* Event planning. Much more thought is a must, including staging, sound, and lighting, as well as a buildup of programs and activities at site to keep the crowd buzzing beforehand. You also must have a clear, well-planned program after stack is lit.

Things improved somewhat incrementally from year to year, but three years of essentially whiffing in this area is really inexcusable.

Those in charge need to envision the experience from the perspective of guests, including fellow college students and families with children.


* Transportation. The crowd needs easy ingress and egress at burn. Better planning and analysis of capacity needs and capabilities is needed in this area.

Eighteen buses were running tonight, largely from locations not close to burn site. The hourly throughput of that system is insufficient, and that could and should have been known beforehand.

Again, the problems here cannot continue if ASB is to be successful.


* Good burn. Lighting a massive pile of wood is an inexact science at best, but more work can be done to ensure success.

This year and 2004 both lacked in this regard, and left guests feeling unsatisfied by what should be the centerpiece of the evening.

The fire tonight, or lack thereof, was a very painful 'lesson learned', and I expect that the Greypots will make this issue a top priority and Bonfire 2006 will be a spectacular blaze.


[This message has been edited by Keegan99 (edited 11/20/2005 2:36a).]

Typical TexAgs... Always complaining about something... Next it will be that the fire burns orange and not maroon...

From what I understand of burn, things were carried out very well. We drove, as suggested, were able to park easily at 5:30 and leave after the real extinguish of the second light (when you carpool, you don't always have five who want to stay).

The initial burn was MAGNIFICENT. I was proud to be an Aggie. After the initial burnout, we were kindof confused. If there is one thing you should improve on before next year, it's SOUND! We wanted to hear what was going on WHEN it was going on, not 10 minutes later. What you have to realize is that there are SO many underclassmen who have NO IDEA what bonfire is or what it is supposed to be. So there was a lot of negative talk. I would suggest better soudn above anythign else, as well as a program of events on the web site for newbies. I had a great time out there tonight Ags, and no matter what, most importantly, let's

BTHO t.u.! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO6!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm quite impressed with the dedication of the Student Bonfire group, in seeing this through and everyone staying committed to the tradition. The stack looked beautiful, just as I had remembered it from campus burns. However, as mentioned there are a few things that can be easily improved... making the entire event much more exciting.


The delay.. probably because they were waiting for someone or something. They closed parking at 6 (which is fine), but we got there at 5:30 expecting a dark-30 burn(or soon thereafter). 6 rolled around, 7 rolled around, 8 rolled around... nothing. Stay on schedule. After standing around (because chairs were not allowed) for over 3 hours, I'm glad we all have patience for Bonfire otherwise the crowd would have gotten a lot more impatient and rowdy. It was most frustrating watching all the workers stand around, making everyone feel like there was no sense of "lets get this thing going.."

Spraying down Bonfire to burn... do this earlier that day, allow the logs to soak in the fuel so it stays lit. Have it prepared to burn at the time you've asked people to start showing up.

The Last Corps Trip... great effort by the guy. But bring in someone who is used to speaking to a crowd. Poor guy, I thought he was going to cry at some places, and be sure to clearly pronounce your words, and speak loudly.

Aggie Band... it was great to have some music from the Band there, that always adds an element to the atmosphere. Play it bold and play it loud, as if the Band was actually there.

Take a look at the event planning and M.C. of previous Bonfires burned on campus. Good point.. since we're in a generation of Ags that have never experienced Bonfire, teach and show those traditions. Those are traditions are from many many many years past.

As a financial donator to Student Bonfire, I thank you guys and look forward to many more years of the continued tradition. Just bring some of these elements back into it and it will only get better. I think if it continues to improve and stay safe, at some point there will be a serious consideration to bring it back to campus.

Gig 'Em
Field '98

This was my first Bonfire since it fell, and my wife and sisters first. Once burn started they loved it. I will echo what was said before about a schedule. We too waited about 3 hours and had no idea what was going on or when anything was going to be lit.

One thing we were wondering is about the sound system. Could the bonfire staff have used the equipment from the band that was playing? We were on the other side of stack from the band and could hear them great. It seems like some aggie band music could have been pumped through while we were waiting and then for the war hymn/spirit etc.

Otherwise, I had a good time watching burn again, but I'm not sure I could get my wife and sister out there again next year because of the waiting.

Also, students, get some rythym. Saw Varsity's and the yell are always rushed

Our school will NEVER have rythym... This isn't UNT.

First of all, good job Aggies, you did a great job building stack and when it didn't light up as you wished you kept working it.

As for the other stuff, Keegan is hitting the ideas that BTHOB4T12 and I were talking about.

This may be an idea for a branch committee to the bonfire builders, but a "during event" group should be formed to plan for activities during burn. We may even contact Student Bonfire about participating, Keegs, you may want in too. A sound system is a must and motivational speakers are needed to keep interest during burn. It's great for the folks who built it to watch it burn, but for all the little ones and the fans out there, sometimes they want to hear some fire coming out of some speakers. Also, forming an alumni Aggie Band to come out and play real tunes would rock. This might be a task that is very realistic for next year.

These activities would be far too much for those in charge of cut, stack, and burn, but would be great for a sub-group to help arrange.

Again, great job folks!

P.S. Oh yeah, get stack done the morning before it's going to burn and soak it 24 hours in advance to help saturate it. Then do the typical soak at the pre-burn festivities.

[This message has been edited by McInnis 03 (edited 11/20/2005 9:41a).]

Fix transportation so you can have a more set burn time--and a public schedule. Start now looking for speakers--Dan Campbell would be great. If you can't have current players--try to find a few former players. Invite players families--might be surprised who would shop if if Dad or mom was going to give a speech.

Whatever happened to let the dead yell leaders help last year--start NOW making it happen again.

Start now on the alumni band--even if it is small.

Give flyers with the history of the customs--you MUST train the new students.

Again, a group of alumni advisors would be more than glad to help with event planning--coordinating things without taking any of the actual ownership away from the students.

quote:

---

This may be an idea for a branch committee to the bonfire builders, but a "during event" group should be formed to plan for activities during burn. We may even contact Student Bonfire about participating, Keegs, you may want in too

---

This is something that Keegan and I (along with one Green Pot) discussed ad nauseum this week...and it was very evident last night why.

AB2/Keegan,
If anything goes on in that regard let me know. I guess just PM me.

If someone has room to store it, and if there really are unburned logs from this year, store enough wood to dry all year and be the kindling layers for next year. This could be an ongoing practice afterwards--cut could include the starter wood for the next year's fire.

I read my post again this morning, and it does sound overly hostile.

I'm not unappreciative of the hard work that every student has put into this event. Far from it. This was definitely the best one ever.

However, I do see lots of room for improvement, and I'd certainly like to help get things moving in the right direction by establishing a 'Burn 2006 Committee' or something similar.


[This message has been edited by Keegan99 (edited 11/20/2005 12:16p).]

Plus a more successful burn provides more seed money for the organization.

Here's the org chart that I'd like to see:

- Burn Day Chairperson

--- Facilities (sound, stage, lighting, video boards, port-a-potties, etc.)

--- Program (from the moment the gates open through burn)

--- Transportation & Parking

--- Ticketing & Security

--- Merchandise & Concessions

--- Volunteer Coordinator (recruit volunteers and serve as liaison between volunteer pool and fellow sub-chairpersons)


This should be a seperate committee, and ideally, the people filling the roles above should have no other reponsibilities with ASB.

[This message has been edited by Keegan99 (edited 11/20/2005 12:32p).]

That looks good. I definitely agree that the people on the committee should have no other responsibilities.

Keegan, would you put promotions and advertising with that group--at least promotion for the burn. I wonder what a few billboards cost

Also someone to solicit media coverage and to be media liason.

[This message has been edited by 3rd Generation Ag (edited 11/20/2005 12:43p).]

Someone to deal with media would definitely be helpful for situations like what occurred with the Batt when they went to the On Campus folks who really had no idea what they were talking about.

Good points, 3GA.

I was basically thinking of everything that happens from the perspective of guests.

Two more sub-chairpersons:

-- Advertising & Promotion

-- Media Relations


In general, once the responsibilities and tasks are identified and divided ahead of time, the sense of feeling overwhelmed will be greatly diminished.

[This message has been edited by Keegan99 (edited 11/20/2005 1:18p).]

I think lesson number one from this year's Bonfire should be that you guys need a lawyer on staff. I am amazed that you did not have one given the rather significant liability and compliance issues involved with a project of this scale. If you want to be taken seriously, you're going to have to show that you take those issues seriously.

Anyone know what was up with the Hot Rod Hill Bonfire shirts being sold at the entrance? I think many people bought those not realizing there were actual Student Bonfire shirts inside.

They do have a lawyer they work with on a number of issues. But an expert in corporate law won't help much with fighting a burn injunction from a judge. Those are very different fields of practice.

Agreed. They may need to look for a different lawyer, then, or maybe a second one to deal more with the liability and compliance issues. Lawyers get paid to spot issues, a good one would have seen the burn ban issue coming a long time ago. That's not to say the student organizers didn't see it coming, they did and were given bad info by the County Judge. But, a lawyer in the room with them might have caught the County Judge's mistake with plenty of time left to fix it. Just a thought...I bet there are tons of Aggie lawyers in the local area who'd be willing to help with this at little or no cost.

All of this is contingent on the current Student Bonfire staff wanting our help. We can't just storm in and take over the place. These are all just suggestions and we would hope they're open to help from a few old guys

(This thread turned into a hostile takeover sound and that's not what it is, just suggestions for improvement)

Again, awesome job last night Aggies.

good thread, gentlemen. very good points, and it also was a great way for an old **** like me who couldn't make it out there last night to find out what happened.

][otard Hall
V-1
UCM

The transportation was the best that we could do. The mall had an event that night and we were forced to looking to other means. The plan utilized was the best that could have been done.

We don't necessarily need adult supervision for the night of burn.

Students can plan it. The problem is that the people that were supposed to plan it were told in August that that was no longer their/our responsibility. Things didn't get done until we decided to take over.

You can't make an event for multiple thousand people be a success when you wait to the last minute. Hope the things that we were able to accomplish in the last 2 weeks were sufficient, and no worries, I plan on making this internally known.

With all due respect, you might could give your ideas to the guys in charge (as far as event planning), but allow the Greenpots to step up to do it. We have the ability, we just need the chance to do our job.

quote:

---

We don't necessarily need adult supervision for the night of burn.

---

I don't think that anyone was implying that you did. Just making suggestions.

quote:

---

We don't necessarily need adult supervision for the night of burn.

---

Like I said above, I was hoping it didn't come off this way. We have a spirit of wanting to help too. If you don't want help, that's cool, hopefully some of these suggestions will breed your own ideas for next time.

quote:

---

... but allow the Greenpots to step up to do it. We have the ability, we just need the chance to do our job.

---

I disagree. Giving people multiple things to do is a recipe for things to not be done as well as they could be otherwise.

If ONE PERSON has ONE AREA of responsibility then the likelihood of the job being done extremely well is much higher.

Outlined above are jobs for NINE people, and that's only after a quick first pass. A handful of people trying to juggle those same responsibilities simply won't do as well. That's not a knock on the greenpots, but an organizational truth.

We have a Coach's Night in Austin, and jobs are divided in a similar fashion. We don't have a smaller group with no specific responsibilities that tries to handle every area of responsibility collectively or in an ad hoc fashion.

quote:

---

The transportation was the best that we could do. The mall had an event that night and we were forced to looking to other means. The plan utilized was the best that could have been done.

---

Again, I disagree. First of all, there is ALWAYS room for improvenment.

Once Northgate was secured as a shuttle location, the others should have been dropped. The multiple locations made the bus system needlessly complex and reduced efficiency. KISS - Keep it Simple...

Additional buses during peak hours would have helped as well. The aggregate hourly capacity of only eighteen buses simply isn't good enough.

[This message has been edited by Keegan99 (edited 11/20/2005 6:53p).]

I am sorry if this came across as trying to take something away from the students. It is just that the former students might have resources and contacts you don't have. That is why we offer help. No one wants to do it, but might be mentors of sorts for the young people who are doing it. Mc for instance did put together an even for the athletic department. Some others have contacts in journalism and the media. They might could open doors for the students.

That is all. Ideally as soon as a location and site are set, then the mall or northgate needs to be reserved to be available as a bus site.

The logistics hurts the crowd--many don't want to come three hours early just to stand and wait. That is why some system that could transport larger number closer to the actual time or a site with adequate parking--one or the other would be ideal.

Keegan is right....None of the former students want to take over for the students. They are just wanting to help iron out some huge wrinkles in the logistics, execution, and popularity of burn night.

It would be a good idea to let some of the former students work their connections and help out....ESPECIALLY with transportation, sound, and advertising. I'm not saying they have to do that work for the students, but it would be a lot easier to do and more efficient if they did lend a hand in those areas.

I think it's also worth noting that the University did a great deal of the work that wasn't building the Bonfire. They had the bus system, the staging and sound equipment, and the location. It is an awefully large task to expect that people who are already extremely busy with getting the Bonfire built are going to have the time to deal with all that comes with putting on a full fledged event. This is a mamoth event that needs staff dedicated solely to putting it on as Keegan said before. There are just too many details to be taken care of to dole it out to everybody already working.

Here's why I got defensive about the Greenpots...

Aside from paperwork last year (2004), our sole job was doing the work for burn night.

This year (after August when we'd been re-assigned responsibilities), our job was paperwork.

That's all well and good, but we could have done the burn night planning if we would have been allowed to as before. Especially because we'd had a year's experience to expand upon. But, I don't care who does the job within the organization as long as students are given the chance to step up to do it and it gets done.

But that wasn't the case - others tried to take on too much and the job simply didn't get done until we stepped up and took it over.

I'm not one to refuse the help of Former Students. Heck, I'm the one who admitted we needed help rounding up some things for burn night orignially.

I only said what I said because I know that if given the chance, the Greenpots can make it happen as we did in 2004 - but WITH the help of Former Students.

As for the parking - no, it couldn't have been better. The NG association would not have approved of us running solely from them, given our estimates for attendance. Furthermore, that location wasn't secured until the Tuesday before the event. Cancelling the other locations would have been bad on 2 parts:

1) Our relationship with The Hall - they were excited to use the parking lot so people might patron their bar after burn. Backing out on them within a week is bad news.
2) We'd advertised the other locations as parking lots for a couple weeks before NG was secured. Taking those locations away would add to the confusion of the event. People would get mixed messages.

I agree there is room for improvement next year. But with the limits on the resources that we had this year, that WAS the best that we could do.

[This message has been edited by northsidegreek06 (edited 11/20/2005 10:02p).]

the grey pots could have at least went over the yells beforehand if they were going to lead them (they were the 3 most basic yells we have, by the way).

also, the crowd was definately left in the dark (no pun intended). it was hard, if not impossible, to predict that the fire would go out, so i don't think anyone is blaming anyone for that. but at least get on the microphone, thank everyone for coming out, and talk a little bit about student bonfire. burn is the biggest chance there is to spark continued interest in this tradition. leaving the crowd just standing there with the same 3 songs playing over and over again is not the way to go, and is relatively easy to fix.

i have heard that there will be more grey pots this year, and some of them will be completely devoted to burn not (i.e. finding speakers, yell leaders, a band, etc.) this is a GREAT idea and i hope it is true. for all of us who have spent countless hours building bonfire, the logistics of burn night is not that big of deal, but the kids and the ol' ags want to see a smoothly run event and a big fire.

in order to keep people waiting 364 days a year for bonfire to come back around, burn night should be the highest priority of the upper leadership. the building of bonfire is by no means a complicated process. we know how to build it. but holding a successful event is a tough job.

good luck next year. it'll be my first bonfire as a former student. i can't wait. if your having any troubles, let me know. i'm full of ideas, some good, some bad.

I'd add a fundraiser to the committee.