By Jon Walker, F268778
February 2018
FMCA President
It is my great pleasure to officially welcome anyone who owns a self-contained towable RV to FMCA! As a result of the recent vote of the FMCA membership, you and others can now join us as full members of our not-for-profit, member-owned association.
Some of you might be asking, why is this happening now? Haven’t we always been a motorhome owner’s association? I’m fortunate to have been an active member for a long time, and I have witnessed the history of the discussion regarding whether to maintain the status quo and keep membership restricted to motorhomes or to extend membership to owners of other self-contained RVs.
When I was elected five years ago to serve as your national senior vice president, my FMCA travel responsibilities increased. It seemed that everywhere I went, FMCA members asked me why owners of towable RVs could not join our association. The answer that came out of my mouth was always: 1) We began as a motor coach group, and 2) The Governing Board voted this down by an overwhelming margin every time the question was raised by someone from the floor during the meeting.
Was this the way to approach the issue? I did not think so. If the general membership was constantly asking this question, then why not really study the pros and cons, present them to the Governing Board, and see whether the Governing Board would vote to allow the general membership to decide on the matter?
Over a year ago, Charlie Adcock, then FMCA national president, officially started the process by directing the FMCA staff to begin the work involved in sharing all of the pros and cons with the FMCA Governing Board. We spent a year compiling good information, and presenting the reasons for and against at area rallies and international conventions. We shared information in the magazine and via email. We wanted to ensure that the general membership would be prepared and informed when it came time to vote.
I am convinced that every effort was made to get all of the available information to our members. The final outcome of the vote by the general membership echoed the vote of the Governing Board during their meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana, in July 2017.
What I have come away with while contemplating this major change to our organization is that it simply is NOT about the equipment an RVer owns; it is all about the PEOPLE who use the equipment!
Once the Governing Board voted in favor of sending this issue to the membership for a decision, your staff began to work diligently to ensure that the association would be ready to welcome owners of self-contained towable RVs if the membership deemed so. Consequently, we are all set and have our arms wide open to welcome all of our new members.
What will NOT change is the fact that FMCA is the world’s largest not-for-profit, member-owned RV association. We are incorporated in the state of Ohio as a social club with a focus on education. We are actively working to make your association the best source of RV-related educational material in the world. We have added professional education people to our staff as we work toward building the online FMCA University, and I am delighted by what the future holds for all of us!
In case you missed it, I’ve shared the text from the email announcement that was sent to members with a valid email address on file. Be sure to read that information, titled “FMCA’s New Adventure,” (below) and to visit www.fmca.com/membershipvote and read all of the “Frequently Asked Questions” about FMCA welcoming more RV owners. You also can call me or email me with any additional questions you may have concerning this topic, or any topic.
Hearts and chocolates. Christmas is a few days away as I write this; however, with this column appearing in the February issue, my thoughts have turned to Valentine’s Day. When I was a little boy living in a small town in southern Illinois, my parents would allow my brother and me to hop aboard the Illinois Central Railroad for the train trip to see our Aunt Mary, who lived in Chicago. We always thought we were really “grown up” to ride on the BIG train by ourselves. We did not know at the time that our parents, of course, made arrangements with railroad employees to have someone responsible for getting us off at the right place at the right time. Aunt Mary always had a Valentine’s card and a box of Fannie Mae chocolates waiting for us. She also would take us to downtown Chicago for a visit to the original Fannie Mae candy store.
I’ll save the “rest of the story” of my longtime Valentine’s Day tradition for my blog at www.joinjonsjourney.com, so you’ll want to check it out. Meanwhile, I would like to wish everyone a happy Valentine’s Day.
By the time you read this, Sondra and I will have attended the Western Area Rally in Indio, California, as well as the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation, and RV Show in Arizona. At the beginning of February, we will head to the Southeast Area Rally in Lakeland, Florida, for some fun in the sun!
Speaking of fun . . . Have you made plans yet to join us in Perry, Georgia, for FMCA’s 97th International Convention and RV Expo? We’ll gather at the Georgia National Fairgrounds & Agricenter March 15 through 18, and we are planning to have a great time. FMCA director of events Doug Uhlenbrock and his staff have been working hard to take all of the good things associated with an FMCA convention and make them better. I’m looking forward to this event, and I want as many of you as possible to attend.
If you absolutely can’t be with us in Perry, you’ll have a second opportunity this year to attend an FMCA convention. We are Wyoming bound in July and will meet at the CAM-PLEX Multi-Event Facilities in Gillette. Registration is under way for this July 18 through 21 get-together. With so much to do and explore near and on the way to and from Gillette, this would be a great family vacation.
Until next month, no matter where you roam, remember, it still is all about having fun!
Your community is about to embark on an exciting new journey. According to the results of the recent vote, members are in favor of broadening FMCA’s scope and welcoming owners of all self-contained RVs. A total of 6,820 mem-bers voted in support of this change, and 2,981 voted in opposition.
We want to reassure everyone, regardless of how you voted, that the things you know and love about FMCA aren’t going to change! We have been and will remain a family of RV enthusiasts who share many interests. FMCA will con-tinue to promote the RV lifestyle, and to focus on our core mission of educa-tion and information exchange. We will remain steadfast in supporting the in-terests of RV owners, and fostering the sheer enjoyment of RV travel and the experiences and adventures it brings.
Don’t worry: We aren’t going to lessen our focus on motorhomes. The associa-tion has spent 54 years developing its expertise in serving the needs of mo-torhome owners, so that’s definitely not going away. We’re simply expanding our efforts to owners of other types of RVs and welcoming them into the FMCA family. FMCA has so many good things to offer that it makes sense to share them with as many RVers as possible. The things we’ve learned and the firm foundation we’ve laid while focusing on motorhome ownership will help us to serve the needs and interests of even more RV owners.
As we build on FMCA’s success and work to ensure that the organization con-tinues to grow and prosper well into the future, we ask for your help. Please tell all of your RV friends about FMCA. Let them know about our warm, wel-coming RV family, and invite them to join the fun and to reap the rewards of membership.
I’m excited to be on this journey with you! We realize some of you may have questions about this change and how it might affect you; so, check out this link to frequently asked questions: www.fmca.com/membershipvote.
In addition, feel free to contact me, any other member of the Executive Board, or the staff at the FMCA National Office at any time.
Remember, one thing will never change: It’s still all about having fun! Cheers to a new chapter in FMCA’s journey!