President’s Message
By Don Moore, F154921
National President
August 2006
If it seems as though FMCA’s president spends a lot of time on the road, you’re right. Much of it is for convention-related business. The first week of May we traveled to Perry, Georgia, and met with Jerry Yeatts, FMCA’s director of conventions, as well as members of the Convention Committee and people from the convention show decorator, Hale Northeastern. For three days we took part in meetings and looked over the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter, which is where FMCA will hold its 77th International Convention March 19 through 22, 2007.
We checked out the facility to see what had changed since we held a convention there in March 2005. You will be glad to know they have done some road work in the family parking lots, and plan to do more before our next convention. The more paving, the better in case of rain.
On May 6 we arrived in Cincinnati for FMCA’s biannual committee business meetings. Meetings started on May 8. Each day a different committee met, and on May 21 and 22 the entire Executive Board convened.
After that, Darlene and I traveled to Berrien Springs, Michigan, for the Great Lakes Area Spring Spree (G.L.A.S.S.) Rally, held during the Memorial Day weekend. There we joined Great Lakes Area vice president Ginny McGrath, F87335, and all of the many volunteers that help to make this rally a success. The rally is hosted by the Michigan Knights of the Highway and sponsored by the Great Lakes Area chapters. They had plenty of fun-filled activities for rally attendees to enjoy. A variety of educational seminars and craft sessions took place, along with exhibits of coaches and related supplies. Several catered meals were included in the rally fee, and others were offered as an option. These meals were served up in expeditious fashion by rally volunteers.
Among the FMCA business I was able to conduct during the rally was a President’s Forum that I hosted on Saturday afternoon for the national directors who were in attendance and for anyone else interested in the current affairs of FMCA. This is something that we do at most area rallies, and I am joined by any of the other nationally elected officers who are in attendance. This G.L.A.S.S. Rally is always a great event, and we were sorry we had to leave the festivities early, but because of the holiday weekend we needed to get a head start on the way to Redmond, Oregon.
We arrived in Redmond on June 4 and met again with Jerry Yeatts and the convention crew for a routine site visit, planning for the upcoming 78th International Convention. This convention will be held August 13 through 16, 2007, at the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center, the same location that we’ve used in the past.
A site visit involves considerable planning. Not only did we check out the grounds to see what has changed, but we met with the authorities at the Expo Center, as well as with city and county officials to go over laws that govern us while we are there. We also met with the local police and emergency personnel to work out routes for caravans and family parking. We located some additional property for a holding area and off-site parking, too.
Our convention planning group must look at all buildings at the site to determine where to house the various functions we have there. The Governing Board will be meeting in Redmond, so we picked the best place to handle this large group. We also select locations for evening entertainment, daytime entertainment, indoor vendors, coach display areas, seminars, and the Youth Program. Some of these functions need a large amount of space.
We also met with the caterer who handles the food necessary for some meetings. And representatives from Hale Northeastern, the company that handles the layout for exhibitors “” both indoor and outdoor “” as well as layout of the parking lots and routes, plus the necessary equipment for setup on the grounds, were there as well.
FMCA members who have been to the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center before will notice that the next time we visit, a new campground and a new building will have been added. Construction is to be completed by October 2006.
On June 7, we departed Redmond and traveled 150 miles through the mountains to Albany, Oregon, in time to help serve the volunteers at the Northwest Area Rally. The rally ran from Thursday, June 8, through Saturday, June 10.
Donzella Leahy, F234822, Northwest Area vice president, and her team of volunteers did a great job. The total family coach count was 487. They served breakfast and dinner daily to about 900 people. It ran very smoothly, and the food was delicious. Each day included seminars, indoor vendors, outdoor vendors, and evening entertainment. The treat at the ice cream social on Saturday consisted of hand-dipped ice cream and fresh strawberries. I was asked to be one of the judges for the Chapter Fair. It was well-attended and very difficult to judge because of all the great displays. Each year their parade gets larger and more exciting. The Red Hat tea was very successful and attended by 200-plus ladies, all dressed for the occasion in red hats and purple attire.
After the Northwest Area Rally we began to travel through the mountains. The views were beautiful; a bit of snow on the mountains and the streams flowing along the interstate were great. Some days it was very windy in Wyoming, Nebraska, and into Iowa as we approached our destination of Henry, Illinois, for the Midwest Area Rally. Following the rally in Henry, the road led us to Gillette, Wyoming, for the International Area Rally at the end of June.
I hope you are planning your trip to Charlotte/Concord, North Carolina, for FMCA’s 76th International Convention, August 14 through 17. By now I hope you have taken advantage of the early registration price break (the deadline for that was July 24). If not, don’t worry, because attending a convention is still a bargain at the gate registration fee of $139 for four days and three nights of fellowship; educational and technical seminars; crafts; tours; a Chapter Fair; daytime and nighttime entertainment; and loads of shopping opportunities for motorhomes and RV-related merchandise. Speaking of the latter, we are once again presenting an exhibit preview in this issue, starting on page 96.
There will be plenty of parking for family coaches on the grounds, with 30-amp electrical service available at an additional cost of $125 for five days, beginning on Sunday, August 13, and ending Friday morning, August 18.
We look forward to seeing you at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. To register, call (800) 543-3622 and ask for the Convention Department; or, until August 4, register online at FMCA.com. After that registration will be accepted at the gate.
Area Vice Presidents Elected
On June 6, 2006, the ballots for the election of five FMCA area vice presidents were tabulated by FMCA’s certified public accounting firm, and the following FMCA members were chosen to serve for two years:
Eastern Area: Judy Czarsty, F79148
Great Lakes Area: Ross Boyer, F268985
International Area: Jay Blumenthal, F230605
Northwest Area: Donzella Leahy, F234822
Western Area: Tom Ainsley, F182814
Elections for national vice presidents in FMCA’s five other areas will take place next year.
Help Us Update Our Records
Please note that the deadline for making changes to the information included in the January 2007 membership directory issue of Family Motor Coaching magazine is October 27, 2006. Please check the 2006 directory to determine whether any of your membership information contained therein has changed, and contact the Membership Department at the FMCA national office to report any changes.
The Membership Department can be contacted by phone (800-543-3622) or e-mail (membership@fmca.com). You also can change your membership record online at www.fmca.com/membership. Click on the Update Info link and log in using your FMCA membership number and expiration date.
Although members’ phone numbers are for FMCA business use and not for publication, please remember to let us know if your area code or phone number has changed. In addition, if any other information has changed, such as your mailing address, zip or postal code, e-mail address, or if you now own a different motorhome, please let us know.
We continue to add e-mail addresses to our membership records. These are maintained for FMCA business use only. If your e-mail address is not currently on file with us, please be sure to provide it. We prefer that members submit their e-mail addresses online at www.fmca.com/membership. However, you also can e-mail the address to us in the following way:
Updateemail@fmca.com
Subj: Update e-mail
FMCA Membership Number (no spaces) (e.g., F123456)
E-mail address (e.g. username@providername.com)
Please also check the information in the Membership Directory’s Stoppin’ Spots listing. This list begins on page 1030 of the January 2006 issue. If you are not included in this listing and wish to have your name added in one or more categories “” Stop Over, Come Visit, Mechanics Helper, or Pinch Hit Driver “” let the Membership Department staff know that as well.