Family & Friends
By Jane Battey, F284722
FebruRY 2007
The “Desert Coyote Fiesta,” the Rocky Mountain Area’s 23rd Annual Ramble, was held in Casa Grande, Arizona, October 11 through 14, 2006. Nearly 500 family coaches, 82 display and demo coaches, and 60 vendor booths filled the Pinal County Fairgrounds for four days of fun, food, and great fellowship. Allen and Glenda Rein, F214273, served as rally masters, with Rocky Mountain Area national vice president Duane Pindell, F105443, and his wife, Rosalie, and the Rocky Mountain Motorcoach Association (RMMA) officers lending plenty of assistance.
The RMMA officers and volunteers began arriving almost a week ahead of time to organize and set up the event. During that time, parking spots were marked, the stage decorated, seminar rooms cleaned out, and vendor booths constructed. The venue was a bit dusty and, although it had a good number of buildings for seminars and a very large building for the vendor booths and entertainment stage area, only a few of the seminar rooms were air-conditioned. We crossed our fingers for, of all things, cool weather. Each day ended with the tired volunteers gathering for hors d’oeuvres or a big “block potluck” dinner and friendship, laughter, and conversation. Serving as a volunteer is almost as much fun as attending the Ramble itself.
Donna Rogers, F301397, our wonderfully talented craft captain, and her husband, Bob, also the food services sub-captain, found a perfect area at the fairgrounds to hold her six craft seminars: an outdoor area called the Cantina, which included a bamboo material that provided cover from the sun. But it needed a lot of cleaning and organization, so with the help of Bruce Battey, F284722, Donna brought out buckets and mops and managed to get the place looking spiffy, only to have to do it again when a windstorm and rainstorm hit the next day.
That same evening people rushed to Donna’s door to grab the key to the Cantina’s wrought-iron door, when it was discovered the bamboo roof was on fire. When Allen Rein opened the gate, Bruce Battey, who had grabbed his fire extinguisher, quickly doused the flames.
About that time, three Pinal County Sheriff’s cars and the Casa Grande Fire Department responded to the 911 call. The response team determined that when the bamboo shade was attached overhead, one of the nails had been driven into an electrical wire that was on the beam. Unfortunately, it picked this time to short out and begin burning. The fire department decided that the damage was minimal and that Donna could hold the seminars there . . . so, the next day she once again dragged out her buckets to clean things up and get organized. What a close call for Donna’s supplies, the coaches parked in front of the building, and the scheduled seminars. Thanks to Donna, the crafts were once again some of the most popular rally seminars.
Despite the dust storm, the odd thunderstorm accompanied by bursts of wind and rain, the very warm days, and this small fire, everyone seemed to enjoy the Ramble. The weather and fire certainly provided lots of fodder for conversation during the event. Folks gathered to renew old friendships and to make new ones, with plenty of laughter and chatting “” and always lots of food.
All of the volunteer chapters did a fantastic job, and without their hard work the Ramble would not have been successful. Each of the chapter members who volunteered truly went above and beyond.
Two events were held the day of the opening ceremonies. Bill Marti, F204932, organized the golf tournament at the world-class Francisco Grande Hotel & Golf Resort in Casa Grande. This year’s Rocky Mountain Area Ramble Golf Classic champions were Diana Crocker, F333356; Tom Roubal, F261185; and Dick Williams, F314991. This trio shot a blazing 8 under par, and each member of the team also won a “closest to the pin” award on one of the par-3 holes. This team beat the second-place team by one stroke. All participants were treated to a gourmet lunch and special prizes.
The second event, the Red Hat Luncheon, was a huge success. Bette “Queen Mum” Davern, F49346, organized the affair, with 72 ladies in attendance. The decorations were perfect, and the food tasted great. Two superb groups entertained us this year. Charlie Narden led an outstanding barbershop quartet from the Desert Sounds Barbershop Chorus. Several ladies from the Frustrated Maestros Rocky Mountain Rockers chapter performed a skit about American women from early days to current times, with each presenter dressed according to the time frame represented.
Ramble attendees braved the heat and shopped at the many vendor booths; loved the ice cream social organized by Joan Pigg, F133119; and had a great time with their pets at the annual pet parade, organized by Vicky Venable, F329689.
Rosalie Pindell planned the Chapter Showcase. Representatives from each Rocky Mountain Area chapter in attendance gave a short presentation about the location and the benefits of joining their chapter. Some simply stood up and provided information about their chapter, and others, such as the Southern Colorado Majestics, performed a little skit. All non-chapter members were encouraged to join a chapter.
The Men’s and Ladies’ Style Show, organized and emceed by Carol Smith, F245135, was a “howling success,” despite the unexpected appearance of a roadrunner being chased by a coyote. Carol recovered nicely and continued on. Outfits, which were provided by a local merchant and FMCA’s national office, were modeled by Rocky Mountain Area members. The cupcakes provided were delicious as well.
Entertainment was excellent and included some surprise special appearances by local talent. Lance Burden, a freshman at Central Arizona College, had everyone standing, joining hands, and singing along while he wowed us with his rendition of Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless The U.S.A.” Lance was a finalist in the recent Arizona auditions for American Idol. Dee Porter, who recently played the lead in “Gypsy” and was a finalist in the Grammy Awards contest held at the local Harrah’s casino, entertained us with a few great numbers as well. The Keepsakes, Swingtips, and Mike and T entertained us with a variety of music while Jerry Lane provided super comic ventriloquism. Marilyn Westcott, F88794, did a superb job of decorating the stage and she and her husband, Russ, had two fantastic coyote decorations made.
We were entertained each morning during breakfast and several other times by the Frustrated Maestros Rocky Mountain Rockers, who were in excellent form this year.
Chuck and Lenora Rozelle, F184851, captained the food service. Chris Cakes Inc. provided us with three different breakfasts. Chuck shared that, just before this rally, Chris took part in a Guinness Book of Records contest for making pancakes. He and his crew won for making the greatest number of pancakes in an hour. They sure know how to make scrumptious pancakes and entertain everyone by flipping them high and challenging the next in line to catch them.
Duane Pindell welcomed a number of FMCA dignitaries: national president Don Moore, F154921, and his wife, Darlene; national senior vice president Connie Pool, F140306, and her husband, Corbett; national secretary Ginger Painter, F23514, and her husband, Charlie; national treasurer Jim Kern, F63208, and his wife, Jo Ann; Great Lakes Area vice president Ross Boyer, F268985, and his wife, Melanie; Western Area vice president Tom Ainsley, F182814, and his wife, Joan; Midwest Area vice president Nelson Stubbs, F107765, and his wife, Janet; and executive director Don Eversmann, F240000, and his wife, Sharon. We hope they had a good time and will join us again soon.
The Rocky Mountain Area annual meeting was held on the last day of the rally. Duane Pindell presented plaques of sincere appreciation to outgoing RMMA secretary Nancy Houck, F83666, who served for five years, and RMMA regional vice presidents Russ Westcott, F88794, and Lil Hoover, F107253, who each served for four years.
Three chapters were given special anniversary awards: Cuatro Estados, whose members have been enjoying chapter activities for 20 years; and the GMC Saguaro Jetsets and the Sun Country Road Runners, which received coffeepots from FMCA for their 25th anniversaries.
Please mark your calendars for the 24th Annual Rocky Mountain Ramble, “San Juan Serenade,” in Farmington, New Mexico, October 3 through 6, 2007. We welcome FMCA members from all parts of the country. It promises to be a Ramble full of fun, good food, and fellowship. See you there.
Editor’s note: Just before the magazine went to press, we were informed that Bob Rogers, F301397, had passed away on January 7, 2007. Our condolences go out to his wife, Donna, and his family and friends.
The Elite Travelers Rally Around Lake Erie
By Charlie Atkinson, L10327
The Elite Travelers chapter held its final rally of the year, September 6 through 12, 2006, at the Tall Timbers Campground in Port Clinton, Ohio. The rally hosts were Joe and Rita Hirsch, F216533, and Carmen and Carol Destro, F225158. Many of the members from the 12 coaches in attendance had never visited that area of Ohio and found a lot to see and do.
One of the treats was a ride around South Bass Island in Joe’s 35-foot powerboat. From Lake Erie you can see many sights that aren’t visible from the land. The next day we went to South Bass Island on a jet ferry, which traveled 40 mph, and made the trip in 20 minutes. The tour of the island was very interesting. We learned about its history, visited a nice winery, and did plenty of shopping. The island was the site of U.S. Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry’s victory over the British in the War of 1812. The Perry Victory and International Peace Memorial is the third-tallest national monument in the country, and the views from the top are unbelievable. It had been closed for repair for a while, but had just reopened the week we were there.
One of the other interesting sights during the rally, for me especially, was a visit to the Mad River & Nickel Plate Railroad Museum in Bellevue, Ohio. This is a relatively small museum, but it has many interesting cars, locomotives, and other railroadiana. One item of note was a collection of several troop train cars that were converted into boxcars and filled with pictures, railroad china, and many more collectible railroad items. The Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad was the first charter railroad in Ohio and traveled from Sandusky to Dayton.
We also visited Historic Lyme Village, in Bellevue; the Marblehead Lighthouse State Park; and Train-O-Rama, a huge operating model railroad display in Marblehead.
Of course, we enjoyed plenty of food during the rally. Every morning we had coffee and doughnuts or pastries, and even breakfast pizza. Joe and Rita took us to several fine area restaurants, some off the beaten track. We also had our business meeting and elected officers.
The Elite Travelers is a rather small chapter that was formed in the 1980s originally for only those who owned Elite coaches or Elite motorhomes. After Elite stopped manufacturing motorhomes in the early 1990s, the bylaws were changed to allow those members who had previously owned a vehicle from Elite to join. Later, the bylaws were changed again to allow any FMCA member to join The Elite Travelers.
The chapter is part of the Southeast Area, with a scope of east of the Rocky Mountains. Anyone who is interested in becoming a member can contact FMCA’s Chapter Services department, (800) 543-3622.
Tennessee Ridge Runners brighten Christmas for kids
Members of FMCA’s Tennessee Ridge Runners chapter gathered on December 2 and 3, 2006, for a rally at the River Country Campground in Gadsden, Alabama. During the event, which drew 45 coaches, a “My Trash, Your Treasure” auction was held to raise money for the Gadsden Fire Department’s “Toys for Santa” campaign. Lee Strange, F187818 (center, light-colored pants), presented a check for $945, reportedly the single largest donation ever made to the program, to a representative of the fire department. Other rally hosts involved in the check presentation included Lee’s wife, Barbara; Jerry and Natalie Hoynacki, F190677; Hal and Carol Ann Hallford, F218244; Alan and Suzie Roberts, F148894; Dave Campbell, F278625; and Pat Campbell, F305004.