President’s Message
By Jeff Jefcoat, F118344
National Presiden
November 2002
I have now completed one term as president of FMCA and would like to thank everyone for their support this past year. During the Governing Board meeting on September 30 in Hutchinson, Kansas, association business included an election of the four national officers for the 2002-2003 term. I was re-elected to a second term in office, and I am looking forward to serving you in this capacity in the coming year.
Also re-elected to serve were the following: R.G. Wilson, F21025, national senior vice president; June Davis, F158928, national secretary; and Connie Pool, F140306, national treasurer. Serving along with us on the Executive Committee for the 2002-2003 term will be the 10 national vice presidents, who were elected via mail ballot by their respective areas, and the immediate past national president, Charlie Atkinson, L10327. The area vice presidents are as follows:
Jim Ammenheuser, F157201, South Central Area
Donald H. Crawford, F11012, Great Lakes Area
Max A. Durbin, F76454, International Area
William W. Gowen, F93847, Northeast Area
Mary Lawler, F119890, Southeast Area
Donald E. Moore, F154921, Midwest Area
Jim Phillips, F158824, Northwest Area
Leonard E. Pigg, F133119, Rocky Mountain Area
M.C. “Skip” Skipper, F119793, Eastern Area
Tony M. Vincent, F161584, Western Area
During FMCA’s convention in Hutchinson, Kansas, I shared the following report with Governing Board members in attendance and thought other FMCA members would appreciate reading my comments.
Last year when you elected me as president, I promised to place special emphasis on three areas that I felt deserved attention. My report on the progress in those three areas, along with some observations about the organization, follows.
Membership growth
I am pleased that our efforts in this area are resulting in some improvement over the previous few years. The active membership count at the end of the year 2000 was 119,260 families, adding a net increase of only 1,363 new member families for that year. In 2001 our net increase was 1,501, for a total membership of 120,761. Through August 2002, we have experienced a net increase of 3,916 new members, for a total count of 124,677 families –thanks in a large way to the work of existing members. A very special effort to enhance this growth is under way and will be culminating in Buffalo, New York, in July of 2003 when we celebrate FMCA’s 40th anniversary. You’ll be hearing a lot about a PT Cruiser automobile being given away.
On the negative side, to net 3,916 new members through August 2002 required 13,589 new applications. We lost 9,673 members during that time period.
Motorhome quality
The response from some of the major manufacturers is encouraging, but, unfortunately, not from all. Many consolidations have taken place in the past few years in this industry, and most of that was due to some companies’ inability to produce a satisfactory profit for the stockholders, not because of the poor quality of the vehicles manufactured. Some, but not all, companies brought in new top management. I’m sure their immediate charge is to produce a much-improved bottom line. We trust a close second charge will be to produce top-quality motorhomes of which the companies can be proud. We continue to pound away at the quality issue. The FMCA national office does work toward getting help for our members when they have product quality and service problems they have been unable to get resolved. We’re not letting up, and I see progress, but we still have a way to go.
Member benefits
This one is easy to talk about. Unfortunately, we are not finding many new worthwhile benefits at an affordable price. The biggest demand seems to be coming from members who have not reached Medicare age and need medical insurance. Our Insurance and Risk Management Committee chairman, Dick Sherman, continues to search for coverage in this area; however, it is very difficult to obtain such coverage at a reasonable cost. At one time we had a company that offered this coverage, but they chose to discontinue writing this business after a very short time. We are not giving up in our efforts. Don Moore, chairman of the Membership/Member Services Committee, along with the Member Services staff, continues to search for new benefits and evaluate existing ones for possible improvements. Passport America is one example of an excellent program we recently added to our long list of member benefits.
I am very pleased to advise the Governing Board of this organization that we have a great asset in the 58 staff members in Cincinnati. Their attitude, longevity, and loyalty to this organization are most remarkable.
One last comment concerns cost containment of certain services required for our companies. Last year after the September 11 attacks, the insurance industry administered some drastic increases in premium costs. Our principal insurance needs consist of liability, property and casualty, and employee benefits. Our annual premium for liability and property and casualty insurance increased approximately 30 percent, from $246,984 in 2001 to $320,876 in 2002. We have been advised to expect another large increase for 2003. Our agent and our committee chairman are shopping for possible better rates, and I have asked for evaluations by category as to where we might consider self-insuring. One such program was initiated last year on short-term employee disability and is working well. I will be working with the treasurer and executive director toward setting up an insurance reserve to cover us for any area of self-insurance we undertake in the future.
I’m sure there are many facets of FMCA that interest you as individuals that I did not cover in this report. Please feel free to contact me personally or through any communication channel, and I will do my best to answer your concerns.
“Convention” Name To Stay
Among other business, FMCA’s Governing Board voted to retain the name “international convention” for the association’s biannual events rather than to adopt the “motorhome extravaganza” designation. They did, however, vote to use a sequential numbering system for the events. Thus, the event in Pomona, California, in March 2003 will be FMCA’s 69th International Convention, and the event in Buffalo, New York, in July 2003 will be FMCA’s 70th International Convention.