Growing the chapter’s family of military veterans at FMCA’s recent Tucson convention.
By Bo deBlieux, F441784
June 2022
The SMART FMCA chapter took the 104th International Convention and RV Expo in Tucson, Arizona, by storm. SMART stands for Special Military Active Recreational Travelers and is a national nonprofit organization operated by and for military veterans. An FMCA chapter recently was created to support both groups.
Left to right: Barry and Donna Wynott, Bo and Karen deBlieux, Cale Moon, Joe Padberg, Diane Pepperell, and Paul and Melody Thomas meet before Cale’s performance.
During the convention in Tucson, we were easily seen thanks to our SMART red, white, and blue ball caps and SMART shirts, showing FMCA veterans that we were there to answer their questions and perhaps recruit them into our chapter. We had a plan to sign up as many veterans as possible by telling them about the best-kept secret for military veteran RVers: the national SMART military veterans club.
I want to thank the SMART members whom Karen and I traveled with from Big Bend National Park in Texas, to Tucson, Arizona, for their untiring help in promoting SMART. Those members, Paul and Melody Thomas, Joe Padberg, and Diane Pepperell, truly were the catalyst that helped to pull the efforts together.
Along with the help of Barry and Donna Wynott, SMART FMCA made the first big splash by having a well-planned table at the Chapter Fair event and by winning the blue ribbon for the best tabletop decoration.
SMART FMCA’s banner is displayed by Paul Mitchell, International Area national vice president, left, and FMCA Military Veterans chapter president Bob Weithofer.
The Chapter Fair was a very big hit in bringing veterans to us. Our table was overrun to the point where some veterans stated that they could not get close enough to talk to us. Our contest win was announced by the emcee that evening, so everyone knew who won but may have been asking, “Who is SMART FMCA?” We did our best to answer that question for as many veterans as we could.
Our scheduled business meeting, advertised on the FMCA convention app and website, was well-attended by new members and other interested parties.
The chapter was presented our FMCA banner by International Area (INTO) national vice president Paul Mitchell, FMCA national president Rett Porter, and FMCA Military Veterans chapter president Bob Weithofer. We hung the banner with pride at our business meeting during the convention, and it will always be hanging when we have SMART FMCA activities.
For winning the tabletop decoration contest at the Tucson Chapter Fair, SMART FMCA was awarded a dinner with Friday night entertainer Cale Moon. Our dinner was well attended by SMART FMCA members just prior to Cale’s concert that evening. As part of the prize, we were given special seating for the concert, where Cale played many songs he had written himself.
We signed up 10 new SMART FMCA members at the convention, and we hope many more will join once they learn about the benefits of belonging to both organizations. It was a great convention, and we look forward to the upcoming conventions in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Perry, Georgia.
For more information about SMART FMCA, contact either Jack Fritz at jack.fritz99@gmail.com or Bo deBlieux at bodeblieux@gmail.com or (318) 557-2737.