plano car meet

[rhd]

i just found out about this and went tonight, its on w. park and midway. it starts at 7 there was a nice group of camaros and a ton of real nice cars. so if anyone wants to go i have a feeling i will be there just about every week lol. i didnt get any pictures but i may bring out a camera next week

[eggydoo]

is it at chuck's? it's not every day. I only see some people out there every now and then

[adub4185]

I think you are referring to the RiceKillers meet that is held every Monday at the Cane's chicken up in Plano. It is a pretty good get together.

[rhd]

Originally Posted by adub4185

I think you are referring to the RiceKillers meet that is held every Monday at the Cane's chicken up in Plano. It is a pretty good get together.

that would be the one im talking about

[rhd]

THIS SUCKS!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEzN79IMSU8



RKC on 8/2/10

For 7 months, RKC has had a Monday Night Meet in the Prestonwood Shopping Center at Park & Midway in Plano Texas. The meet was the largest legal weekly car meet in the state. Up to 600 cars would come in a single night, with every possible make and model represented. It served as a absolutely honest representation of what the hobby is in North Texas, 2010. From a ford focus to a ferrari f430, you could literally "see it all" at the meet. For 7 months, we had no major issues, no major complaints. The property manager herself admitted that she forget we even met there. Thats a good thing by the way, it means the lot was clean and she received no complaints.

All of that changed this week.

For the past 4 weeks, biker behavior has been identified to me as a problem by on duty officers. Obviously, this was not the ONLY problem that resulted from the meet, but it was the one the officers seemed to have the most direct problem with, because some bikers RUN from cops. Do not confuse these officers for the also in uniform off-duty officers who patrolled the meet every week. The on duty officers told me that every Monday night, they were chasing bikers down park and the north Dallas tollway: and they were tired of it. They warned me that I should make it stop, or they would.

I wondered: "How can I control the actions of bikers 5 miles away from the meet?". The answer is I cant. And the fact is, the police dont care.

I have been saying for years that car meets effect each other. Saying that rice is a cancer to our hobby and could kill it. Coincidentally, the on-duty officers on Monday nights were also involved in a recent shut down of a un-rkc-related Wednesday night meet. Even though the two meets werent officially associated, the police very much associated them. The fact that those enthusiasts had give the exact same police so much grief in the past, made them admittedly jaded. They have lost all tolerance. The difference with our meet is that we had officers, we had permission, and we were working hard to keep it safe. They knew that, and worked with us as long as they could. That time is now up.

The constant inconvenience of chasing bikers around Plano wore the on-duty officers out. They knew that I could not control them, but they also knew that the bikers would never be on that side of town if it weren't for me either. Therefore, the most effective means to stop the bikers was not to chase them and write a ticket, but rather to remove their congregation point. In this case, the ricekiller monday night meet.

After Monday Night (August 2nd) they had had enough. I called all of the bikers I could find on Monday to explain how real the situation was, but it didnt work. I am not out to villanize all bikers, so please do not do that. But in this specific instance, it was the actions of bikers leaving the meet that led the police to take action. Once again, many more than just bikers are guilty of having endangered the meet, but for whatever reason the bikers seems to resonate with the police the most.

The action that the police took was simple. They located and contacted the property manager, and then her bosses. They told her what a liability we were, how we were a source of sound-complaint calls from homes built around park rd, and how the meet could possibly erupt into chaos one day because of its immense size. They spooked them. The officers making these calls were directly motivated to do so because of the constant problems they had to deal with on monday night as a result of the meet being there in the first place. From what was told to me, some of the things told to the property manager by the police were exaggerated, but that was hearsay and I respect the police. They accomplished their goal.

I got a phone call this morning from the property manager, who was quote kind. She thanked me for my cooperation, for 7 months of no trouble. She repeated that she was impressed at our groups behaviour, and hopes to work with us at some point in the future. However, because the complaint from the on-duty police themselves had escalated beyond her in the company, she was told to communicate to me that as of 8/9/10 anyone there without the purpose of giving business to a tenant would be written a trespass violation. She apologized for the turn of events, but I knew the politics. I knew what had happened.

I reassured her that RKC is a mature organization, and our members would not cause any problems for her or her center. Additionally, I called Officer Clark with the Plano PD and assured him that our group would be cooperative in vacating the location. I also agreed to personally assist in spreading the word via this post, the youtube video, and in person on August the 9th. They will be lenient on the 9th, simply asking people to leave after I have made a short speech. However, expect officers to write tickets to anyone who parks there on a Monday after the 9th.

I would simply recommend that you do not attend the location any more, and spread the information to your friends.

I am so sorry for this situation. I am so sorry that I have failed all of you, and DFW in general. I am sorry that the general reputation of any/all car enthusiasts in the city of Plano is poor, in part because of me. RICE is very real, and a very real and viable threat to our hobby. The cancellation of this meet because of ricer behavior is direct proof of that.

For the last 5 years, my life has been consumed with car meets, creating, running and promoting them. After this latest defeat, I begin to wonder if I am doomed to be defeated. Is RICE even something that can actually be killed? If I put hours and weeks of work into a new car meet, will a small group of bikers or some other kind of irresponsible owner end it again? Should I switch formats to a CCM style "mega-meet" every 3-5 months instead of far more risky weekly events? There are alot of questions for me to answer for myself.

Please understand, as a result of this information, I am broken. I am in a deep, dark place right now. The irony, that a car meet ran in the name of an organization that was created to kill rice, was itself killed by rice, is overwhelming. I am so sorry for letting you all down.

Thank you all for your continued support of RKC. Thank you all to those who donated, picked up trash, left quietly, and did you part to keep the meet safe. You mean everything to me.

I hope some solution can be found for a meet location for the remainder of 2010. In the mean-time, I am evaluating my own effectiveness as a leader.

It is my sincere hope that no-one would use this dark period as an opportunity to kick me, bash RKC, or further my pain. I am not confident that wont happen.

-Jared Guynes
OWNER - Ricekiller.com

[Johnnyma45]

Sorry to hear that, don't be so hard on yourself and give up the dream. It sounds like it's just a location issue, and that Plano cops weren't having it, so what about a different city?

[louiecvt]

That sucks, and I haven't even had a chance to make it out to one yet. Thank you for all you've done Jared. This is just a set back. The meet shall rise again.Maybe Your right, perhaps just doing a monthly meet might be better. Perhaps maybe doing one in conjunction with Cars and Coffee. They could have the meet in the mornings and you could have yours in the evening. Maybe even in the same location. Imagine a whole day car event. Whatever you decide, we'll support you any way possible.

[rhd]

its not my meet i just liked goiing, he was talking about trying to find a new spot