Membership in this Midwest Area club has tripled the past few years.
By Pat Stien, F414917
March 2020
The Over the Hills chapter had a very busy 2019. Our 45th anniversary year started with a May rally at Casino Queen RV Park in East St. Louis, Illinois. During the rally, Gary Milner, FMCA national vice president, Midwest Area, presented the chapter with a certificate and check on behalf of FMCA. That started our momentum.
It is hard to believe that only five years ago our chapter was struggling to maintain 15 family memberships, and averaging about eight to 10 RVs per rally. Then in June 2014, the chapter held a membership drive and offered new members free dues for the first year. A survey of potential new members indicated they thought the original chapter name — Over the Hill — identified the group as old people. So, a few years ago we added an “s” to the name, changing it to Over the Hills, and it worked! We have more than tripled our membership with nearly 60 member families. Participation grew to an average of 18 RVs at each of our 2019 rallies.
Our membership consists of active, fun-loving people. Many are retired, but not all. We come from Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, and Ohio, and we have diverse interests. We have rallies once a month from May through October, and we try to go to locations that offer a variety of things to do and places to see.
This past year we rallied in St. Louis, Missouri; Allegan, Michigan; Shipshewana, Indiana; Minot, North Dakota; and Egg Harbor, Wisconsin. We visited a basilica, museums, transportation centers, historical monuments, libraries, and factories. We rode in horse-drawn buggies and ate at an Amish home. It was a memorable year!
For our final rally of the season at Paul Wolff Campground in Elgin, Illinois, members arrived in 24 RVs. We participated in a private tour of Elgin Fire Barn No. 5 Museum and docent-led tours of Fermilab in Batavia, Illinois. Members were treated to a celebratory dinner at Golden Corral and enjoyed a German Oktoberfest dinner prepared by the cohosts. We ended the weekend with a hearty breakfast and wished everyone safe travels till next year.
We are having fun and living the dream!