A tribute to FMCA pioneer Genny Jennings, L26, who becomes a centenarian in July.
By Robbin Gould, Editor
July 2023
From the time FMCA was formed in July 1963, countless members have poured their hearts and souls into nurturing the association. One is Genevieve “Genny” Jennings, L26, whose dedication to FMCA has spanned decades. She wore many volunteer hats over the years while raising nine children.
FMCA observes its 60th anniversary on July 20, 2023, and Genny will celebrate her own milestone shortly thereafter when she turns 100 on July 23.
The Jennings family wore similar clothing to help keep track of the children.
Genny and Dennis McGuire, an FMCA founder, display their original member plates.
The Jennings family started out as tent campers. In 1958, Genny and her late husband, Howard, spied several school buses for sale in a parking lot and bought one on the spot. They converted the bus and a cargo trailer to accommodate their family of 11. Construction included bunk beds — two tiers of three and one tier of two — plus a crib in the rear. They built a closet that held a drawer for each family member; installed bathroom fixtures from a wrecked Airstream travel trailer; and put in a full galley and two dinettes that converted into beds.
In 1963, while an organizational meeting of “house car” owners was being planned for late July in Hinckley, Maine, another group of RVing families happened to gather in Corunna, Michigan, in early June. The Jenningses attended the meeting in Corunna, and Genny became a charter officer of that new organization, called the Courtesy Coach Club. By late July, families from both groups joined together to establish the Family Motor Coach Association.
National president Charles Cheneweth honored Genny at the Lexington, Kentucky, convention in 1986.
Genny served as FMCA national secretary from 1967 to 1970. Other leadership roles included national vice president from 1974 to 1975; national fourth vice president from 1975 to 1976; and national fifth vice president from 1976 to 1977. She also was national vice president, Great Lakes Area, from 1982 to 1986.
And that Corunna, Michigan, group? It became one of FMCA’s first chapters on April 10, 1965, and adopted the name Michigan Knights of the Highway.
Genny was a familiar sight at numerous FMCA international conventions — well over 70, according to the last official count we could find. Folks may remember her green vest adorned with FMCA patches, pins, and hash marks indicating each convention she had attended — and her ever-present smile.
In 2017, FMCA national president Jon Walker, right, and immediate past national president Charlie Adcock, left, presented Genny with the Kenneth T. Scott Pipe Dreamer’s Award.
In 2017, Genny was honored with the Kenneth T. Scott Pipe Dreamer’s Award, which recognizes an FMCA member for exceptional service to the association and to RVers. Its namesake, Ken Scott, L63, oversaw FMCA in the early years. The FMCA Executive Board recommended her for the award during the annual Governing Board meeting at the association’s Indianapolis, Indiana, convention that year, noting: “Genny has had FMCA in her heart and soul since the very beginning. A member since October of 1963, she was a pioneer in the early days and paved the way for many of FMCA’s plans and policies. Genny is the true embodiment of what ‘Family’ means to Family Motor Coach Association.”
FMCA members who would like to wish Genny a happy birthday can mail a card to the national office: Genny Jennings, c/o FMCA, 8291 Clough Pike, Cincinnati, OH 45244.