Need input on SELEM 2008 raffle

[buffo]

Hey guys!

Well, SELEM 2008 is coming up, and we've got good news! Dave and Aijii over at LaserShowParts.com have agreed to supply two sets of galvos as door prizes! We'll have a set of ScanPro-40's and a set of ScanPro-20's to give away!

But here's the *really* good news: Dave managed to work out a special promotional deal with CNI lasers. We've got a 200 mw CNI DPSS blue laser (473 nm) that we're going to raffle off! (We managed to get a deep discount on the price; it will only cost us around $1,500 for the laser - including shipping and fees.)

So I was thinking about charging $30 per ticket, with just 50 tickets to sell. I was also thinking about limiting the number of tickets any one person could buy to a maximum of 3.

The only question I have now is whether to open the raffle up to everyone,
or to limit it to those folks that actually come to SELEM 2008. Thus, I've decided to ask for input from the group here:

As I see it, we've got a few options:

1) We just let anyone that is a member of PhotonLexicon buy a ticket. This would ensure that all tickets would be sold in plenty of time, but it also means that it would be very likely that the person who wins the laser would not be at SELEM.

2) We only allow members that have signed up for SELEM 2008 to buy tickets. This limits the pool somewhat, but should still give us enough participants that all tickets would be sold in time. However, if someone had already signed up for SELEM and then had to cancel at the last minute, they would still be eligible to win the laser even though they weren't in attendance. (This is likely to apply only to a few members, but it still leaves open the possibility that someone could win without actually being at SELEM - but at least they would have been registered for the event.)

3) We only allow people to buy tickets if they have signed up to attend SELEM, with the added stipulation that you must be present to win. This ensures that whomever does win the laser will be at the event, which is sure to add to the excitement. However, it would really suck if someone bought a ticket, then couldn't attend SELEM, and was subsequently disqualified from the raffle.

I really like the idea of someone winning the laser while they are at SELEM, so I'm leaning towards option #3. But I'm concerned that we've got a lot of tickets to sell, and if we don't sell them all, the raffle is a bust and we need to refund all the money. So maybe option #2 is a better compromise, but I'm not sure.

What do you all think? Please reply!

Adam

PS: Disclaimer - I will *NOT* be participating in this raffle. I will administer the raffle, collect the money, receive the laser, and award it to the winner, but I will not be buying a ticket.

We'll have to select a fair means of choosing the winner at SELEM. My plan would be to put 50 numbers into a hat and just pull out the winner, but I'm open to other suggestions if anyone has a problem with this.

[Stuka]

MY vote is cast - Option 2 sounds like a good compromise.

Just for clarification - what is the "official" way to register for SELEM 2008?

ALSO -

My 10 cents worth here, but as long as this will be a "name pulled from the hat" type of drawing, I certainly don't see any problem with you actually participating, especially given your contributions to this forum!

Now, having said that -

I could REALLY use that blue to balance out my red & green !!

[buffo]

Thanks for your input, Randy!

As for participating in the raffle - that is an absolute no-no in my book. I *refuse* to participate in any of the door prize drawings *or* the raffle. True, it's all done above board, but even so you can't deny that it would *totally* kill the mood if the guy that ran the event ended up winning something. (This is exactly why lottery employees can't buy lottery tickets, even though the numbers are picked by a computer.)

Besides, people here on this forum have already done *more* than enough to pay me back for whatever little contributions I've made to the group. (You all know who you are!) So I'd really rather that someone else get the chance to win.

As for how to register for the event, I'll be starting a thread for that very soon. I first need to decide on how I'm going to handle funding this year.

I have posted a new thread asking for input on a new idea I have for this year: I'm thinking about not charging a registration fee and instead using the sales of the SELEM shirts to pay for the auditorium rental. Check out that thread and see what you think...

Adam

[dave]

Tough choice - I'm going to leave it up to you guys

However, I cant see anything wrong with you participating in any of the raffles Adam. I think its unfair if you leave yourself out of them!

[MechEng3]

Sign me up for SELEM....and atleast two shirts. On the 473 unit....I'll go for a couple of tickets there . May be able to donate a few nifty items that I know any laserist can use.......

As for the raffle.....I like No.3....No.2 is also a good solution. You must show up for work to get your laser funds......

[buffo]

Good input so far, guys! Keep it up. Looks like the consensus thus far is to allow people that have registered for SELEM to be eligible to win, even if they end up not being able to attend. That's probably a fair compromise. We'll leave the poll up for a little while longer and see if this trend holds.

Dave;

I appreciate your vote of confidence, but in my book it's a conflict of interest, so I'm going to stay out of the raffles and door prizes. Besides, like I said before, people have already done some *really* cool things on the side to help me out, so I feel like my karma cup is overflowing at the moment.

Mike;

I'm sure folks would be very grateful for anything you'd like to donate as a door prize. Just let me know.

Also, for the benefit of everyone here - you might want to consider booking your hotel now. The Bed and Breakfast Inn that is near the venue is filling up fast... (Of course, you can always stay at one of the hotels off highway 85, but that's about 5 miles from town.)

Adam

[DZ]

Hmm, I was just noticing the rather lite response to the poll above. 12 votes at this time. Who all is planning on going to SELEM? Even if it's a maybe?

[allthatwhichis]

I plan to, but I do not think the boss will be joining me... I need to find a way to strap the projector to the bike.

[DZ]

If I have enough room, and if you're interested, you'd be welcome to ride with me. I shouldn't have to bring the speakers this time as the venue is suppose to be upgrading thier sound system. I guess we'll see as the time gets closer.

[CDBEAM]

Me and Projector#1 plan on being there...Two T-Shirts/2 tickets please.
BoB