By Charlie Adcock, F311374
FMCA National President
June 2014
My fellow FMCA family:
Since the FMCA Family Reunion and Motorhome Showcase in Perry, Georgia, this past March, life has slowed down a bit for Gloria and me. We were able to spend a little time at home in Arkansas, and we had our annual Rally in the Pasture there in April. We thoroughly enjoyed the company of friends in some 60-plus motorhomes. A great time was had by all. I never could get anyone to milk the cows, though. My herd of cattle has really grown; I now have three calves and two more on the way.
At the time of this writing, Gloria and I are packing up and getting ready to hit the road again for another long rally trip. Our plans are to leave on May 1 and head to Lebanon, Tennessee, to attend the International Area Rally, May 2-6. International Area national vice president Alfred Vormittag Jr. and his crew always put on a good show, and we expect to have a great time. After that rally we will see our grandson graduate from Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro on May 10. As you can imagine, we are a couple of proud grandparents.
From there we will move up to FMCA headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, for the Executive Board meetings. We will be busy planning and addressing a lot of the exciting things happening in FMCA. One is the new FMCA RVinsurance partnership. Four insurance agencies spread across the United States have partnered to offer FMCA members more coverage, more choices, and better rates. I have found them to be very responsive to every question thrown at them. And sometimes it seems like I am the guy in charge of the complaint department at FMCA. So far, no one has asked a question that I didn’t get a satisfactory answer to. I encourage you to at least get a quote from them. It is free, and you just may save yourself some money.
Another huge benefit that we plan to put before the Governing Board during our annual meeting this August at the Family Reunion in Redmond, Oregon, is the FMCAssist program, our medical evacuation and travel assistance plan. Ned Boston and his Risk Management Committee have been working on this proposal since last July. They have two viable proposals for the Governing Board to consider and choose from, or to reject it all and try again. Personally, I would like to see us get FMCAssist back as a member benefit that is included in our dues as it once was. I do know that Ned has a great presentation for the Governing Board so that they can make an informed decision.
Now to continue with our travel itinerary. When we leave Cincinnati in the latter part of May, we are heading to Goshen, Indiana, to attend the Great Lakes Area Rally, which takes place June 11-15. Great Lakes Area national vice president Jane Roush and her rally team have a great gathering planned for all of us. Last year, they had approximately 550 coaches in attendance, and I think they are expecting around 650 this year. We are really looking forward to it.
Afterward, the plan is to head to the great Northeast. Our first stop will be at the three-chapter rally that takes place over the Fourth of July weekend at Scusset Beach in Sagamore, Massachusetts. We went last year and fell in love with everyone we met. Tom Ziobrowski, the Northeast Area national vice president, is putting together a chapter rally schedule to keep us busy until the Northeast Area Rally in Essex Junction, Vermont, takes place July 17-21. That’s another area rally you don’t want to miss.
Next we plan on stopping in Oswego, New York, at another three-chapter rally. When we leave there, that will give us eight leisurely (we hope) days to make it to Redmond, Oregon, for the “big show” — the 90th Family Reunion and Motorhome Showcase, held August 13-16. I hope you have been keeping up with all the activities planned for Redmond, especially the youth activities. Speaking of which, we could still use a few more committee members and quite a few volunteers to work with kids ages 6-18. Anyone who brings a youth to the program will be required to volunteer for a couple of hours.
What I really like about our Redmond Family Reunion is that Central Oregon is a great destination. You can plan an entire summer trip around our event. I recall one time in years gone by when Gloria and I met up with folks in five other motorhomes in Kansas and traveled together to the Northwest. We spent almost three months exploring Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and California, and ended up at the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico, before going our separate ways. It was great fun, and we made good friends with everyone in this group.
On that trip, we stopped for a few days in Cody, Wyoming, where we toured the city and Buffalo Bill Museum. We saw a Wild West gunfight behind the hotel on the main street and drove out into the mountains to see the beautiful countryside. Yellowstone National Park was also one of our stops, and then we camped along the Snake River in Oregon. That was an enjoyable campground. Watching deer cross the river to an island, seeing other animals scurrying around on the island, and just watching the river flowing was so relaxing.
We finally ended up in Redmond for the convention, and after enjoying a great rally, we headed to Seattle to catch a cruise ship to Alaska. Two couples stayed behind to dog-sit, which we really appreciated; we wouldn’t have been able to take the cruise without their help. We spent days relaxing on the ship and more days touring at the stops we made in Alaska.
Returning to Seattle, we moved south to California to another rally. As we drove out of Oregon, we ended up traveling through California’s redwood forest and on U.S. 101 along the Pacific Ocean. That was the most thrilling day’s drive we have ever done!
After the California rally, we traveled to the Balloon Fiesta in New Mexico. The weather didn’t cooperate very well, and the hot-air balloons had a hard time getting aloft. On Sunday, they were barely above the motorhomes when they rose. I could see the passengers’ faces as I sat in the driver’s seat watching them. It was a beautiful sight as they all took flight.
What a summer that was! I hope my nostalgia has given you ideas about planning your own trip. If you can’t be gone all summer, you can still pick and choose where you want to go and what you want to see. But wherever you go, be sure to come to Redmond and join motorhome owners in celebrating our fabulous lifestyle with seminars, entertainment, exhibits, and fellowship.
Now I would like to switch gears and relate something that happened at church recently. Each Sunday morning at the beginning of the service, our pastor has all the small children come down to the front of the sanctuary for a short demonstration/lesson. Well, on this particular Sunday morning, he had the children assembled and asked if one of them would like to earn $20. Of course, a small boy about the age of 6 immediately volunteered. The pastor pulled out a piece of cardboard and a tube of toothpaste, and he squeezed out about an inch of the toothpaste onto the cardboard. He then asked the young boy to put the toothpaste back into the tube.
The boy tried but, of course, could not stuff it back in. The pastor explained that toothpaste is like the words that we speak. When you squirt the toothpaste out, it cannot be returned to the tube. Once you say something, you can never take it back. You can apologize, but the words were still spoken. So, we should always be mindful of what we say to each other. (By the way, the boy did get $5 for trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube.) It’s a good lesson for all of us.
Travel safe, and remember, “It’s all about having fun!”