Members can help their association continue all the great things it does to enhance the RV lifestyle.
National President
Gary Milner, F409834
gmilner@fmca.com
September 2024
Greetings from the Milners! It is such an honor to be your national president. Glenda and I continue to meet new FMCA family members and visit our good friends at chapter meetings and rallies. FMCA is the best RV organization in North America.
In late July, Glenda and I attended the Midwest Area Rally in Amana, Iowa. This area is dear to our hearts, because I served as area president for four years. It was great spending time with those members again. We belong to many chapters in the Midwest Area and had the opportunity to reconnect with them at the rally. If you don’t belong to a chapter, I highly encourage you to seek one to experience the camaraderie with fellow RVers. Visit fmca.com/fmca-join-a-chapter to learn more.
As I write this, it’s almost August, and Glenda and I soon will be heading to Redmond, Oregon, for FMCA’s 109th International Convention & RV Expo Presented By Beaver Coach Sales. What an awesome venue the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center is, sitting amidst the Cascade Mountains. This high-desert facility has great weather and amazing scenery to wake up to and view from your windshield. I hope you were able to join us in Redmond, because it is a beautiful part of the western area of America.
I am seeking your help! FMCA’s membership numbers are dropping each month. We know we will always have a number of members who hang up their keys for many different personal reasons; however, we are not gaining enough new members to replace those who leave. Membership dues help us sustain the many benefits offered.
We have a new membership category called Pathfinders, and we’re hoping you’ll help spread the word about it. If you meet someone who is contemplating purchasing an RV but hasn’t taken that step yet, they can join as a Pathfinder. The goal of this new membership category is to help these folks obtain the educational information needed to make a sound decision in their RV selection. And then the hope is that once they do purchase an RV, they will convert to a full family membership.
If every member would recruit just one person to FMCA, that would financially help our organization. FMCA.com is a great resource for recruiting new members. Check out the “Spread The Word” tab on the home page.
National office news. This past May, FMCA CEO Chris Smith asked the FMCA Executive Board to release him from his employment contract. Release was granted. We wish Chris the best of luck in the future and thank him for his dedicated service to FMCA. Per the FMCA Bylaws, in the absence of a CEO, a Management Committee was organized, consisting of me as president, senior vice president Paul Mitchell, South Central Area president Dianna Huff, Southeast Area president Bill Dees, and FMCA employee Sherry Light. This team will be responsible for assisting the FMCA staff until a replacement can be found.
Safe travels to all, and remember, “It is all about having fun!”
Now For The Rest Of The Story By Glenda Milner
I’ve had a great time hearing from members who have enjoyed my side of the story. I know that I have an amazing husband, because he has been trained for 51 years. I know that he means well. I know that he loves to think he has everything under control, but I also know that is not always the case! My husband prides himself on being an average backyard mechanic. He owns enough tools — which we carry in the motorhome bays — to overhaul any engine or breakdown and to replace series 365 tires on the RV. However, he does experience lapses in judgment at times. They sneak up on him when he least expects it.
This was the case recently after we had our motorhome weighed at the International Area Rally in Oklahoma. They found the front curb side wheel was 2,000 pounds overweight. Of course, that is where his many tools are located. In an attempt to decide what must be rearranged and what needed to leave the RV, he ran into his brick wall.
Then we had a tire blowout on our towed pickup truck a month later. This was when we found his downsizing had resulted in valuable components being left behind. You see, we had a jack, but not the tool to lower and raise it. We had the power tool to take off the lug nuts, but not the correct size sockets to do the job. Bless his heart; he just did not have his knowledgeable, organized, and thorough wife guide him in selecting the tools that might be helpful in the future.
And that, my friends, is my side of the story!