Why not Pisgah?

I am compelled to let our entire membership know why we are not going back to the Mt. Pisgah site this spring.   First let me say that Ron Rogers did an excellent job as event coordinator for us last year. I have the highest hopes that when we find another site in the Eugene area he will continue in that role on behalf of the Club. Also, the site had some very positive aspects including an interesting and diverse battlefield that everyone really enjoyed. Given time I believe any event we can create in that market will lead to new recruits and an excellent outreach to the schools through a ‘school day’.

All of you need to know that the Event Planning Committee and the Board are very committed to a Eugene or southern area reenactment.  We are already investigating two sites and will look for additional options.  Moving back to Lebanon for this year enables us to offer a popular spring reenactment while we find another location down south. The decision to not return to that Park wasn’t made frivolously or without considering our hope to meet area schools’ desire to take their kids to such an event. 

Last year, Steve Betschart and I made 6 trips to Eugene to negotiate a marginal agreement with Lane County Parks. Lane County Parks are almost impossible to deal with and the mountainous hoops we had to jump through the get the first event off the ground were quite frankly absurd and bordered on offensive.  I personally hate it when the NCWC is looked at as a cash cow.  Last year was too expensive to use that park; this year was going to be beyond my imagination.  This year’s contract with Pisgah was much worse than even Doris Ranch where we paid to be there while other living historians at the event were being paid!

Park manager Dave Stockdale insists we could acquire a Lane County Tourism Grant that would have helped pay the substantial increase in fees to use the site. To that I have a two-fold response.  First, even if we got that grant this year, what about next?  The park is still way over-priced and over-regulated for it ever to be reasonably viable.  Second, I have applied for this specific grant in 4 counties in Oregon over a dozen times on behalf of the NCWC and other organizations.  These grants are almost always funded by transient room tax dollars.  They are weighted heavily based on not only visitors to the area, but the number of motel rooms any given event generates.  Our reenactments do not generate qualifying room nights. 
 
I think, along with the Event Planning Committee and the Board, that we are far better off to cut our losses now and work to build an event in a location where we are genuinely welcome and offers a reasonable financial partnership.  That is exactly what I think the Board should do in every circumstance.  While we are a non-profit, we can not plan on losing thousands of dollars at one event and expect to exist as an organization for very long. Please know the Event Planning Committee and various volunteers are actively working on a southern event with the best interest of the Club in mind.

Scott Ingalls, Vice-Chair