This active group welcomes RV owners who live in the western United States and British Columbia.
By Paulette Kotan, F101818
June 2018
Rockwood West recently celebrated its 30th anniversary with a rally at Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve in Santee, California. Roy McDaniel, an area vice president with the Western Motorhome Association, presented the chapter with a certificate to commemorate the event.
Rockwood West was formed for owners of Rockwood motorhomes in March 1988 during the FMCA convention in Del Mar, California. Bob Topham, owner of Topham RV in Irvine, promoted FMCA by giving a one-year membership to anyone who purchased a motorhome from his dealership. Mr. Topham donated a coffeepot and other items to the chapter and supported it with monetary donations for rallies during the years he was in business.
In 1994 Rockwood ceased production of motorhomes, so the chapter opened membership to owners of any motorhome brand in California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. However, the majority of the membership resides in southern California.
The recent vote by the membership of FMCA to allow owners of other self-contained vehicles to join the association was welcomed by Rockwood West. We already have two members with towable vehicles and hope to add more to the roster in the future.
Rockwood West is a small chapter, but we have traveled far and wide to hold rallies in places such as Death Valley, California; the north rim of the Grand Canyon; Puerto Penasco, Mexico; Jantzen Beach, Oregon; and Tombstone, Arizona, to name a few. Several members are planning to attend the 2018 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in New Mexico this September. We also have an annual rally in Quartzsite, Arizona, in January.
Our members participate in many activities during the rallies, such as photography, geocaching, flying drones, and attending garage and estate sales. One of the members is very crafty, so the ladies make a craft during each rally that relates to the nearest holiday, such as a ribbon tree at Christmas or pumpkins for Thanksgiving.
In December, one of the members hosts a Christmas party at their home and each family donates a toy for the Toys for Tots drive.
Our rallies usually begin on Thursday with dinner out; then we have hosted breakfasts on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and happy hour food on Friday in lieu of dinner. On Saturday, it is the host’s choice of whether to have a hosted dinner or potluck. No matter what kind of food is served, it never goes to waste, because this group knows how to eat!
If time permits, we play various games after dinner, or we gather around the fire to swap stories or make s’mores.
For more information about joining Rockwood West, please see our newsletters at www.rockwoodwest.blogspot.com or contact chapter president Richard Strobel at (619) 479-3937; email rstrobel@att.net.
For general information about FMCA chapters, contact the Chapter Services Department at (513) 474-3622 or (800) 543-3622; chapters@fmca.com.
If you would like your chapter to be featured in Chapter Spotlight, contact FRV associate editor Peggy Jordan, (800) 543-3622, ext. 212; pjordan@fmca.com.