By John Johnston, Associate Editor
June 2015
Amidst all that is planned for the 92nd Family Reunion and Motorhome Showcase in Madison, Wisconsin, July 29 to August 1, the efforts of one FMCA chapter should not be overlooked.
Since 2009, the Professional R.V. Vendors chapter (PRVVC) has organized food drives at Family Reunions and regional rallies. As a result, tons of nonperishable food and thousands of dollars have been donated to food banks that serve needy people. Last year alone, the chapter collected more than a ton of food.
The food drives were started to “give something back to the cities that welcome us during our rallies,” according to a 2010 PRVVC newsletter. When Lloyd “Smitty” Smith, F287283, was elected chapter president in 2014, continuing the charitable venture “was just automatic,” he said. Chapter members, he added, are “all very excited about it.”
Apparently other FMCA members are as well. At the Family Reunion in Pomona, California, in March of this year, “We were watching all the food come in,” Smitty said. “You could just see the happy faces on the people (as they donated).”
Before each food drive, a regional vice president of PRVVC selects a local food bank to receive the donations. At Pomona, that agency was Inland Valley Hope Partners, which each year provides emergency food supplies, shelter, and housing assistance to 80,000 low-income residents of western San Bernardino County and eastern Los Angeles County.
The agency’s resource development director, Kami Newman, arrived on the last day of the Family Reunion to haul away the donations. “When she saw how much food there was, she couldn’t believe it,” Smitty said. Some 600 pounds had been collected, as well as $150 in cash. Each dollar goes a long way, because food banks buy in bulk and their cost per pound is lower than retail food prices.
“That was all thanks to FMCA members,” Smitty said. “They’re the ones supporting us.”
Ms. Newman expected to move the donated food into her vehicle by herself. “But when the food bank people come, the first thing that happens is you see two or three (PRVVC) members there with carts to help haul it out,” Smitty said.
“As an organization,” he said, “we try to do as many things as we can that say, ‘We care.’ ”
PRVVC members care about each other, too. By its nature, however, “Our chapter is probably a little bit different than almost any chapter.” Members are vendors who come to rallies and Family Reunions to sell their products — everything from tire pressure monitors and towed car braking systems to LEDs. At Family Reunions, their booths are grouped in an area called the PRVVC Marketplace. “Pretty much any product on the (RV) market is represented through our chapter,” Smitty said.
Slightly more than five dozen companies are members of PRVVC, including about nine new members added in the past year, he said. And because it’s not unusual for several members to sell similar products, competition can be keen. In the past few years, though, a cooperative spirit of camaraderie has prevailed, Smitty added. For example, it’s common for a vendor who runs out of a product to refer customers to another PRVVC member who sells a similar item. “You see them working together,” he said. What’s more, everyone helps ensure that members operate ethically and back up the products they sell.
Longstanding members also are supportive of newcomers, serving as “guardian angels” for those who are getting acclimated to being vendors, Smitty said. He said he and his wife, Louise, relied on such support six years ago when they started selling RV accessories. Two years ago they began their own company, An RVer’s Friend.
On a more personal level, members enjoy each other’s company, Smitty said. When people ask him why they should join the chapter, he’s quick to answer. “The neatest thing is the fellowship and the companionship you gain,” he said. Most vendors wrap up their year in late October and don’t see each other until rallies begin again in January. And then, “You’d think we’d been away for five years. It’s like coming home to a large family reunion.”
At the upcoming FMCA Family Reunion in Madison, PRVVC members will be hard at work, displaying and selling their wares. And they’ll make it possible for everyone to give back, by having a place set aside to collect food and money for The River Food Pantry, which assists less fortunate families in Dane County, Wisconsin.