New Beginnings
One benefit of FMCA is help from fellow members while traveling and the friendships that can develop.
National President
Jon & Sondra Walker, F268778
jwalker@fmca.com
Jon and Sondra Walker
June in southern Michigan is a time for new beginnings. The harsh winter weather has finally ended, and spring flowers are in full bloom. For the Walker family, this year holds special meaning.
After 40-plus years of living in a large house in Elkhart, Indiana, and rearing two wonderful children, Sondra and I downsized. Late last fall we finally got rid of most of the “stuff” you accumulate after 50 years of marriage. We decided home base would be the small cottage we own on a beautiful spring-fed lake in southern Michigan. We are now officially Michigan residents, with all of the paperwork to prove it. We have filled out the Michigan homestead exemption paperwork, the Michigan voter registration forms, and the U.S. Post Office forms, and we both now have Michigan drivers licenses. . . . But I am still an Alabama and Notre Dame football fan!
We also decided when we moved into our cottage that we had to build a garage for our cars and boats. That project has turned out to be much greater than a simple garage. Since we were building a garage for the cars and toys, Sondra said why not add a guest bedroom to the garage and two complete full-hookup sites for visiting RVs? Being the good husband that I am, I had no choice but to say, “Okay, dear. That is a great idea.” Since this article was written in April, HOPEFULLY by the time you read this in late May or early June, our construction project will be finished.
The Walkers are adding a garage to their property, along with two full-hookup RV sites.
Why did we build two full-hookup, level concrete sites at the cottage when we already have a heated warehouse for our motorhome and a 50-amp plug at our parking lot at work? The answer is FMCA. We have been members long enough to have made hundreds of friends who have become “family” to us. We would love to make our home available to our friends as they travel across this great continent of ours.
Did you know that FMCA fosters this type of action? As a member of FMCA, you have a very important benefit available to you that you may not know much about. It is called “Stoppin’ Spots.” This is a member-to-member benefit. As an FMCA member, you can elect to offer up to four categories of service to your fellow members.
The first is called “Stop Over.” This indicates that you welcome other members to stop at your home for a 24-hour emergency stay. The second category is “Come Visit,” which signals that other members are welcome to visit your home base for a 24-hour friendship stay. The third category is “Mechanic’s Helper.” This denotes that you are available to advise a member who is traveling in your area where they can obtain reliable help if their RV is experiencing mechanical problems. The last category is “Pinch Hit Driver.” Members in this category agree to drive a member’s RV to a chosen destination at the owner’s expense if he or she is not able to drive because of sickness or an emergency while on the road.
How do you sign up to be a “Stoppin’ Spots” volunteer? You can call the FMCA Member Services Department at (513) 474-3622 or (800) 543-3622; email membership@fmca.com; or do so online at FMCA.com. If you choose to participate in the volunteer program, you will be listed in the January issue of the magazine and online in an area accessible only to members. Your contact information and category of help will be listed by state or province, town, and phone number.
If you want to sign up online, it is quite simple. Go to FMCA.com and click on the little dashboard icon on the right-hand side of page. That takes you directly to the Membership Dashboard. (You also can click on the Membership tab on the black navigation bar at the top of the page. Then select Member Dashboard from the drop-down menu.) On the Member Dashboard, you will see a section that asks, “Is Your Member Record Current?” In that section, click on the colored “Membership Profile” link. That takes you to where you can update your FMCA member profile to select “Show my member information displayed in the online member directory.” Once that is selected as “yes,” you can check the categories for which you want to volunteer.
I had an experience several years ago using this system. I am listed as a volunteer Mechanic’s Helper. I received a call from Billy Cantarini, F54194, from California. He and his wife, Patty, were on their way to the FMCA convention in Indianapolis and experienced mechanical problems. I directed him to a repair shop that I knew would do a good job for him. Without “Stoppin’ Spots” leading him to call me, he would not have had a clue where to go for help.
As it turned out, I was attending the Western Area Rally in Indio, California, the following January, and Billy came up to me and introduced himself. He invited Sondra and me to his chapter’s dinner; we met more people, and we ultimately joined his chapter. We have remained good friends for years. This is the value of being an FMCA member.
If you find yourself near Union, Michigan, and need a place to stay overnight, you are always welcome at the Walkers’ lake cottage!
Sondra and I are excited that June has finally arrived. We love summer and all of the activities that open up for us. We can’t wait to clean up the lakefront and the screened-in porch and get the kayaks, ski boat, and pontoon out and ready for a great summer. We hope you enjoy summer as much as we do.
More FMCA news. We have a new ad hoc committee that is being chaired by Ken Carpenter, F312233. The charge for this new committee — the Member Engagement Committee — is to develop a means whereby FMCA members can list their talents and past work experiences. This would enable your leadership to search for talented people who can move our association forward. FMCA is a completely not-for-profit, committee-driven organization. With the nearly 150,000 individuals in the membership pool, we need to develop tools to help us harness the great talents among us.
My vision and charge to this committee is to help develop the Member Dashboard that I talked about earlier so as to capture your talents!
I hope you will be joining us in Gillette next month for FMCA’s “Wanted In Wyoming” convention. Lots of work has gone into making this one great convention. The FMCA Events staff has rounded up some great seminars, fun entertainment, and exhibits galore. And what a wonderful opportunity to get together with some of the nicest folks you’ll ever meet — your fellow FMCA members! The FMCA convention in Gillette would make a fantastic stop on a family vacation out West with the kids or grandkids. They grow up all too fast, so make plans to bring them along and make some memories!
We’ll even have some activities just for them during the convention in Wyoming. Information about the FMCA youth program appears in this issue. This magazine also includes a list of seminars and exhibitors to help you jump-start your planning.
Don’t miss out! Register online at FMCA.com; by calling (513) 474-3622 or (800) 543-3622; or via postal mail using the form that appears in this issue. Hope to see you there. Until then, remember, it’s still all about having fun!
Here We Grow!
Some reminders about great member benefits, and information about how FMCA members can help their association reach the goal of 90,000 member families.
Executive Director
Chris Smith
csmith@fmca.com
Chris Smith
FMCA has been growing at a rate not seen in quite some time. Much like the RV industry in general, FMCA membership is on the upswing. Many factors are contributing to the membership surge. For one, FMCA has introduced some very nice member benefits over the past year.
FMCA can help you stay connected. Tech Connect + provides members access to an unlimited Sprint mobile data plan for $49.99 per month. A handful of other tech discounts come with enrollment in Tech Connect +. In addition, Verizon has teamed with FMCA to offer a 25GB high-speed mobile data plan for $49.99 per month.
FMCA can provide you peace of mind, and save you money. FMCA Roadside Rescue provides the best roadside assistance plan in the RV industry for an unbeatable price of $69 per year. FMCA offers special member-only tire prices through Michelin and Continental. And there is comfort in knowing that you have coverage under the FMCAssist Medical Emergency and Travel Assistance Program, even though we hope you never have to use it. Valued at an annual rate of $109 per family, this wonderful benefit is included with member dues!
FMCA supplies need-to-know information. Also included with member dues is a subscription to FMCA’s official monthly publication — the top resource for RV-related information — with its fresh new look and new name, Family RVing.
Honestly, there are too many other benefits to mention within the space of this column. To view the full listing of what your membership provides for you on the benefits side, please visit https://www.fmca.com/fmca-membership-benefits. Our goal is to make your membership value the best we can.
Other factors also are contributing to FMCA’s success. The vote of the membership this past fall to invite owners of all self-contained RVs to join FMCA has had a positive impact on FMCA membership figures. We have welcomed them to the family with open arms, and the response has been great.
Our marketing efforts also have expanded. In the past two years, FMCA has gone from barely having a digital presence to making it a priority. The results show. A lot of time and effort went into completely revamping FMCA’s website — FMCA.com — this year. FMCA’s social media presence on Facebook, RVillage, Instagram, and other platforms has grown tremendously. FMCA has also begun to advertise on Facebook, Google, Bing, and RVillage. Again, the results have been very favorable.
While the focus has been on strengthening these efforts, one key area leads the way in member recruitment. That is current FMCA members recruiting new members. When we survey new members, it is amazing to see how many come into the association this way. Everyone at FMCA really appreciates this effort, and we want to help this trend continue.
Our goal is to have 90,000 member families by the end of FMCA’s 2019 fiscal year. Membership currently sits around 76,000, so there is a lot of work to be done between now and the end of September 2019. Consider, though, that if every member recruited just one other member family, FMCA membership would double!
Currently, we do offer recruitment rewards for signing up new members. For every member you sign up, you automatically receive a $10 voucher. This voucher can be used in a couple different ways. It can go toward paying your FMCA dues, or to help pay registration fees for international conventions and area rallies. You also can use the voucher to buy items from the FMCA Store or to order FMCA business cards. There is no limit to how many vouchers you can earn. Recruiting five members can pay your dues for a year!
Members who recruit five new members between May 1 and October 1, 2018, will receive an additional reward: a free copy of the 9th edition of the FMCA Road Atlas and Travel Guide. And if you recruit more than five members, you’ll also receive an official FMCA RVer’s Log Book. (Volunteers working RV shows who have their parking paid by FMCA are not eligible to participate.)
We are looking at some other possible incentives, so stay tuned.
We are also working on ways to help FMCA members with their recruiting efforts. The FMCA.com website now has membership enrollment forms, member benefit highlights fliers, and detailed benefits brochures in an easy to download and print PDF format. For more information about incentives and to find brochures you can share with other RVers you meet in your travels, please visit https://www.fmca.com/recruit-new-members-earn-rewards.
Did you know members also can earn rewards for recruiting their favorite campground as a commercial member? We’d love to expand the network of campgrounds that offer discounts to FMCA members. And FMCA families are in a great position to help us with that. The web page listed above also has a commercial member enrollment form you can print and share. Or you can simply point the campground manager to FMCA.com, and he or she can sign up online. FMCA commercial membership provides campgrounds and other companies a listing in FMCA’s RV Marketplace online and in the January issue, among other benefits.
Another great recruitment opportunity for family members is to spread the word about FMCA to the service providers and retailers you think other members should know about. That could be the RV repair center that took good care of you and your home on wheels, the dealership where you purchased your RV, or a component or accessory supplier that offered great service. You’ll receive the same $10 voucher for recruiting commercial members as you do for recruiting RV families.
I’d be remiss if I did not remind you that you are “Wanted In Wyoming” for FMCA’s 98th International Convention and RV Expo at the CAM-PLEX Multi-Event Facilities in Gillette. You can register online at FMCA.com; call the Events staff at (513) 474-3622 or (800) 543-3622; or fax or mail the form that appears in this issue of the magazine. Be sure to look me up while you’re there and say hello.
Until then, enjoy the journey!