By Charlie Adcock, F311374
National President
November 2014
My Fellow FMCA Family,
A funny thing happened to me the other day. But I have to go back several years to lay the groundwork for this story.
Twelve years ago I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea. Of course, they hooked me up to a machine that blew air through a vacuum cleaner hose into a mask covering my face. I had to use this apparatus as I slept. I tried for a year and a half to adjust to this, to no avail.
Then I had a friend tell me about how throat surgery cured his sleep apnea problem. He said that the only way he could get his sleep doctor to agree to the surgery was to tell him that the mask caused him to have a severe gas problem. After considering this for a few seconds, you guessed it; I was hooked! On my next visit to the sleep doctor, I told him the air being blown into me was causing severe gas, and that I would like for an ear, nose, and throat doctor to do surgery on me. I could not say this and keep a straight face, though. I started laughing halfway through my tale.
He is a really nice doctor. He said that since I was serious enough to try that story on him, he would refer me to an ENT specialist.
I did have the surgery. The surgeon removed my soft palate, uvula, and tonsils; corrected my nasal passages; and did a tongue suspension. (I would not recommend this surgery to anyone.) The surgery did fix the problem for several years, but then last year I started having sleep apnea problems again. This time, I opted to have an appliance (mouthpiece) made to keep my chin pressed out to improve my breathing. The mouthpiece seems to be doing what it is supposed to do, as long as I can keep it in.
Now that I’ve laid the groundwork, here is my latest “memory-making experience.”
Ever since I began wearing this appliance, it seems that every second or third night, I manage to remove it in the middle of the night in my sleep and try to hide it. One night recently, I took it from my mouth and proceeded to hide it. I awoke at 4:00 a.m. and began to look for it, crawling around the bed. It was not to be found.
After Gloria and I got up the next morning, we looked everywhere for it, with no luck. Then I remembered dreaming that I had stuffed it under some clothes. We continued to search in all the drawers, the linen closet, under the bed — everywhere we could think of. Still, no luck.
The next day, Gloria decided to change the bed linens. As she was shaking the sheets before putting them in the washer, my appliance fell out on her foot.
So, it is back. I think it needs a beeper locator or something. And I guess if you are looking for a “good” part of this story, it would be that the appliance is not insured and it cost $2,600. I call it my “teeth,” and I’m sure glad to have it back. I guess you could say this is a story that I really can “sink my teeth into.” (Sorry.)
On a more serious note, I want to talk about FMCAssist. I’m sure most of you know by now that during their meeting in Redmond, the Governing Board approved reinstating FMCAssist as a member benefit that is included in your dues. I pray that none of you ever need to use this benefit, but it is sure comforting to know we have it if it is needed.
When I became FMCA president, one of my highest priorities was to get this program reinstated for members. In a nutshell, if you, as an FMCA member, have a medical emergency while on the road more than 100 miles from home, a single phone call to our provider will turn on your FMCAssist benefits, which include emergency medical evacuation/repatriation (NOT medical treatment), emergency medical reunion (family member travel), return of mortal remains, return of accompanying dependents, return of RV/vehicle, and even return of pets. See www.FMCA.com under the “Benefits” tab for all the details.
This is a tremendous benefit that is FREE to members. This makes it a unique and wonderful recruiting (and retention) tool, since no other RV organization provides coverage like this at no cost to its members. FMCAssist is powered by Seven Corners and is backed by Lloyds of London. I had the opportunity to visit Seven Corners headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana, last year, along with FMCA’s national senior vice president, Jon Walker, and national treasurer Percy Bell, and it was quite impressive. They run a first-class operation. Please check out all that is available to you through FMCAssist.
I remember when I first joined FMCA, we had a similar program. I would attend chapter rallies and someone would always put out a stack of the white cards with contact information for the provider. No one seemed to know much about this benefit, least of all me. I bring this up to encourage everyone to learn about FMCAssist and to be sure to mention it when you are recruiting new members.
A couple of years ago when the emergency medical evacuation program was converted to a voluntary, member-paid program, rather than one that was included in the FMCA dues, one rationale for doing so was that few of our members “used” it; that is, few needed to make the call to receive help. However, if you really think about it, every FMCA member “used” it, in the sense that every one of us had the protection available to us.
And, continuing on the recruitment/retention subject, we are averaging about 900 new members a month, but we are losing about the same number. We certainly hope that changes when everyone realizes what a great value FMCAssist is, along with our other benefits.
A benefit that is getting a lot of use is FMCA’s Michelin Advantage program, which gives members the opportunity to buy Michelin motorhome tires at fleet prices. Recently, Michelin also began offering light truck and passenger car tires as part of the program. I’ve heard about people saving anywhere from $500 to $1,000 on a set of motorhome tires. Folks, that’s nothing to sneeze at. Go to FMCA.com to learn more about this, or ask for the Member Services Department at FMCA when you call the national office (800-543-3622 or 513-474-3622).
Time sure is slipping by fast. By the time this comes out, we will have attended the Eastern Area Rally in Asheville, North Carolina, and then hightailed it over to Shreveport, Louisiana, to catch the South Central Area Rally, better known as the Six State Rally. I know that John Reynolds, national vice president, Eastern Area, and wife, Jayne, and Jim McCabe, national vice president, South Central Area, and wife, Connie, have a couple of great parties planned for us all.
I’m a little late in wishing my Canadian friends a happy Thanksgiving, which they celebrated on October 13. I’m a little early for the United States Thanksgiving, which is November 27. I hope everyone had and will have a very happy Thanksgiving.
We are all so blessed to have the freedom to travel in two of the most beautiful countries in the world. I pray for all of our military personnel in harm’s way.
Gotta go. See you at a rally or on the road somewhere and, “Remember, it’s all about having fun!”