Family Photo
Dear Editor:
Just finished reading the May 2014 issue. I always read the whole magazine front to back and all ads in between. But what really stuck out in this issue was the “Chapter Spotlight” column about the Long Islanders chapter. In the picture of their group, right in the center, were three kids! That was an eye catcher; we need more of those!
As a member of the Under 60 Task Force, it’s so good to see that there are families that are members of clubs and they bring their children to rallies, too.
Jean L. Berhorst, F389448
National Director
Midwest Prairie Schooners Chapter
North Little Rock, Arkansas
Oregon Bridge Named After Local War Hero
Dear Editor:
That was a nice story about Redmond, Oregon, site of the upcoming Family Reunion (May 2014, page 64).
A note of interest: A bridge over the Crooked River (near the one pictured in the story on page 70) is named after Rex T. Barber, a local boy who became an Army Air Force officer in World War II. He was credited with shooting down a plane occupied by Japanese Admiral Yamamoto, the planner of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Dick Winn, A83778
Dallas, Oregon
Thanks To Thor And Tom Johnson
Dear Editor:
Although you often hear the hype, it’s very difficult to find an RV dealer that truly goes far beyond what one might reasonably expect of a dealer. We were in Marion, North Carolina, for a rally last April and became acquainted with Tom Johnson Camping Center (800-225-7802, 828-724-4105; www.tomjohnsoncamping.com). We were particularly impressed with the people. Jeff Smith, the salesperson who spent a good amount of low-pressure time with us, didn’t manage to sell us anything at that time. Still, general manager Gary Stroud dropped in before we departed for home and earnestly thanked us for visiting and giving them a chance to present their quotation.
As it turned out, we had been impressed with the Palazzo line of diesel-pusher coaches recently introduced by Thor, so when we decided in September to actually buy one, we again contacted Tom Johnson Camping Center (TJCC) for pricing. The total deal — new coach less our trade-in — was absolutely unbeatable, and we drove from Michigan to North Carolina to buy the coach. This was a bit out of the way, as we were then to head up to New England for our autumn leaf-peeper tour.
But things didn’t go as we had planned. We encountered problems with the new coach that took longer than expected to resolve. TJCC’s service department worked closely with Thor, and many of TJCC’s people advocated for us, including Tom Johnson himself, Gary Stroud, and sales manager Jody Padgett, all of whom interfaced with Thor personnel on several levels to resolve the problems. Through it all, our salesperson, Jeff Smith, remained involved on a continuing basis, ensuring that things got resolved.
The bottom line: we resolved all the issues amicably with Thor, we are very pleased with our new motorhome, and we have friends in North Carolina.
Dan and Rita Stuart, F437783
South Lyon, Michigan
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