Someone in Blacksburg/Christiansburg/Roanoke/Lynchburg?

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I've got a trial coming up in Roanoke, and I was thinking of the possibility of doing the firearms law lecturesomewhere in that part of the world onthe evening of the day following the trial, in the middle of March. I'd have to line up a place to do it, publicityand stuff. Not sure there's time, really. These things generally draw between forty and a hundred folks and take between two and a half and three hours. Probably have to feed people, too, seein' as how it's going to be evening of a weekday.
And, by the way, I'm in Fauquier Co., clear on the other side of the Earth from Roanoke.
Any volunteers?

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I would recommend either Virginia Western (ROA) or Central Virginia (LYH) Community College(s). They both have theatre style rooms that hold at least 100 people. They do not have food service. There are other places however they are much smaller (40-60) that have food. Of course there are always hotels with their banquet rooms and bad meals. Liberty University would be an option and they could cater.

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The Kirkley Hotel and Conference Ctr. here in Lynchburg has rooms large enough for what you are looking for, has catering that's pretty good and has a restaurant on-site that is open to the public. I have no idea if they are gun owner friendly or not because when I've been there for anything it's been for a work Christmas party and food and alcohol were the plan for those nights. Perhaps the wife and I could test out their restaurant while OCing to see if there is any reaction and report back.

http://www.kirkleyhotel.com

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I am with jmelvin and think the Kirkly hotel or the Hilton Express. There are a lot of places that can accommodate a lecture. There are also a couple of restaurants here that have private banquet rooms and are always happy to host events. I am not sure of all the sizes or the cost.

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The Neighbor's Place Restaurant also has a banquet room that they can use to host meetings and they can do catering in several different ways. Additionally, we know them to be OC friendly since the wife and I OC there regularly and we've had at least one OC dinner there. I don't know if the room could take more than 50 people though.

www.theneighborsplace.com

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Neighbors Place would have been my first choice, however their private dining room will be luck to seat 50 and allow for lecture. Charley's on Graves Mill is another choice. The issue is capacity and food together, plus the cost. How much would you be willing to pay for a college level educational program?

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Thanks for the suggestions thus far, and the PM's - one thing I'm thinking is that I'd like to make it as convenient as possible for people from Blacksburg to Lynchburg; and as much as I dislike Roanoke (and think it may be an inhospitable place) I was thinking that it's centrally located. Any thoughts on that?

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One of our regular members was asked to leave Charlie's Restaurant while OCing there in the past. I've only ever been there once and it was immediately after work so I didn't have my firearm to carry with me. Never been back and that was 2 years ago.

User, Tosta Dojen is the only semi-regular here that I know of that lives in the Roanoke area, but he rarely posts so you may want to try to PM him and see if you get any input. Although I occasionally go down to Roanoke, I can't think of any place that I'm aware of that would be particularly friendly to gun carrying folk and have a place big enough with the facilities for a class. There are a couple other spots around town here that might work, such as Milano's, but that doesn't help much if you want to hold it closer to Christiansburg.

If you have any thoughts on using some spot down Roanoke way or some spot between here and there give me a yell and I'll try to scout it out for you.

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user wrote:

Thanks for the suggestions thus far, and the PM's - one thing I'm thinking is that I'd like to make it as convenient as possible for people from Blacksburg to Lynchburg; and as much as I dislike Roanoke (and think it may be an inhospitable place) I was thinking that it's centrally located.   Any thoughts on that?

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I would suggest the Salem Civic Center. Easy access off I-81 & 460. They do food as several community groups use to hold their membership meetings there and parking is plentiful.

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jmelvin wrote:

Tosta Dojen is the only semi-regular here that I know of that lives in the Roanoke area, but he rarely posts

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Yeah, I've been otherwise occupied recently.

As it happens, my employer also owns and operates the Star City Banquet & Conference Center in north Roanoke. I know for a fact it'd be able to handle the sort of event being discussed here.

I ran the idea by the Center's manager, Joseph Harris. He agrees that he could provide sufficient space and food, and doesn't seem to think lawfully-possessed firearms will be a problem.

I work in a completely unrelated part of the business, so you'll have to talk with Mr. Harris for more information. His phone # is (540)767-4263 x29.