“Rock and Roll High School” will soon be in session! Head for Gillette, Wyoming, July 16-19 for the most fun you’ve had in years — or maybe ever!
National President
Paul Mitchell, F165576
pmitchell@frva.com
July/August 2025
There’s still time to join us at our “Rock & Roll High School” convention in Gillette, Wyoming, July 16-19. You can sign up online or by phone until July 8; after that, you are welcome to register on-site. Don’t miss this fun-filled event. We have so many great activities planned and would love to see you there!
If you can’t make it to Wyoming for our summer celebration, be sure to put March 18 to 21, 2026, on your calendar and plan to attend our 112th International Convention & RV Expo in Perry, Georgia. We also will return to Perry March 17 to 20, 2027, making the Georgia National Fairgrounds the go-to RVing destination in March for the next two years. And, while you’re adding to your calendar, please save the dates of July 1-4, 2026. We’ll be gathering at the Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia, Missouri, to celebrate America’s 250th birthday — RV style!
As I write this, Family RV Association events director Doug Uhlenbrock is in the room next to my office at FRVA headquarters in Cincinnati wearing full “Kiss” rock band makeup, getting ready to do a live Facebook/YouTube update about the Gillette convention. What a treat to see our Events Department in action. I think everyone got the message: “Enter through Gate A with your number in the windshield!” The Events team, in collaboration with our parking team, “The Kool Kids,” have streamlined the arrival process for convention attendees.
Doug and events manager Barb Feiler were right back at it the next day, drawing the names of three lucky Gillette attendees who will receive $300 fuel gift cards from Shade Pro, the generous sponsor of these giveaways.
The “RV There Yet?” Discovery Zone was a big hit at our 110th International Convention in Perry, Georgia, and Kevin and Patrice McCabe, hosts of this RV-focused TV show, will be joining us in Gillette with lots of exciting activities, seminars, and displays. If you haven’t seen the 30-minute episode they filmed during our convention in Perry, it is worth watching. You can check it out at rvthereyettv.com. The professional 30-second FRVA commercial that aired during the show was very well done, and we will be using it on our social media.
Be sure to keep your eyes open for the Photo Scavenger Hunt contest taking place as folks make their way to Gillette. FRVA members Dale and Amy Hafer have put this together for the past two events, and it’s become a big hit. They have lots of great prizes this time around, so you will want to participate in this fun on-the-way activity. More information can be found in the “Gillette Attendees” Facebook group: facebook.com/groups/gillette25.
Speaking of on the way to Gillette, I’d encourage you to visit FRVA commercial member campgrounds as you travel to the convention. You can locate campgrounds using the handy interactive map at frva.com/frva-commercial#map-box. If you encounter campgrounds along the way that aren’t commercial members, be sure to encourage them to join and to consider extending a discount to family members. You can find a commercial member campground flyer to share on the Spread the Word tab at FRVA.com.
Volunteers are key to successful conventions, and we will be using more of them in Gillette. For years we have relied on an outside company for most of our convention setup, but in Gillette, FRVA will collaborate with the CAM-PLEX staff, supplemented by FRVA volunteers, to accomplish most of the setup work. This will be the first rally where we’ll use volunteers in more capacities, so if you haven’t signed up to help yet, email convention@frva.com and let us know you’re interested. This group will help reset rooms, adjust signage, and put the finishing touches on our spaces.
I am excited about our Pathfinders membership program, designed to guide prospective RV owners. Along with other benefits, Pathfinders gain access to 10-plus years of searchable technical, travel, and lifestyle articles via FRVA University. What a great resource! Anyone interested in RVing can join. In fact, I sent our daughter and family in Homer, Alaska, a Pathfinders gift membership to make sure they were covered under our Medical & Travel Assist program. I would encourage everyone to purchase your family members a Pathfinder membership just for your peace of mind.
With the support of our experienced IT staff and the expertise of some of our knowledgeable members, we’re in the process of developing a new association management system (AMS). This system is designed to simplify the join and renewal process, streamline convention signups, and make ordering must-have items easier. While we considered an off-the-shelf third-party solution, each option came with significant upfront costs and would still require expensive, time-consuming modifications. We believe our internal team, backed by the insights of our members, is well equipped to create a reliable system tailored to our needs for years to come. This new system aims to offer a user-friendly website experience, while continuing to rely on knowledgeable staff members in Cincinnati to assist members when things don’t go exactly as planned.
FRVA has some great partners, but I am especially excited about our new agreement with RV Overnights. They provide unlimited stays at unique host locations nationwide, and FRVA members receive an exclusive discount not available anywhere else. Our cost for an RV Overnights membership is only $29.99 per year, a rate that is locked in as long as you remain a member. Moving forward, we want more special discounts like this, to give RV owners the best pricing simply because they are FRVA members.
We have been concentrating on sharing details about Family RV Association benefits with existing members, while at the same time increasing our presence on social media to attract new members. You can help us by following Family RV Association on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, X, TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn and liking and sharing our content. Look for links at the bottom of the FRVA.com home page. And, of course, tell your friends about Family RV Association and encourage them to join! Our success depends on spreading the word.
FRVA Medical & Travel Assist In Action
Our Medical & Travel Assist Story
Grateful for the Assistance
Bill and I were passengers in a bad head-on crash on March 23, 2024. We are full-time nomads who were in Lafayette, Louisiana, about 400 miles from our family in Dallas. We were taken by emergency ambulance to the level 2 trauma center in Lafayette, where Bill was checked out and returned to the RV but unable to drive. I was admitted to ICU and spent a week there before being moved to a step-down room for another week.
Our daughters drove from Dallas to pick up our car and our dogs, and Bill’s sister and her husband drove to Lafayette to bring back the truck and RV to the Dallas area. It was evident I would need care for a good while because of swelling on my spine, as well as a broken clavicle, sternum, and three ribs, plus a break to my pelvis, which made me unable to move around. I ended up in a skilled nursing facility in Dallas for two more weeks and was then discharged to my daughter’s home, where I stayed two more weeks. Her house is all on one level, and I was unable to get in and out of the fifth wheel or up and down the stairs inside due to my injuries.
The only way from Lafayette to Dallas after I was discharged from the hospital was by ground ambulance, and I won’t lie — it was a brutal trip. But, because there were no commercial planes large enough for medical transport from Lafayette, and I was unable to sit for the three hours of flight and check-ins, etc., it was the only option. Bill was transported by a limo with a recliner in the seating area.
All this took place courtesy of the FMCA [now FRVA] emergency medical evacuation and travel assistance program. The program also provided reimbursement for hotels and food for our family members who helped get our RV, car, and pets back to Dallas, along with boarding for one of our dogs that has special needs.
These expenses were taken care of 100 percent, without any questions. Being able to reimburse our family who helped us was a great feeling.
And, best of all, after a pretty rough nine months, we are both fully recovered.
We are so grateful for this benefit and wanted to let you know. Thank you.
— Dory & Bill Johnson, F463594
Have a Medical & Travel Assist story to share? Send it to us at magazine@frva.com.
To learn more about the coverages provided by this plan, visit FRVA.com/medical-and-travel-assist.