The volunteer spirit is alive and well at the FMCA campground in Cincinnati, Ohio.
By Jon Walker, F268778, National President
December 2020
During a casual conversation, I mentioned to Michael “Fuzzy” Overbeck, F343177, who lives near the FMCA campground in Newtown, Ohio, that I wanted a dog park so that FMCA members staying there would have a place to exercise their dogs off-leash. The other option has been to walk them on the pathway that circles nearby Lake Barber. I secured some seed money from the now-former Winnebago and Friends chapter to get things rolling. The next thing I knew, Fuzzy was off and running with the idea.
Michael “Fuzzy” Overbeck and his wife, Judy, volunteer their time in various ways at the FMCA campground in Cincinnati.
I’m pleased to say that the dog park officially opened on October 23, 2020. Fuzzy took the lead on getting a fence put up and installing a trash can and a dog bag station. He even added an old fire hydrant (for dog use only), complete with puppy-dog eyes painted on the front. He also thought of putting up a sign asking members to be sure to pick up after their dogs. Hopefully, our members will do that. The grass inside the dog park is manicured and beautiful.
The Ohio Nomads, Midwest Coachmen, and Tri-State Traveliers chapters learned about the project and each agreed to sponsor a bench for the dog park. Money also was donated to the project by the Pipe Dreamers chapter, which, unfortunately, is dissolving.
The Overbecks’ dog, Cooper, had the honor of being the first pooch to try out the new dog park at the FMCA campground.
Anytime Fuzzy is at the campground, he always asks staff, “Anything else?” He wants to make sure he’s covered everything during that trip to the office.
When at the campground, even after hours, he takes the time to answer member questions, as well as to make sure the staff members at the Round Bottom Road office are safe. He even makes sure the staff fridge is stocked with water bottles and occasionally picks up a dead mouse! He’s been known for years to stop into both offices and bring doughnuts to the FMCA staff, just to add a bit of cheer to their workday.
He really stepped up to the plate when FMCA staff members began to work from home in the spring because of the pandemic, and I don’t think we could have kept up with the summer rush at the campground without his help. He’s been a huge blessing to the staff members, even when they call him at all hours of the night!
Whether it’s straightening up the warehouse, fixing and updating every electric box at the campground, digging ditches to find a water and sewage leak, building bird-feeder boxes, or tending to the rose bushes, this dedicated member does it all!
He has volunteered to paint lines on the asphalt to make it easier for members to back into the campsites, and he recently replaced a broken part on the front door of the Round Bottom Road office.
Another example of “Anything else?”: The national office received a notice earlier this year that the U.S. Census Bureau was sending a representative to our Round Bottom campground. We needed to let our members staying with us know that this would be taking place. All we had to do was mention it to Fuzzy, and he said he would take care of it.
During one visit to the campground, members asked Fuzzy why each campsite did not have a picnic table, as is typical in campgrounds. Well, as a result of Fuzzy’s passing along the suggestion to me, we now have two additional picnic tables that are scheduled to be delivered on November 3, 2020, for the campground. Members can sit outside while they enjoy a beautiful Cincinnati weather day at the campground. Funds were donated by chapters and members!
Fuzzy is always pleasant and seems to calm down any campground situation he’s asked to handle. At times, members have played musical chairs with the campsites at the campground. One member said someone was in his spot when he pulled in, so he pulled into an empty spot. When the member who had reserved the empty spot pulled in, someone else had to move! This caused a domino effect! Crazy stuff! All handled calmly by Fuzzy.
Fuzzy loves to talk about FMCA, or anything, really. He also has helped a few of our members fix their RVs so that they could be on their way after visiting the campground. Fuzzy definitely is a jack of all trades!
Michael Overbeck (on the right) sometimes receives assistance from Keith “Red” Hable, a fellow Tri-State Traveliers chapter member.
Credit also goes to Fuzzy’s wife, Judy, who helps to take care of the rose garden at the Round Bottom Road office, and to Keith “Red” Hable, F431278, a member of the Tri-State Traveliers chapter who sometimes helps Fuzzy at the campground.
FMCA owes a debt of gratitude to Fuzzy for donating his time and talents to ensure that the FMCA campground is the best it can be. Thank you, Fuzzy, for everything you do and for always asking the staff, “Anything else?”
I would like to thank Penny Gortemiller, FMCA director of chapters and governance, and her staff for informing me of the things Fuzzy does for FMCA. I cannot think of a better example of how our members volunteer their time and talents for the advancement of our wonderful association. Hats off to Fuzzy!
Zoom On In, Folks
The only thing I can think of that is positive about the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on our association is the fact that we are taking advantage of electronic technology that is helping us to stay in touch remotely. We use a service called Zoom for video conferencing. As it relates to our Executive Board, we are able to see and hear everyone on the call at the same time. It certainly is not the same as being in the same room physically, but it sure has helped to fill the gap.
We have gone from having only small groups of members together on Zoom to the point where we recently held a Governing Board workshop that had an audience of over 150 people.
I believe that one of the outcomes of our Zoom meetings is finding ways to include more and more of our members in our meetings. With this said, I established a series of Executive Board workshops to bring in outside experts to present ideas to us as “best practices” for nonprofit organizations. We have been led by Bob Harris, one of the country’s most respected authorities in the world of nonprofit associations.
After a couple of meetings with the Executive Board, we had Bob Harris present to our Governing Board. I think he was well received by the Governing Board members who attended. He left the group with some good ideas on what we should be thinking about in terms of nonprofit governance in today’s world. One of his points to our association was that for the sake of efficiency, most governing boards have an average of only 15 members. We need to start working on a plan to modernize our governance and also to create a way to give the 80 percent of FMCA members who have no representation (those who are not chapter members) a say in our governance.
All I Want For Christmas Is . . .
All I want for Christmas is for the COVID-19 pandemic to end. My prayer is that someone will find a cure or a vaccine to stop this infectious disease. This is the last time that I will have the honor and privilege to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year as your president. As I write this message at the end of October, Sondra and I are on the road, traveling in our motorhome for a week of work at FMCA headquarters. We left this morning in 40-mile-per-hour winds and blowing snow. So, I guess it is quite okay to start thinking about snow on the ground, reindeer flying over housetops, and visions of sugar plums dancing in our heads.
As I have done every year in the December issue of Family RVing, I would like to close with the words of past president Charlie Schrenkel, who wrote a poem in 2000 that really resonated with me. Again, read the first and last stanza:
“Snowflakes flutter
in breathless air,
And settle down
without a care
Upon the brown
and tarnished leaves,
Which form a carpet
’neath the trees.
And all across
this fairy land,
The fields, the hills,
where pine trees stand.
The quiet of
this winter’s night,
Brings peace on earth
by morning light.”
FMCA National Office Holiday Closures
The FMCA national office will be closed Thursday, December 24, 2020, through Friday, January 1, 2021, in observance of the Christmas and New Year holidays.
The office will reopen on Monday, January 4, 2021, at 8:00 a.m. Eastern time.