July 2018 News. Eastern Area Motorhome Association Officers

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1 July 2018 News EXCITING TIMES A lot of change has been happening with FMCA. It was a year ago that the Governing Board voted to send the Articles of Incorporation changes to the membership. The first of December, it was announced that the membership voted for these changes to occur. Since then we have had over 2,000 families with towable RVs join FMCA. The magazine has taken a new title - Family RVing. We have added a number of new benefits. As of June 1, FMCA has 76,496 members. The Governing Board will be voting to approve a TRUE balanced budget. These are exciting times. NEW BENEFITS * Tech Connect + provides unlimited Sprint mobile data plan for $49.99 per month * Verizon offers 25GB high-speed data plan for $49.99 per month * FMCA Roadside Rescue provides the best roadside assistance plan in the RV industry for $69 per year * FMCA offers the best tire prices through Michelin as well as Continental * The FMCAssist Medical Emergency and Travel Assistance Program is a $105 medical evacuation plan that is included in your dues * FMCA offers the most informative RVing magazine on the market as part of your dues. * Veterans receive a $10 discount when they join FMCA for the first time. Stay tuned folks; there are more benefits coming. GEAR We had a saying in my office, Isn t it great to see a plan coming together. For those of us that work on GEAR (Great Eastern Area Rally) year round, we are seeing things come together. Registration is about 75 as of June 1. Seminar commitments are being made. We have some exciting new seminars planned. The one I am most excited about is Al Hesselbart, one of the leading RV Industry historians in the country. Vendors are requesting booth space. Our committee chairs/co-chairs are working on their assignments. Entertainment has been booked for several months. We hope you will find time to come to the York Expo Center October 3 thru 7. There are three ways to enroll: online, call FMCA Eastern Area Motorhome Association Officers President Bill Mallory, F Senior Vice President Maxine Schremp, F46727 Central Regional Vice President Jerry Cohen, F Western Regional Vice President Dennis Ducharme, F Northern Regional Vice President Thomas Hoffmeier, F Southern Regional Vice President Chris Holtzman, F Secretary Elaine Mills, F Treasurer Berkley Alexander, F Immediate Past President John Reynolds, F Page 1

2 office ( ) or by snail mail. Registration forms will appear in July, August, and September Family RVing magazine. GEAR ENTERTAINMENT The GEAR planning committee members recognize how much you want good entertainment at our Rallies. Otho Tew with the help of Mike Getto have out done themselves this year. Thursday evening, Still Surfin will be taking us back to the good old days with the Beach Boys. Remember Wipe Out, California Girls, Surfin USA, and many more of those good old day tunes when you could understand the words. Friday evening, Let s Hang On will be paying tribute to Frankie Valli. Put on your dancing shoes and be ready to rock and roll to some of those Frankie greats: Can t Take My Eyes Off You, My Eyes Adored You, Walk Like A Man, and many more of those old greats that bring back memories of proms, sock hops, and running out of gasoline on back roads. LOL. Saturday evening, Second Time Thru, a local group from York, will be doing a wrap-up of some of those favorite rock and roll songs that may have been left out the two nights before. Bring your dancing shoes and be ready to boogie. PERRY WINTER CONVENTION FMCA will be returning to Perry in This is a visit to Perry two years in a row. It was not an easy decision and not one the FMCA Executive Board was totally in agreement regarding. But FMCA found themselves between a rock and hard place. I voted for returning to Perry. My decision was based on budget and concerns related to going to a new location in such a short period of time for preparation. I phoned each of the EAMA Regional VPs and explained the situation and asked for their input. It was unanimous to return to Perry. Good leaders take a little more than their share of the blame and a little less than their share of the credit.. Abraham Lincoln WHAT HAVE THE MALLORYS BEEN DOING Garnetta and I had the pleasure of spending the weekend with the Kentuckiana Chapter to celebrate their 20th Anniversary. They held their rally in one of the Mallorys favorite campgrounds, Forks of the Elkhorn. This is a very unique campground built on a creek only minutes from the capitol building of Kentucky in Frankfort. (If you have made it this far in reading the newsletter, congratulations, you have just won $10 of funny money. You must be one of the first ten to me at bmallory@fmca.com and attend GEAR to collect.) We have many fond memories associated with the Forks. We started camping at the Forks in the early 70s in pop-ups. When we pulled into the campgound in our motorhome, we looked at each other and said we have come a long way baby. We spent time in June with the Let s Roll Chapter in Western Kentucky. Gina Munger and her husband, Toni, have a fifth wheel. So guess what, Let s Roll will be welcoming towables into their chapter. Garnetta and I celebrated our 50th Wedding Anniversary, June 14. We celebrated by babysitting our grandbaby. Had a really good steak at Carrs, a little hole in the wall restaurant in Mayfield, KY. Danced to a good old boy picking a guitar and singing country. Wow, what a night. By the time you receive this newsletter, we will be heading west to attend the summer convention at Gillette, Wyoming. Bobby (my mother) will not be traveling with us on this trip. It will be the first she has missed since 2007, the year my father passed away. Garnetta and I had to make a tough decision when we got back from FL. We placed Mom in a Nursing Home. We had taken care of her for eleven years. We want to thank all of our FMCA family for your support and concerns over the years. Ending on a positive note, our lovely grandbaby MaryAnna is doing great. We try to spend every spare moment we can with her. She is growing much too fast. She loves the motorhome. It is like one big amusement box for her. It is great being grandparents. Until next time, be safe out there. William W. Mallory Eastern Area National Vice President of FMCA 4windsacres@gmail.com Page 2

3 MAXINE SCHREMP, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT George and I had the great opportunity to visit FMCA s headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, in May. It was so great to finally get to meet all those wonderful people that work so hard to fill the needs of the members (each of us)! Walking through their working area and seeing everyone at their various task was impressive. Although everyone was busy at work, each and every one of them always stopped to say hello and recognized who we were. What a great team! The meetings of the FMCA Executive Board were very busy all day long and hardly got a chance to break for lunch before they were back at their seats and continuing the meeting. Our national board does a great deal of work behind the scene and we should be very proud of all of them. In June, George and I had the opportunity to join the Cardinal Virginians to celebrate their 25 th Anniversary. We had a happy hour followed by a delicious catered dinner on Friday evening and after dinner, I was honored to present them with their 25 th Anniversary Certificate along with a $ check. The weekend was full of friendship, laughter, games and lots of food. Everyone had a wonderful time and talked very enthusiastically about their future outings. All the members made us feel very welcome and invited us back for any of their future rallies. I think we will take them up on their offer! On the GEAR side of things, one of the items that is being addressed by our Officers, including myself, is locating new destinations for future Great Eastern Area Rallies. We need your help! Do you know of an area, fairground, large campground, etc. that would be a possible location for a GEAR in the future? If you do, please do not hesitate to let one of us know. Did you know that your Eastern Area Officers and members are hard at work on the up and coming GEAR being held in York, PA? The entertainment has been selected and booked for our enjoyment and the seminars and vendors are getting assigned into their specific location and/or time slots. Don t forget to wear red, white and blue at the rally. In closing, I hope each of you had a wonderful Memorial Day and remembered the many Veterans that make this country the great nation it is. Have a wonderful summer and safe travels. George and I hope to see many of you at the FMCA Summer Convention being held in Gillette, WY, and of course at the GEAR rally in York, PA, October 3 7. Maxine Schremp Senior Vice President Eastern Area of FMCA mschremp2002@yahoo.com Page 3

4 JERRY COHEN, CENTRAL REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT Well, it is a little over three months until GEAR, an many are working on the planning events. If you want to enjoy the rally, you should volunteer and experience the event. You will meet many other members and form friendships that last many years. I hope everyone has their summer plans, reservations made and RVs ready to travel. I met a couple last week who said they are going to Alaska in August, September, October and returning in early November. I wished them luck and said to take a mixed amount of clothes as they might have some cold weather. Safe travels. Jerry Cohen Central Regional Vice President jerryacmllndjrry@aol.com DENNIS DUCHARME, WESTERN REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT We are in the rally season. I hope all the chapters are enjoying fun-filled and memorable rallies. Betty and I had the pleasure of visiting with the Kentuckiana Travelers to celebrate their 20th anniversary. Their chapter was chartered April 25, I want to congratulate them on this milestone. It was great visiting with our friends. As I write this article Betty and I are in Berlin, Ohio, enjoying the Amish country. There is a lot to do and see in this area. Scenic Hills RV campground is a top-notch RV park. We are here with the Kentucky Horse Shu Kru. We are enjoying the shops, restaurants and beautiful countryside. While here we have visited the West Virginia Mountaineers Chapter. They are a great group. It has been a wonderful time sitting around the campfire visiting, cooking hot dogs and enjoying the fellowship. This is one of their favorite places to hold a rally. If you reside in the West Virginia area, I would encourage you to visit with this great group. Betty and I would love to visit one of your rallies during Please include me in your s at DDuch21603@aol.com or mail me at 2147 Alexandria Dr., Lexington, KY 40504, or call me at Happy trails and safe travels, Dennis & Betty Ducharme Western Regional Vice President DDuch21603@aol.com Page 4

5 THOMAS HOFFMEIER, NORTHERN REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT In April, Helen & I were at Lums Pond State Park in Delaware with the First State Travelers. There were 10 coaches in attendance with several other guests. They had their annual chapter meeting and during the meeting reminded everyone that towables are now allowed in FMCA and they would have to have a meeting to vote on whether to change their chapter by-laws and accept towables into their chapter. We had our 3-year-old granddaughter with us for her first camping trip. As we walked along Lums Pond on one of the hiking trails, she made us laugh as she told us she had never been in the jungle before! May put us in Cincinnati at the Round Bottom Road campground for an Ives Runners Chapter Rally. John Reynolds had arranged for a tour of the FMCA main office where we met the hard-working people who do the daily work keeping this large organization running smoothly. For those who do not know, Round Bottom is the FMCA campground that is open to FMCA members to use as long as the Executive Board is not meeting. FMCA members can stay 2 nights free at Round Bottom and up to 5 additional nights in a calendar month for $20/night with full hookups. There is a lot to see in the Cincinnati area. Reservations are now required. We are looking forward to visiting more chapters over the summer months and wish you all good health and safe travels. Tom Hoffmeier Northern Regional Vice President CHRIS HOLTZMAN, SOUTHERN REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT Time really flies by when you are having fun. It seems like only a few weeks ago that I was writing the spring newsletter, and today it s time for the summer newsletter. Today we have a day off celebrating Memorial Day. A very rainy day, a perfect day to give thanks and celebrate those who have given all for our freedom and our country. In April we attended, along with Bill Mallory, the 40th anniversary of the Coastal Tarheels at the Raleigh Oaks Campground. This event was well planned and attended. With national officers in attendance and more than a lot of great people and good food, it was a super celebration. In mid-april we attended the rally of the Carolina Pelicans in Tabor City, NC, at the Grapeful Sisters Campground. What a super campground and great hosts. This chapter had 24 coaches in attendance. Leaving Raleigh, we traveled in a very steady and hard rain all day to the Outer Banks, NC. We had some friends from Florida that had never been to the Outer Banks. In spite of the rain and wind we had a great week there. June we will be visiting with Foothill Travelers in Swannanoa, NC. This chapter is working hard on new members and did a great job in Perry doing just that. Looking forward to visiting with this chapter. It was reported in a recent EAMA conference meeting that the International Convention would be held in Perry, Georgia, again this coming March We are looking forward to Perry again and the consensus of the group was it will not be a problem to recruit volunteers. Hopefully by now most of the chapters will have completed their bylaws and forwarded then to FMCA. If not, please do this as soon as possible. The chapters in the Southern Region do a great job with their rallies. Please let others know where and when these rallies occur. The best way I know is through the FMCA magazine, and it is a great recruiting tool for your chapter. Please appoint someone in your chapter to handle this. Page 5

6 Looking forward to Gear in October; a lot of planning is going on and I think you will find it exciting. Please make your plans to attend. Where ever your travels take you this summer, please be safe. It s still All about having fun. Have a great summer. Chris Holtzman Southern Regional Vice President NHoltz6524@aol.com Page 6