A New Year Begins For Our Family
New adventures and new friendships await FMCA members in 2022, as well as reunions and good times with those we’ve come to know and enjoy spending time with as a result of the RV lifestyle and membership in FMCA.
National President
Rett Porter, F369084
rporter@fmca.com
Can you believe that 2022 has begun and another year has flown past? I am so pleased to report that your FMCA Executive Board met in person at the FMCA office in Cincinnati during the last week of October for the first time since May 2019. Twelve of your 15 officers were present, with three joining by Zoom. We had a congenial and effective time, with orientation for new members of the board, committee meetings, working in person with staff, sharing meals with Executive Board members and spouses, etc. Everything was positive and upbeat, with a strong consensus of board members.
FMCA continues to grow, and we have set goals for increasing membership. As we make new friends, there are many adventures that we as leaders can suggest for them to take and explore. Sharing the journeys that we have taken not only reminds us of the good times we’ve had RVing but also encourages our new members to follow in our footsteps and enjoy the RVing world as we have done. Many RVers travel a few hundred miles each year, while others travel thousands of miles. We have encouraged members to join chapters that plan rallies to areas that we know well and want others to have the experiences. Joining a chapter will give you better knowledge of how to plan your trips and enjoy RVing with less stress. Joining a chapter also introduces you to new friends.
As RVers, we have common bonds in travels, planning, breakdowns, and all areas of life. As humorist and FMCA member Jim Pelley has started saying during his shows at FMCA conventions (as a takeoff on Jeff Foxworthy’s “You might be a redneck if . . .”), “You might be an RVer if . . .” Well, “You might be an RVer if you cut a corner too sharp and scrape the side of your RV.” We’ve all been there or will be there someday if we keep RVing. Don’t let the little misadventures discourage you, and feel free to ask another FMCA member for help or ideas. FMCA members are the friendliest people you will come across, and they will understand, help, or try to find another member who can help solve any problem you may have. After all, that’s why we call us “Family.”
Part of what makes FMCA strong is the family aspect of our organization. I and the other officers of FMCA will be using the term “family” more throughout the coming year. We are stressing the family aspect, because too many times we forget to treat all our FMCA members as part of the family. If you have traveled to Hawaii, then you have heard the frequent use of the word “ohana.” “Ohana” means “family,” but it also includes friends as extended family. In using the term “ohana,” we are saying that we care for each other.
Many of our members don’t realize that the FMCA number assigned to you when you joined FMCA is your family number. This number will remain in your family forever. If you leave FMCA and then rejoin, your original number will be reinstated. If you have children who become members of FMCA, then they can receive your number with an “S” for son or “D” for daughter at the end. If you have more than one son, for example, then the first son registered receives the “S” and the second son receives “S1.” If your grandchildren become members of FMCA, then they, too, get your number but with a “G” at the end. If you have more than one grandchild becoming a member, then the next is “G1” and so on. Your FMCA number represents your family and can proudly be displayed throughout the RVing world forever.
As with any family, we lose family members, and they are missed. In the last few months, Claire and I lost several friends who we will miss greatly. Our lives are richer for having known them, and we will carry their memories and talk about the wonderful times we had traveling the roads with them.
I will not start using names, because I will not be able to list everyone, and I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings by not mentioning their family member. I will say that one was the husband of our closest couple, traveling together for many years. Our experiences together were great, and when trouble came along, we would say that we were taking another adventure. I remember once when a few blocks from the destination RV park, our friend jumped a curb after coming off the freeway. Everything, including all the dishes in the cabinets and food in the refrigerator, came flying out and broke into a million pieces. We felt so bad, but we’ve all been there, and it led to another adventure of what was their new dish pattern going to be.
Another FMCA member we lost was an integral part of the South Central Area (Six States), and we could always count on him and his wife to run the FMCA store.
Another FMCA member was very active and made you feel good just knowing him. He and his wife were work campers, active on FMCA committees, and wanted to help at any FMCA event they attended. He died suddenly. You just don’t know when it’s your time, so enjoy every minute.
Claire and I lost her parents and my dad (my mother died years before) within 10 months in 2005 and 2006. That’s when we decided to start traveling more and doing the things we wanted to do while we had our health. We found more friends and adventures in RVing than if we had stayed in a community. We have also discovered that people seem to live longer and fuller lives if they are RVing, because they are active and doing something every day.
As a reminder to our family, the 104th FMCA International Convention and RV Expo is coming up in Tucson, Arizona, March 23 through 26, 2022. As of November 15, 2021, we had over 1,100 RVs registered, so you need to get your reservation in soon. Think of this as a type of family reunion. If you have been worried about COVID, FMCA had only seven known cases in our last two conventions, with over 7,000 total in attendance. We will continue to take precautions, and the entertainment at this event will be held outdoors to help keep exposures down. We will be there, and I hope you will join us.
I am looking forward to a healthy and happy 2022 during which our world can return to “normal,” and we can be together more often with our “ohana,” which includes our RVing family.
Contact An FMCA National Chaplain
Chaplains Connection Line: (833) 458-0778
Email: chaplains@fmca.com
The mission of FMCA is to bring together RV owners who share similar interests in congenial traveling, recreation, and social activities in order to preserve and perpetuate the traditional ideals and spirit of friendly and wholesome family fellowship as manifested by the founders of FMCA.