palibs

I would like to thank everyone on this forum for taking the time to provide your thoughts and ideas about the future of Family RV Association. The Governing Board made the decision in Redmond to increase the dues to $99.00 per year. The increase was more than the Executive Board expected but in retrospect we think it was a good decision. Our Dues were raised to $50 in July 2015, and except for the 16 months in the middle when dues were raised to $75 and then dropped back to $50, they have stayed the same. I think the EB and the GB should have been raising them every year during this time frame to keep up with inflation and minimize the appearance of such a large increase. I firmly believe that the benefits we provide along with the discounts we negotiate, make the $99 dues a bargain. To purchase a Medical Evacuation Program that even gets close to the benefits we provide with our membership, will cost well over $200.00 annually. The cost of everything to do with our Magazine has increased significantly during the last 9 years. Our options are to do away with the magazine or fund it so our members can continue to enjoy what they list as one of our most important benefits. Postage has increased almost 60% during this time frame. Our tire program and our Family RV Association insurance both save our members a significant amount of money which more than covers the cost of our annual dues. Our dues increase is going to allow us to maintain our current benefits and expand what we provide our members. This will ensure our continued position as the Premier RV Association in the RVing community. Thank you for being the best part of the Family RV Association, Paul Paul G Mitchell Family RV Association National President https://fmca.com 209-815-1837

In answer to your earlier question, the Governing Board in Redmond voted to continue providing the Medical Evacuation Program to our members. The minutes of the GB meeting will be published in the coming weeks for everyone to review.

The survey did go out to all Family RV Association members. If you didn't receive it, I suggest logging into the FMCA website and check your settings on messages you receive from FMCA. One of the items you can opt out of is "surveys"

Sorry I didn't answer this right away. We are working on a letter to address the dues increase and the other decisions made at the Governing Board in Redmond. Our Medical Evacuation Program is not optional simply because of cost. By insuring our total membership, it keeps our cost down, so it is affordable for all of our members. A comparable program to ours will cost in the neighborhood of $200 to $300 annually. It is a great benefit for our members and based on the results from the recent Governing Board, our members overwhelming want it to continue. We appreciate all of our Chapters, especially those that have been members for 55 years. What an accomplishment! Thank you for supporting our organization. Paul Mitchell FMCA National VP

Please provide any suggestions you have with the best way for us to include the ideas and wishes of the non-chapter members. Our Long Range Planning Committee has been wrestling with that issue for the last 2 years and it is addressed in the Long Range Plan approved by the Governing Board.

Chris, I have passed this on to our magazine director. Thank you for taking the time to provide your ideas. Paul

Jim & Ernie, Thank you for your comments. The Executive Board and I are going to try and be more active on the forums. Our members ideas are very important. I will continue to do everything I can to move Family RV Association in a positive direction and all of us rely on our dedicated staff in Cincinnati. It will take everyone working together to keep us moving in a positive direction. I am disappointed by the personnel attacks on this forum. I don't think they help the association, nor do they belong here. Thank you, Paul Mitchell FRVA VP

Welcome to the Family RV Association. Sounds like you will have a lot of followers to learn more about your Vixen's. Looking forward to seeing you in Perry at our next National Convention.

Jim, Thank you for being a member for the last 14 years. Our Family members are our greatest asset. The Governing Board in Redmond provide us a positive direction and approved our new name of "Family RV Association" along with continuation of our included Medical Evacuation Program. The new name is inclusive for our membership and will be a plus as we increase and focus our advertising efforts. I believe the future of Family RV Association (FRVA) is positive and with the help of our 126,000 dedicated members we have a long future ahead of us. Based on the preliminary results, the Redmond convention will result in a positive cash flow. The 400,000 is the amount charged against the convention based on the annual employee and office expenses. We are looking at these expenses very closely and will endeavor to explain them better in the future. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you would like more details or have additional questions, Paul Mitchell FMCA National VP 209-815-1837

Immediate Family members traveling with you are covered if something happens. This has been used many times to assist our members. They are only covered when they are traveling with you in the same vehicle. The entire contract is posted on the website if you would like to go through it. What I quoted in the post above is the slide we present when we are doing the FMCAssist briefing at the rallies. Our insurance expert will be in Tucson and will be presenting this seminar at our Convention this month. Hope this helps. Paul Mitchell pmitchell@fmca.com

FMCAssist covers Immediate Family Members Traveling with you - Included in your FMCA membership Spouse or domestic partner Dependent children (including adopted children or stepchildren) Legal guardians or wards Siblings or siblings-in-law Parents or parents-in-law Grandparents or grandchildren Aunts or uncles Nieces and nephews

I checked with FMCA Tech Connect and below is their response: This is a true statement. As part of the plan details it states that video streaming will typically stream at DVD quality (480p). As you know, we tested the Wi-Fi during October using the 50-inch TV that we’ve brought down to conventions. We were able to stream 1080p with no issues. Josh went down to our Roundbottom office yesterday to get the TV and brought it back up to Clough. We tested again, same results. No buffering or lagging while streaming on 1080p. The T-Mobile plan states that Video typically streams on smartphone/tablet at DVD quality (480)p Hope this helps.

I still think the Forum is valuable and I value the opinion of the long time members along with the new ones. I would love to hear everyone's ideas and if anyone out there would like to help monitor the forum, it would certainly be appreciated. Looking forward to hearing from everyone. Paul Mitchell FMCA Senior VP

FMCAssist covers Immediate Family Members Traveling with you - Included in your FMCA membership Spouse or domestic partner Dependent children (including adopted children or stepchildren) Legal guardians or wards Siblings or siblings-in-law Parents or parents-in-law Grandparents or grandchildren Aunts or uncles Nieces and nephews