob Crossman
My apologies. I remember seeing the form for the refund. However I also remember there were some posts objecting to an automatic $60 deduction for a t-shirt, patch, & mug. I know that I did a comment/post regarding that> https://risingsun4x4club.org/xf/threads/cruise-moab-refund.29211/#post-343885 However, I guess I should now presume, that the $60 deduction is going to occur regardless of club member input. I felt this issue was not resolved based on posts. I will submit form .

Name issue: Thank you for info on how to add my name to my handle. That has been done. I sent an pm/post/email requesting info on how to add a tab/folder.etc (such as the "general chit chat" ) that could hold "new member info" only and never got a reply. I think there is a ton of info that could be put in there. 1. HOW TO FIND OR FIGURE OUT WHAT A PERSONS REAL NAME IS. And I would have been happy to help make this happen. As a fairly new member I find the forum terrible frustrating as all the older members know how to negotiate it and I can only presume they don't feel anything needs to be done. I have discussed this with others who feel the same but have no idea how to make this happen.

Thanks Bob

I processed your refund just now for the full amount you paid, Bob. Credit card processing companies being what they are, it may take a couple of weeks for you to receive it.

 

[crunchy.taco.supreme]

Is there any word on when we will be getting our swag? So I can keep an eye on my porch!

 

[Hulk]

Is there any word on when we will be getting our swag? So I can keep an eye on my porch!

We'll need to schedule a workday to package all the merch and ship it. We haven't done so yet because of social distancing. That seems to be easing, so maybe we can get this done in June.

 

[Rzeppa]

You guys aren't getting what I wrote. That bothers me, and hell yes I complained. When I called Ross (TLCA President) on April 18 I asked him specifically "Has anyone from the Cruise Moab committee contacted TLCA about what TLCA might do to backstop chapters who's events had to be cancelled due to the pandemic?" He said no, no one from the Cruise Moab committee had contacted TLCA.

If anyone from the committee had contacted TLCA, they might have learned important information that might have helped the committee's decision making process.

I am advocating for registrants who may have been thrown out of a job and that $60 would make a difference in their lives. And during my conversation with Ross, he emphasized that backstopping chapter's costs that they had put out was NOT paying $20 for a shirt that cost them $8 to procure. That is my second beef with the committee's refund offer. Full boat retail. Having been on the committee for many years I know what cost is. Now if someone pre-ordered additional merchandise then they agreed to that price, that's fine, the agreed to that price and are willing to pay that. But the shirt, sticker, patch and cup that were rolled into the original registration, that is not enumerated or chosen. My beef with the offer the committee has offered registrants is that they have to pay full boat retail rather than the committee's cost for those items.

I totally understand the committee's fiduciary responsibility to make sure there is seed money for the next Cruise Moab. I have been over those numbers year in and year out and know that we aren't getting raffle ticket money this year, or selling those extra shirts and hats at the event over and above what was pre-ordered. I know from past events we normally buy way more apparel than we sell and end up selling stuff at the Rally below cost just to get rid of the stuff.

Bottom line - the committee should have offered (A) full refund/no merch and (B) partial refund/merch at cost.

 

[jps8460]

N

You guys aren't getting what I wrote. That bothers me, and hell yes I complained. When I called Ross (TLCA President) on April 18 I asked him specifically "Has anyone from the Cruise Moab committee contacted TLCA about what TLCA might do to backstop chapters who's events had to be cancelled due to the pandemic?" He said no, no one from the Cruise Moab committee had contacted TLCA.

If anyone from the committee had contacted TLCA, they might have learned important information that might have helped the committee's decision making process.

I am advocating for registrants who may have been thrown out of a job and that $60 would make a difference in their lives. And during my conversation with Ross, he emphasized that backstopping chapter's costs that they had put out was NOT paying $20 for a shirt that cost them $8 to procure. That is my second beef with the committee's refund offer. Full boat retail. Having been on the committee for many years I know what cost is. Now if someone pre-ordered additional merchandise then they agreed to that price, that's fine, the agreed to that price and are willing to pay that. But the shirt, sticker, patch and cup that were rolled into the original registration, that is not enumerated or chosen. My beef with the offer the committee has offered registrants is that they have to pay full boat retail rather than the committee's cost for those items.

I totally understand the committee's fiduciary responsibility to make sure there is seed money for the next Cruise Moab. I have been over those numbers year in and year out and know that we aren't getting raffle ticket money this year, or selling those extra shirts and hats at the event over and above what was pre-ordered. I know from past events we normally buy way more apparel than we sell and end up selling stuff at the Rally below cost just to get rid of the stuff.

Bottom line - the committee should have offered (A) full refund/no merch and (B) partial refund/merch at cost.

Not full boat retail, and it’s going to cost on average $17 to ship each order wich we factored into the “cost” of the shwag. It is also that nobody reached out. The response we got when we reached out was that they were going to discuss how to handle it and vote. Unless you’re calling someone on the committee a liar.....

I’m actually not sure if they resolved how to handle it to date.

anyhow, I’m hoping we can move past this. I hate beating this drum, it gets us nowhere. I’m sorry Jeff that you disagree with how we handled the situation, but at the end of the day it’s over. We all learned from this. And heaven forbid we have to do something like this again, I’m sure we’ll dig up the lessons learned and do a better job next time.

 

[gungriffin]

anyhow, I’m hoping we can move past this. I hate beating this drum, it gets us nowhere. I’m sorry Jeff that you disagree with how we handled the situation, but at the end of the day it’s over. We all learned from this. And heaven forbid we have to do something like this again, I’m sure we’ll dig up the lessons learned and do a better job next time.

hear! hear!

 

[bassguyry]

@Hulk and @jps8460, let me know if I can help stuff merch into boxes, shipping, serve tasty cold beverages to CM committee members, etc. I'm happy to lend a hand.

I've grown exceedingly tired of the naysayers who seem to do nothing but complain about an unprecedented situation. This was to be my first Cruise Moab, and I can't put into words how excited I was to attend. I've experienced nothing but a welcoming and supportive attitude since joining the club, and I was ecstatic to experience Moab with people who I honestly look up to. My disappointment over the event being cancelled has only been eclipsed by my disappointment in how those, who would be long-term, tenured members of the club have handled their individual disappointment.

@Rzeppa, your dedication and commitment to this club has never been questioned, but hurling nothing but criticism and judgment towards the CM committee and RS leadership is beneath you. I've never met you in person, but I can tell you're a good man, Jeff - I'd expect a man of your experience and character to provide support to our current leadership. Be better, not bitter.

On a more positive note, words also cannot express how impressed I've been with how the CM committee members have handled an again, unprecedented situation. I'm honored to call myself a Rising Sun member based on the actions and behavior of the CM committee members, and will support them whenever and however necessary.