By Charlie Adcock, F311374
FMCA National President
February 2014
Hello, My FMCA Family,
Since my previous column, a lot has happened. And the new year will be starting out with a big bang. By the time you read this, Gloria and I, along with national senior vice president Jon Walker, will have traveled to Indio, California, to attend the Western Area Rally in early January. From there we plan to do a site visit to Pomona, California, in anticipation of FMCA’s 91st Family Reunion and Motorhome Showcase scheduled to take place March 26-29, 2015, at Fairplex. Then we will head east to the Southeast Area Rally in Brooksville, Florida, set for January 30-February 2.
I also have plans to attend a regional Roadtrek chapter rally in Kissimmee, Florida. From there, I have a speaking engagement at River Bend RV Resort before heading back home to Arkansas to catch my breath. A few days later, we head out to the Military Veterans chapter pre-rally and then on to Perry, Georgia, for our 89th Family Reunion and Motorhome Showcase, March 17-20.
So, as you can see, the new year has started out at a very fast pace for me and Jon. Our biggest hope and pleasure is to meet and visit with each one of you that we encounter during our travels.
Okay, guys, let’s not forget that Valentine’s Day is this month. Be sure to do something extra special for your #1 squeeze. I may even get Gloria some flowers this year. Of course, I already take her out to eat every night. Someone told me the other day that you could actually cook in one of these motorhomes! Gloria has always told me that it was a fire hazard to cook in there, so we’ve never cooked in ours. Anyway, I would like to wish each of you a very special Valentine’s Day.
One of the really fun things that I got to do since my last article was attend a Cruisin’ Cajuns chapter rally and install their new officers for the coming year. They had 175 coaches in attendance at the rally, which was held in Rayne, Louisiana. Al Vormittag, national vice president, International Area, and his wife, Bobbie, were able to attend with us. I’m here to tell you a great time was had by all.
While at this rally, it became known that we had recently suffered a personal family loss when we had to have our 13-year-old pet goat, Nuk Nuk, put down. Although goats may be expected to live 15 to 18 years, Nuk Nuk got so crippled up with arthritis that he could hardly get around. (He did a lot better than our barn cats, though, who rarely survive more than a few years because of the coyotes.) He was a companion to the horses we had and then to the cows when we got them. Nuk Nuk was not very people-friendly. He didn’t want anyone to touch him, so he stayed some distance away from everyone. It was always funny to watch our grandson, Dalton, when he was about 7 years old, chasing Nuk Nuk all over the pasture to try and catch him. Only when Nuk Nuk got crippled was I able to touch him and to feed him by hand.
So-o-o, to help us get over our loss, Glenn and Jeanette Romero, F211773, gave us a 1½-year-old pygmy goat. This baby is very well trained. She is actually broken to be led on a leash. I’m not sure how well she is house-broken, though, and Gloria drew the line and flatly refused to let her stay in Gloria’s Closet (that’s what I call our motorhome). By the way, the goat’s name is Gucci.
I hope you have been reading all the information leading up to the Family Reunion in Perry, Georgia, and catching the excitement. The theme is “Passport to Perry.” The Convention Committee, led by Jon Walker, and the very capable Events Department staff have a fun-packed week lined up for us. They have nighttime entertainment booked that should fit everyone’s tastes. If you like comedy, you won’t want to miss seeing Jeanne Robertson. She talks a lot about “Left Brain,” her husband. And, of course, The Texas Tenors will wow us with their range of talent, from opera to country music and Broadway tunes. To wrap things up, we will be treated to Sarah Getto’s show. I like to call her the darling of FMCA. If you have never heard her, you are surely in for the blessing of your life. If you have heard her before, I suspect you will be like me, hanging on to every note of every song. Sarah is truly a songbird. I’m telling you folks, if you were to pay to see this three-night entertainment package at a public venue, it would probably cost twice your rally registration fee.
I had occasion to look at an RV forum the other day, and was I amazed at the misinformation about FMCA out there. I suppose some of these bloggers and posters just need something to do. If you ever see something that just doesn’t look right, please contact me or someone at FMCA for the correct information.
Speaking of blogs, I’m sure most of you know by now that I have a blog on the FMCA Web site. It is called “Travels with the FMCA Prez.” Gloria helps me with it; in fact, she does all the work under my DIRECT supervision. Ha-ha! I think she is doing a great job, don’t you? If you have not seen it, go to FMCA.com, select “Forums” in the menu line, and then click “Blogs” on the drop-down menu. In the list you will find the title to my blog.
I often have members ask me how my job is going and is it everything I thought it would be. My answer to them is that I am having the time of my life. Why wouldn’t I? I have the pleasure of working with the greatest team of Executive Board members and the very best staff members in the world. I said when I ran for the office of FMCA president that I thought we needed a cheerleader (like Sam Walton of Walmart) who was surrounded by smart people. I hope that I am living up to the cheerleader part, and I know that I am surrounded by really smart people who love FMCA as much as I do.
On a final note, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention our Under 60 Task Force. We are starting to pick up some steam. We have a get-together planned for Perry, and we hope to pick up some more members for the task force there. I am really excited about this group and the ideas/solutions that they can bring to us. As I keep saying, we are not afraid to change as needed; we just aren’t always sure how to do so in order to get the greatest benefit for ALL our members.
Gotta go. Be safe, and see you at the next rally. And . . .
Remember, “It’s all about having fun!”