So I'm going to admit right now that I stole most of this message from PHenry, but why reinvent the wheel? Here it is:
Time to get crackin' on the 2016 schedule. We all know how ranges roll - they give all the good dates out to favored groups and offer us Easter and Mother's Day. I know each of you are polite and professional, but be assertive and persistent as well.
Revenue, new members, free advertising are, in my own experience the best incentives. I gave up bothering to appeal to their Patriotism years ago. Not that there aren't any venues that get it, but many do not and often lots of politics involved.
Also, take care to avoid "trap" dates. Here's a 2016 calendar: http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/2016
• Jan 1 Friday New Year's Day
• Jan 18 Monday Martin Luther King Day
• Feb 15 Monday Presidents' Day
• Mar 27 Sunday Easter Sunday
• May 8 Sunday Mother's Day
• May 30 Monday Memorial Day
• Jun 19 Sunday Father's Day
• Jul 4 Monday Independence Day
• Sep 5 Monday Labor Day
• Oct 10 Monday Columbus Day
• Oct 31 Monday Halloween
• Nov 11 Friday Veterans Day
• Nov 24 Thursday Thanksgiving Day
• Nov 25 Friday Day After Thanksgiving Day
• Dec 25 Sunday Christmas Day
• Dec 26 Monday Christmas Day observed
Please get this out to all your shoot bosses and local BOTG.
Be sure to list your own personal calendar as well if you need to SB events (as we all do). When a venue offers you a list of dates - always check it against holidays and your own stuff to avoid that "Oh dang!" moment and a scramble to get it covered. And then despite great effort to avoid problems, accept that you'll miss something - at least I always seem to.
Let's see what we can do. The Great Lakes Region Rules!