By Charlie Adcock, F311374
July 2017
Hello, My Fellow FMCA Family. With my time as FMCA national president drawing to a close, this is my second to last “President’s Message” column. My, how the time has flown by. It seems as though June 19, 2013, just happened. That’s when I was first elected to serve you as your national president. It’s been a very busy four years, but I will save all that for my farewell column next month.
Back to the present time. Gloria and I have been on the move since leaving the FMCA convention in Chandler, Arizona, this past March. From there, we headed home to Searcy, Arkansas, where we spent a week catching up on chores. Next, we traveled over to Shawnee, Oklahoma, to attend the GMC Motorhomes International chapter rally. We then returned home to spend a couple of weeks before heading down to Texarkana, Arkansas, for the South Central Area’s Six-State planning rally. Of course, that was a case of me driving Ms. Gloria. She is in charge of family and vendor registration for the area rally, whereas I don’t have any assignments this year.
After that, we returned home to Searcy just in time for the arrival of 75 coaches for the annual Rally in the Pasture that we host — literally in our pasture. What a fun time we had! This year, attendees had an opportunity to take a ride in a helicopter. Almost everyone took a turn, and it was a first for a lot of people. Beverly Martin, president of the Rally in the Pasture chapter, accepted a 10-year anniversary certificate from our South Central Area President, Rod Sartwell. It is hard to believe RIP has been around for 10 years already.
Speaking of aircraft, some of you may remember that a couple of years ago I jumped out of a perfectly safe airplane. I recently saw news of a 101-year-old man who made a jump and now holds the record of the oldest person to skydive. I don’t believe I’ll be able to match his record.
After the Rally in the Pasture, Gloria and I, along with most of the other folks who were at our chapter rally, traveled up to Branson, Missouri, to attend the INTO (International Area) Rally. We really did Branson up right. It rained and rained and rained while we were there. In fact, it flooded several areas of Missouri. The rain did not dampen our fun, though. We attended six shows while in Branson and filled each theater with FMCA members. Everyone seemed to have a really good time.
It was then time to move on to Cincinnati for the May Executive Board meetings at the FMCA national office. The biggest job we board members had was to complete the proposed FMCA budget for 2018. The budget will be presented to the Governing Board for their approval during their July 12 meeting in Indianapolis. Of course, the staff had a really good budget already put together for us to work with. I’m pleased to report that our membership numbers are still holding in the positive column. At this point, we think this will be one of the best years for membership growth since 2003.
I am really looking forward to FMCA’s 96th International Convention and RV Expo in Indianapolis, coming up July 12 through 15. We have some exciting things happening in FMCA and some very important decisions to be made at the Governing Board meeting. Of course, we’ll have plenty of opportunities for fun once we take care of business.
If you have never attended an FMCA convention, you are missing out. First of all, it’s a great way to stay up on all that’s new and exciting in the motorhome world. If you’re thinking of buying a new coach, you’ll love the fact that major manufacturers and dealers bring them all to you as part of the RV expo. You also can inspect a wide variety of RV-related products and services. In addition, with nearly 100 different seminar topics on tap, you can expand your knowledge about all sorts of subjects related to RVing.
If you’d like to get the learning started early, check out FMCA’s RV Basics workshop. The next one is scheduled for July 10 and 11 in Indianapolis. The information-packed but fun sessions will take place right at the Indiana State Fairgrounds and Event Center, site of the convention itself, and will include two nights of camping. So, you can arrive early and load up on RV knowledge and then focus on other fun things to do during the convention. For more information, visit www.FMCA.com/academy or call (800) 543-3622.
Speaking of educational opportunities, I am excited about the online education program we have taking shape. FMCA national secretary Gaye Young (or Madam Secretary, as I refer to her) and her Education Committee have been busy working with Larry Pennington in the FMCA IT Department to put together an online learning program for all of our members. The launch date has not yet been determined, but know that they are hard at work on this.
Congrats to newly elected national vice presidents.Votes recently were tallied for the five FMCA areas electing national vice presidents this year (the other five areas will hold elections next year). As a result, the Executive Board has four newly elected national vice presidents and one re-elected national vice president. My congratulations go out to the newly elected folks: Betty Duncan, Southeast Area; Gary Milner, Midwest Area; Barbara Smith, Northeast Area; and Joe Wright, South Central Area. Congratulations as well to Jack Mayberry, who was re-elected as national vice president, Rocky Mountain Area.
You should receive this magazine a week or two before the convention in Indianapolis. I hope to see all of you there for what I’m thinking of as my big farewell party. I imagine I will need a crying towel. I’ve really enjoyed serving as your president.
Until then or until next month, remember, “It’s all about having fun!”
Mark Your 2018 Calendars
FMCA has announced dates and locations for its two international conventions in 2018. Be sure to mark your calendars now and make plans to join us.
March 15-18, 2018
FMCA’s 97th International Convention & RV Expo
Georgia National Fairgrounds & Agricenter
Perry, Georgia
Registration begins September 13, 2017
July 18-21, 2018
FMCA’s 98th International Convention & RV Expo
Cam-Plex Multi-Event Facilities
Gillette, Wyoming
Registration begins January 10, 2018