CM-390: CREATIVE MEDIA INTERNSHIP - UPDATE #6
It is Saturday, July 6th, and Tuned Originals Seattle at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, WA is TODAY from 4-10pm! Dylan and I are praying for a good weather and good turnout at the event. At this point, we are both beyond stressed, but we can’t let Wayne Raqueno down!
Before we head out to Evergreen Speedway for the event, we need to get a bunch of things printed out for the show, including the judging sheets and the car and spectator registration lists. Dylan and I actually tried to do this last night after departing the Tuned Originals Seattle Official Pre-Party at Sam’s Tavern, but were unsuccessful. We went to a FedEx Kinko’s last night in Bellevue, and waited for 30 minutes for the worker to come back from their break, but never returned. On the way up to Evergreen Speedway this morning, we were able to locate another FedEx Kinko’s in Woodinville that was open. $80 later, we were ready to head to the venue.
Total hours to complete: 0.5
Vehicle roll-in is between 11am and 3pm, but we notified Bruce Ching that we would be there an hour early to start prepping. I was in charge of car registration and check-in. Before any of the vehicles were allowed to enter the venue and placed in their positions, I would have to verify that they have previously registered. Anyone wishing to enter their cars the day of the show would have to pay $50, versus early registrants who received a discounted price. Up to that point, roll-in is relatively smooth with a few minor hiccups that we were able to workout with Bruce.
3pm is quickly approaching and there is no sign of Team F7LTHY, a car club from Vancouver, Canada, who we reserved VIP parking at the very beginning of the main entrance. It’s a prime area to be in because as soon as spectators walk into the venue, those cars would be the first ones they see. Dylan and I decided to reserve that area for Team F7LTHY because many of their cars have been highly modified, and the “Best of Show” winner will likely come from their team. I contact J.J. Dubec, who is the head guy at Team F7LTHY, and he says that they are running a little bit late, but they are on their way to the venue. I contact Bruce Ching and notify him that we will be extending the roll-in time to 4pm to accommodate Team F7LTHY. It is 3:20pm and Dylan is worried that Team F7LTHY will flake on our event, which means we would have to scramble to fill that front area with cars at the very last minute. I told Dylan to wait until 4pm because they will be here. It’s 3:30pm, and Team F7LTHY finally arrives, and we were able to get them all situated before the start of the show at 4pm.
Line of registered cars waiting to get inside the Evergreen Speedway.
Lawrence Ojas of Intec Racing and I checking to see how many more cars we can fit inside the venue.
Total hours to complete: 6.0
The show officially started at 4pm. While Dylan is in charge of car judging, which will pretty much take the entire show until about 9pm, my job was pretty basic... Check up on everyone to make sure everything runs smoothly. Sounds simple enough, but this involves making sure no one starts or moves their vehicles during the show, checking up on our sponsors and vendors, dealing with any show-related issues that come up, and checking up on Bruce Ching once in awhile to make sure we are not running into any problems with the track. Luckily, only a few minor issues arise during the show that was quickly dealt with.
At the end of the night, Wayne normally presents the awards to all the winners. With Wayne not there, that job goes to either Dylan or I. Because he was the head judge, I suggested Dylan should be the one handing out the trophies. But for some reason or another, Dylan didn’t want to get up on stage, so that responsibility fell on me... And I’m glad it did! Seeing the happy faces of all the people who put so much hard work and hours into their cars to receive a couple pieces of laser engraved acrylic is rewarding and an honor in itself! I hope I did Wayne proud!
It’s a beautiful day for a car show at Evergreen Speedway.
Mallory Tatman’s 2011 Subaru WRX STi took home the “Best Subaru” and “Best Interior” trophies.
Team Notorious VQS is fully represented at Tuned Originals Seattle.
Gorman Eng of GT Entertainment and I got caught taking a break behind the model lounge.
J.J. Dubec’s 2017 Widebody Acura NSX of Team F7LTHY ended up winning the “Best of Show” award.
Dylan Ketrow and I waiting for the award ceremony to start.
Handing out the awards to all the winners was my favorite part of the day!
Total hours to complete: 6.0
Now that the award ceremony is complete, the show cars can finally rollout. Dylan and I are posted at the exit gate and waving goodbye to all the car owners as they depart as a way of thanking them for their support of our show. After all the vehicles have exited the track, Dylan and I have the daunting task of cleaning up. Fortunately, we have several volunteers that stuck around to help us out. We couldn’t leave until all the tables and chairs were stacked and put away, any large boxes broken down and properly disposed, and any large trash thrown away. After all of that was done, I call Bruce Ching to let him know that we completed all the tasks and we were ready to leave. Bruce reminds me that he will be having surgery on Monday, so he will not be able to attend our final meeting. Dylan and I finally leave Evergreen Speedway at 12:30am.
Total hours to complete: 2.5
BUSINESS MEETING/LUNCH AT DIN TAI FUNG IN BELLEVUE
It is Sunday, July 7th, the day after the show. It is tradition for Wayne Raqueno to treat some of our sponsors from the show to lunch or dinner as a way of thanking them for their support. I did not want to break tradition, so I invited some of our Seattle sponsors and spokesmodels for lunch at Din Tai Fung in Bellevue. Din Tai Fung has the best Xiao Long Bao (Soup Dumplings). Although we enjoyed amazing food and even better company, this was also an excellent opportunity to get everyone’s input on how the show went and things to improve on next year. Before I could pay for the bill, Gorman Eng decides to front the bill again... That bastard!
Left to right: Tia Li, Gorman Eng, Kristina Chai, Dylan Ketrow, myself, Tamiko Lee, Paige Campbell, and BJ Ta.
Total hours to complete: 2.0
MEETING WITH DOUG HOBBS OF EVERGREEN SPEEDWAY
It is Monday, July 8th, and before departing Seattle, I meet up with Doug Hobbs, President and CEO of Evergreen Speedway to discuss the numbers and how the event did. Normally, this would be a private meeting between Doug Hobbs, Wayne Raqueno, and Bruce Ching, but Wayne is recovering in Dallas and Bruce is in surgery to remove a cancerous tumor. Before the meeting concludes, Doug hands me a check for Tuned Originals portion of the ticket sales.
Total hours to complete: 0.5
INTERNSHIP HOURS SPENT: 17.5 | INTERNSHIP HOURS REMAINING: 9.0