Allowing Towables Vote At Indianapolis In July

[jeff753]

Currently members get a $10 voucher (can be used for dues) for each new member they recruit. So if you got 6 new members you'd get a year free. I'd like to see a more aggressive new member  drive program for a set time period  

The problem I see is a tool kit to serve current members that are interested in getting new members.  For example,  if I could open up my iPad and print a two page (front and back) that had member benefits and an email for more info on the front (or page 1) and an application with a referral number on the back....I could just hand that to someone. I'd always have it so it's not something I'd have to carry. 

I think the board heard this trailer idea and thought it would be a panacea to fix the decline in membership.  Perhaps it would but I don't think it's without its own problems nor the best solution

One of the goals of FMCA ENERGIZED is to recruit new members from all age groups. To that end we will work with the National office and the membership committee to improve our new member recruiting tool kit.  Currently if I try to print new member info from the fmca.com page it says "you are already a menber" and fails to provide me information to print and hand to my neighbor. 

Next time you're at a park ask 3 coaches if they've ever heard of fmca. 

[wildebill308]

40 minutes ago, jeff753 said:

Currently members get a $10 voucher (can be used for dues) for each new member they recruit. So if you got 6 new members you'd get a year free.

Interesting that this is not promoted and I had not heard of it. 

I use a simple business card with the FMCA web address on the back. 

I don't see any tow behind people lining up to join. What is in it for them?

Bill

[jeff753]

15 hours ago, dons2346 said:

You guys haven't heard the best yet, just wait.

Well?

[isaaac1]

Just to re state what I said in the lost thread, I have nothing against towable owners, however I am against opening FMCA to them, at least I am against offering them full membership, I have read industry statistics that say motorhomes account for only about 20% of the total RV market, I would assume the vast majority of the rest of RV's fall into the towable camp, and a few percent may be truck campers.  If that is the case, and if the FMCA were to offer any features that would appeal to towable owners, they could quickly become the majority of the membership and then vote away the benefits and advocacy they deem to costly that only benefit minority who are motorhome owners.

[BillAdams]

FMCA has allowed trailers and 5th wheels at previous rallies.  It was pretty easy to deal with.  FMCA simply segregated them in a separate area that allowed easy in and out.  That, of course, was also one of the biggest problems.  You have motorhomes over here and trailers over there.  I seemed to me that this was worse than doing nothing.  No seminars for the trailer folks, no vendors and no manufacturer support either.  If you own a trailer and you were considering moving to a motorhome then you were in a pretty good place.  Otherwise, you were pretty much the red headed step child.

[manholt]

RSBill.  There was towables at Chandler.  From what I heard, parking them in Electric section was not easy and they where fifth wheel !

Wayne.  I understand and respect your thoughts.  The only thing I really don't understand, is  how this is going to lower the age level?  Young folks, under 45 are not going to Rally's, or if they do, it will be on a day pass, to go see all the vendors and get what they need.  You don't need to be a member of any club, to do that !

Since the high tech and internet, have been around...every Club, Association and Fraternal Organization, you can think off, has suffered in obtaining new and young members!  How can we FMCA, turn that around?  This is only my personal opinion.  We need an Executive Board of 45, or younger members and the same with Governance (National Directors) !  Business meetings once a month, done via Internet (same as major corporations do).  Annual meeting at FMCA Rally, before the opening day of Rally! 

Don't spend money on Consultants...most of them have grandchildren and no more clue than I have!

My 2 cent's worth!  By the way, Good Sam and Escapees, are having the same problem as we are!  I'm a member of both.

Carl 

[rfsod48]

How much of a dues increase would it take to keep FMCA benefits the same as now with no increase in membership? As has been previously stated not all of our current benefits would help TT and if they became the majority we would suffer.

Roland

[dons2346]

The EB is meeting now in Cincinnati. Part of the work these past two days is the budget which will be presented to the GB to vote on. I know there will be cuts and I hope it isn't in the area of benefits for the staff. Some time ago, they did eliminate their medical benefits which was a real blow to them. The staff that services us, the member, has been cut to the bone. In looking at past budgets, I see zero cuts in the magazine staff. The magazine isn't producing the revenue as in the past so a question I have is why hasn't that staff been cut? Possibly a question to be brought up during the GB meeting, eh?

Towables! If they are to be treated just like a motorcoach, then why are they required to purchase power? This was the case in Chandler and it is  the same for Indy. Instead of parking "them" over there and "us" over here, why aren't they parked interspersed among us,eh?

As far as the new "stuff", this pertains to the National Directors that are registered to vote in Indy. Those of you that registered on line, did you notice there was no block to check identifying you as a ND? Make sure you call Cincinnati and make sure you are registered as a ND.

Those of you that are not ND's find out who your area president is and call them with your questions and don't be easy. Any AVP worth their salt will have good solid answers for you.

As of now, there are three proposals that we will be voting on. I do not understand how they can lump a vote on the Articles, the constitution, and the bylaws under one proposal. This is something that should be challenged . I also understand that there will be more proposals brought forward.

As to the question about what it would cost to keep the Assist program, it would probably be in the range of $12 per member based on what we have been told about the increase.

On edit, I hope that if the budget does propose cutting benefits for the staff, someone will have the 'nads to stand up and propose those benefits be restored. Those of us ND's on the forum need to have a get together before the GB meeting.

[manholt]

Dons2346. 

I called in my registration and made sure that they recognized me as a ND and I'll be there the 10th, early....a lot of confusion from the lady that I was dealing with, she had zero knowledge about EB or GB or ND's.  Now she does! 

Note to all National Directors and Alternates.  Go to FMCA. com and click on member/governance, re read or read for first time the Constitution and By-Laws...You are responsible for all members in your Chapter!  If you are a first time delegate, make sure you also read the procedure booklet that will be in your registration packet.  You can also read it on line under governance!

If you can avoid it, do not have it held for Will Call.  This will probably be the most important election and change (maybe) since the founding of FMCA !  If this is your first time as a AND or ND, then please call or send a mail to your Area Vice President !!!

Carl

[jleamont]

Last night on Facebook, a woman was seeking help getting her 40' DP from Florida to the west coast. Apparently her husband suffered a stroke while they were snow birding in FL, he is ok but very weak and cannot drive it. I asked her if they were FMCA members, her response, "What is FMCA, never heard of it"? I sent her a link to the forum, recommending she ask of ideas how to get her coach home.

I felt bad for her, all of the trolls turning her awful experience into a profit for them made me sick, I see she hasn't posted anything yet on the forum. Hoping she doesn't fall into a trap.

Here in lies the problem folks....never heard of it.....If you are snowbirds in FL for a season, how do you not know about FMCA? They should  have been handed information at time of coach purchase, if from a dealer in my opinion. there must have not been a strong presence at the campground. I think we need sales people pounding the pavement, making arrangements with campgrounds for discounts, and shaking the hands of coach owners.

[manholt]

Joe, we are not suppose to pound the pavement for "old folks", remember!  Just young ones, and their not Snowbirds....something is terribly wrong here!!!

[rfsod48]

I would hate to see us become another Good Sam Club. I think our target audience is the 50 and older group, not to say that younger members should be discouraged but our current benefits favor the older member. I deal with younger people regularly in my profession and their desires and time allotment are different than most older people, they favor much shorter trips and flying to destinations instead of driving. Perhaps the one group of people we could connect with are the fifth wheel travelers, often they have the same desires and time constraints we have.

Roland

[kaypsmith]

My wife being within the nursing profession for 40 + years, I have heard of many under thirty that have fallen prey to heart, cancer, and many other debilitating diseases. This being said, for two miserable years, I sold Life, Health, and Fire insurance, I know first hand how hard it is to sell the first two of these to younger people, so making one's self aware of the younger generation's fate when not having a subscription to appropriate insurance makes for an easier sell for FMCA Assist benefits.

[tbutler]

I know the concern comes from membership numbers and a desire to keep membership high to support a full-service organization.  It is, I think apparent to all that the motor home industry continues to produce far fewer motor homes than during the peak years.  The reasons for this are not complicated.  Fewer people are able to purchase motor homes.  The cost of motor home ownership has risen faster than salaries and many people who are currently retiring are not beneficiaries of stable well-funded retirement plans.  Not many people on Social Security are buying motor homes.  So, if we restrict membership to motor home owners we will necessarily have fewer members.

To the idea of attracting younger members.  This is always good for an organization.  In our case, almost anyone would qualify as a younger member.  The truth is that I could never have afforded a motor home before I retired and supplemented my retirement with another job.  That alone allowed me to go shopping for a motor home.  Prior to that time, I had done extensive tent camping with my family.  When I married Louise she had a favorite saying, “Her idea of roughing it was staying at a Holiday Inn.”  That set an expectation of a higher standard of travel and camping than I had done previously.  I did manage to get her out on some canoe camping trips on a few of Missouri’s southern streams.  She was a good sport about it.  Clearly, if I was going to do more than a short trip now and then, Louise was going to want something better than a tent.  So, at age 55 I came to RV ownership in the form of a used motor home.  Before that time I had neither the disposable income to purchase nor the free time to use a motor home.

My daughter, now approaching 50, and her family purchased a pull-behind camper several years ago.  They may well be on their way to motor home ownership some day.  Of our four children, they are the only family that owns an RV at this time.  My youngest sister, also about 50, and her husband have just moved from a Class B motor home he used primarily for mobile work assignments to a Class A and are about to take it on the road for the first time.  So, the history for our family is 50+ for motor home travel. 

It is true that we have much in common with other segments of the RV industry.  We also have distinct differences from towable RV’s.  I started with membership in several RV organizations when we purchased our motor home.  I still am a Good Sam member, primarily for the campground discounts.  I dropped my membership in Escapees when numerous articles in their newsletter expressed hostility to motor homes and motor home owners.  There exists in that organization a portion of the membership which frowns upon anyone who isn’t boondocking.  It was the kind of “we’re better than they are” attitude that will quickly divide an organization.  We see a little of that sometimes from Class A, Class B and Class C owners within FMCA.  Once in a while someone expresses a feeling of being left out.  Families traveling with children have expressed this feeling of exclusion in FMCA magazine articles and rallies.  In each case, FMCA members have pulled together to try to make everyone feel valued as members.  Criticism is welcome if it is constructive.  Hostility will divide and destroy an organization.

I believe that FMCA has a unique organization that addresses the specific interests and needs of motor home owners.  I think it would be to the detriment of the organization to try to expand to include towable RV’s in the membership.  Welcome them to rallies as visitors but keep membership to owners of motor homes.  As membership declines the organization will necessarily have to adjust but that happens. 

[hayesfamily]

5 hours ago, rfsod48 said:

I would hate to see us become another Good Sam Club. I think our target audience is the 50 and older group, not to say that younger members should be discouraged but our current benefits favor the older member.

Fair statement but not that fair.

You target audience is fine being at 50 as those are the people that can typically can afford a $100K+ coach and have the vacation time to use it. But what about those 38 year olds like ME that is willing to learn how to do this whole MOTORCOACH thing with an older less expensive but just as nice coach that needs mentoring so one day I can WANT to hang with the big boys in a 40ft DP? 

So am I supposed to be left out? Cause lets be honest, in so many ways I am and it is discouraging. 

In other words, we have to find balance. The reason I have my coach is because my pops got tired of me taking his, Herman and Joe and Bill and a bunch of folks talked to me and made me think about everything I did when it came to my purchase. They told me which coaches to stay away from, and what ones to look for because of the reps they had and how well the hold up. They guided me and now I have the most awesome Coach for the money I had. Not the newest but not nearly as problematic as it could have been. THATS what FMCA has to become in order to draw the youngins like me. 

We have to turn FMCA into a organizations that fosters growth by mentoring, and being friendly campers. Let everyone that we come in contact with know that the Egg with the number in it is the BEST club because of the people in it.  

[rfsod48]

Keon,

It would be nice if everyone who reads the forum would make the commitment you have made but unfortunately most don't. As my post stated I certainly would not want to discourage younger members, but unless they are like you and take direction from the forum there is not as much for them as there is for the older member. That is why we are discussing ways to sustain the club. Perhaps a moderate increase in dues and a better dissemination of club material will help but if we are to become another Camping World (Good Sam) club I fear that we are domed to a declining membership.

[fagnaml]

I agree with Issac1 about the focus and services of FMCA.  I'm a few years older than Issac1 in my mid-50's.  My primary value of FMCA is the forum to seek advice and share ideas.  The FMCA magazine content, rallies / convention schedules, etc. seem to be directed towards older members of FMCA.  Sorry, but a rally with key activities of visiting a museum, card games and pot luck dinners just don't interest me and my wife at this point in our lives.   A rally that offers off-road adventures for my Jeep, tours of wineries or craft breweries, golf tournament, outing to fine dining establishments, etc. OR better yet a rally (tailgating event) at an NFL game or big time college football game with tickets to the game would be fantastic!.  FMCA in my opinion doesn't cater to the sub-60 year old motorhome owners who are still very career focused and like Issac1 may still have children at home.  The rallies / conventions need to recognize that week long events don't fit the schedules of younger members with careers and with children at home.  I don't see rallies offered for a Friday night start / Sunday noon finish to accommodate work and school schedules.   If FMCA expanded its efforts to be more inclusive of younger motorhome owners I think FMCA membership would significantly increase.  

Poor age diversity among FMCA members is a problem that is not being addressed.  Adding "towables" to the membership will not solve that problem.

 

[hermanmullins]

fagnaml,

You have some very valid points. If you do off raiding or tail gating take the time to ask around and find others with motor homes and maybe you could start a Chapter for off raiders and or tail gaters.

In the beginning FMCA was for lack of a better term were just tailgaters aka campers getting together in a field.

It would a good place to intice younger families to join FMCA.

Good luck. 

Herman 

[manholt]

fagnaml. 

Herman did not mention it, so I will...FMCA Six State Rally starts October 24th and I'm the golf captain and we will be T-ing off at 9 am the 24th at a very nice Resort in Texarkana.  As the ND for Swinging Golfers Chapter, I will guarantee you will enjoy yourself !  No, I'm not anywhere near your age, and I don't have a 6 handicap anymore but I do know what I need to know to throw a tournament.

I'm also probably, one of the few 74 year olds in FMCA that have taken 90% of the 4x4 trails in the San Juan Mountains of CO. over the past 5 years. 

Since I have young and older than me friends on and off Forum.  I'm listening and trying to understand what we need to build membership and satisfy the younger generations.

Carl 

[isaaac1]

Manholt, where can I find more information about this rally in Texarkana?  This is exactly the sort of thing I was talking about in my message about needing a better events calendar feature, perhaps one with geographic boundaries so people can spot nearby events and not have to dig through dozens of minor events that are over a thousand miles away from home.

p.s. my son is in college his mid 20's and should be graduating this fall or next spring, as to living at home......

[manholt]

 Look no further than Herman...send him a PM.  I have the schedule but it's currently with my girl friend.  Just click on his picture and click on message...It's very private, nobody but him and you!

[jgallego]

Here is the link to the Six States Rally Website. 

http://www.sca-fmca.com/

Jaime

[hermanmullins]

Having the site updated as we speak. Check back on Tuesday. Earl and Doug are loading some new information and rearranging some.

Look forward to answering any questions.

Herman

[fagnaml]

Keeping with my concern about poor age diversity in FMCA, the Six States Rally is scheduled to start Wednesday, October 25 (noon arrival?) and conclude on Saturday, October 28 (noon depart?) is a good example of lack of focus on members of all ages.  The rally dates do not include travel time to / from the rally.  This type of schedule totally alienates current and potential FMCA members like me that have careers and/or children at home.  A large number of activities at the rally have little interest for the younger members.  The golf scramble, motorhome show and motorhome seminars would be attractive to younger members but is not enough entice younger members for a four day outing.  Quilting, crafts, ice cream social, pet obstacle course, etc. won't interest the under-60 crowd.  And I'd guess the planned entertainment isn't 1980's music.

FMCA membership will not dramatically grow if there isn't an effort to make FMCA enticing to the many pre-retirement motorhome owners like me.

[fagnaml]

Oops.  Hit the "submit reply" button too soon as another thought crossed my mind.  At an LSU football tailgating weekend there are upwards of 450 motorhomes with 50 fifth-wheel and some travel trailer "RV-ers" gathering for a three day fun filled event (especially if LSU wins the game!).  All of these RV'ers are crammed into "boon docking" spots barely wide-enough for everyone to put their slides out.  Generators run 24/7 during the weekend and no one cares.  The "men" usually vacation on Friday's so they can arrive in Baton Rouge by noon and set-up their motorhomes.  They often meet their wives and kids during the early evening at their favorite Baton Rouge Restaurants or have supper ready when mom and kids arrive.

On Saturday, bacon is frying during the mornings, BBQs are a smokin' all day long and no one cares about the smoke while enjoying the aromas.   Kids throw footballs, ride their bikes, chase each other and are loud as any kid is playing with friends.   The Dad's and Grandpa's (like me) talk football, talk about their motorhomes and set-ups, sample each other's cuisine, drink each other's beer especially our own home brews.   The Mom's and Grandma's talk kids and grandkids (and probably husbands), drink each other's frozen beverages and sample each other's cuisine.  Everyone enjoys ladder golf, bean bag corn-hole game, and yard darts.

Sunday morning is spent talking about the game while packing the motorhome, most attend church for an hour, then start their journeys home around noon.

This is the type of weekend "rally" that that I don't see offered by FMCA or its Chapters for younger motorhome owners and their families.

A key data point about LSU football weekends is the vast majority of the 450 motorhomes are owned by folks under the age of 60.  Maybe 10% of the motorhomes have FMCA member "ovals" on their rear ladders (I'm one of the 10%).  When I ask the 90% why they are not a member of FMCA the response is "FMCA is for retirees and snow birds and not for me" and "FMCA doesn't give me the same benefits as Good Sam Club".