FMCA Insights
By Donzella Leahy, F234822
April 2008
The Membership/Member Services Committee includes Sam Allen, Northeast Area vice president; Joanne Durbin, FMCA national secretary; Fred Kennedy, South Central Area vice president; Allen Rein, Rocky Mountain Area vice president; and Charlie Schrenkel, Southeast Area vice president. I am the Northwest Area vice president and chair of the committee. FMCA national president Connie Pool is an ex officio member of the committee, and FMCA executive director Don Eversmann serves as an adviser.
All of us are new to this committee, so we took some time to get acquainted and found that we all share a love for FMCA members and want to serve them the best we can.
Committee members met this past November. At that time we discussed the current member benefits and the input we have received about how valuable they are, how they affect retention of current members, and how attractive they will be to future FMCA members. We have an excellent benefits package that our members can and do take advantage of. This committee’s responsibility is to “develop, solicit, and review ideas and recommendations that may create new and improved member services.”
We will continue to explore additional benefits that will keep up with the constant change around us. We want to hear from you, the members, with your ideas and suggestions.
In November we reviewed, and if necessary renewed, many of the programs that are offered, such as a free copy of the FMCA North American Road Atlas & Travel Guide, given as a reward for the first new member you recruit; Camping World/FMCA Store coupons as rewards for recruiting subsequent new members; and the Flying J discount program; accidental death and dismemberment insurance; the MEDEX Plus emergency medical evacuation program; and many more benefits that you can read about in FMC magazine.
Each issue of Family Motor Coaching contains an application for membership that lists the many benefits of joining our association (to find it in any issue, just look in the Advertising Index for “FMCA Family Application”). In addition, the complete Member Benefits Guide appears in each January issue of FMC magazine. Benefits information also appears online on the Membership channel on FMCA.com. I urge you to read about the many benefits that you receive through your membership to be sure you’re taking advantage of them all.
You may be familiar already with the Flying J Real Value Card Program; FMCA’s Emergency Road Service and Technical Referral Program from Coach-Net; Passport America camping discounts; the FMCA.com Web site; and the FMCA road atlas. But here are a couple benefits you may not know about.
First, we have a wonderful staff that takes care of the mail forwarding service. Did you know that, if you wish, they will even sift out your publications and third-class mail (often junk mail) so you don’t have to pay the postage required to forward it to you? FMCA has approximately 116,000 members, but only about 3,200 use this service in any given year. All members pay for is the actual postage necessary to have your mail forwarded to you.
Trip routing is another great benefit. Even if you use a GPS system, with these maps you can sit back and enjoy your trip even more, because they give details that help you to go to or around the larger cities. I like the option of being able to request a “scenic” or “direct” route.
One of our most popular benefits is the MEDEX Plus emergency medical evacuation plan, and it is also a powerful recruiting tool. Contrary to what you might think, age is not a factor in the MEDEX Plus program. We can be any age and in a situation that requires assistance with medical and travel emergencies (coverage applies when traveling in the United States, Mexico, and Canada and more than 100 miles from your primary residence “” the address listed on your drivers license). Another RV organization offers a similar program, but its members are charged for this service. With your FMCA membership, MEDEX coverage is free.
You may wonder how the FMCA staff comes into play with member benefits. They are the people who are responsible for communicating with members. They receive the questions and are quick to respond. Our committee thanks them for all they do to make sure members’ needs are met.