Should FMCA Allow Towable RVs-- Vote NOW

[jleamont]

My goose eggs are going upside down, sign of distress   

[rfsod48]

It seems to me that the only thing we really need to worry about if this passes is whether  this forum changes or is able to maintain as it is now. It’s a valuable source of information that I would hate to lose. The monetary savings are nice but not that big a deal .

[manholt]

Truly sorry Joe, but your in the middle of all of this...not what you or any new member needs! 

I have a lot of friends in FMCA and Escapees (50/50)...I'm not going anywhere, until I find out how much collateral damage there is! 

[isaaac1]

I see nothing knee jerk about it, I just have no desire to ride a sinking ship down.  While there may not be a line of towable owners waiting to join, if this vote passes I don't see a course back to being anything other than another Good Sam, and my Good Sam membership is currently paid up for 3 more years.  I am all for trying to save the FMCA as long as it is an organization of motorcoach owners, I am willing to go out and try to recruit other younger members, I just ask that the organization give us younger members some tools to use to recruit people, as tire discounts and rallies with bingo and ice cream socials just does not cut it, also local chapters that require its members to attend at least 3 events per year does not cut it either.

[camarti1]

On 10/31/2017 at 6:53 PM, wolfe10 said:

Let me ask a question-- neutrally:

Does anyone question that the average of current FMCA members is 71 years old???

Look at the pictures under the governance tab, look at the Chapter leadership photo's, look at the activities occurring. Does anyone, from a neutral position, doubt the age of the average member? Look at the "F" numbers of the members of the various committees, read the resume's of the latest elected officials. Read how long they have been doing this for. I, for one, admire the years of service provided to the FMCA, but I do ask how can it be expected to have an open mind for the new and emerging members to participate in various activities, when various activities are not offered via chapters and mostly important, the executive and governing board.

It is sad to say, but the FMCA is aging itself out of fashion unless it gets the point of attracting the newer, younger members and families. This would mean a whole new thought process around what direction the FMCA wants to steer the ship in, because it is quite apparent the ship is off course if it feels offering membership to trailers is the solution to its larger problem.

I feel the FMCA is a motorcoach group, and should stay this way. If the vote turns out to be against allowing towables, the next logical step is to look  inwards for some real clarity about what the membership needs, how the corporation is structured and how to be welcoming to the next generations of motor coach owners.

The baby boomers are already here, next we need a long range plan to attract the millennials, or GEN X, as they are going to be the next group to woo into the camping fray. If it is business as usual, these folks won't even consider being a part of the group, or as I heard it put, this isn't your granddad's RV anymore. 

[smithy]

1 hour ago, Isaaac1 said:

I see nothing knee jerk about it, I just have no desire to ride a sinking ship down.  While there may not be a line of towable owners waiting to join, if this vote passes I don't see a course back to being anything other than another Good Sam, and my Good Sam membership is currently paid up for 3 more years.  I am all for trying to save the FMCA as long as it is an organization of motorcoach owners, I am willing to go out and try to recruit other younger members, I just ask that the organization give us younger members some tools to use to recruit people, as tire discounts and rallies with bingo and ice cream socials just does not cut it, also local chapters that require its members to attend at least 3 events per year does not cut it either.

One comment and one question.

We just launched roadside for $69 per year, and you can lock it in for 3 years. You will be hard pressed to find that pricing that covers both your RV and car. People want roadside, regardless of age. We will be teasing another benefit launch tomorrow that will go live next week. It is a benefit that people want no matter what age you are. It will be offered at a price you could not come close to on your own, or with any other organization. We are seeking out benefits that FMCA members can take advantage of that cannot be found anywhere else. That is the beauty of FMCA. We are a non profit. Which is why we can offer things to our members that other clubs cannot because they are profit driven. We have e a medical evacuation policy that is included with dues. Any other organization would charge you well over 100 bucks for the policy. I am all ears about what benefits members would like to have. We are and will continue to add benefits to attract members of all ages.

My question is simple. I keep seeing we are going to turn into just another Good Sam. That is a pretty blanket statement. Can you elaborate on why you feel that way? Not tying to be argumentative at all. I just keep seeing the statement with no support.

[camarti1]

47 minutes ago, smithy said:

One comment and one question.

We just launched roadside for $69 per year, and you can lock it in for 3 years. You will be hard pressed to find that pricing that covers both your RV and car. People want roadside, regardless of age. We will be teasing another benefit launch tomorrow that will go live next week. It is a benefit that people want no matter what age you are. It will be offered at a price you could not come close to on your own, or with any other organization. We are seeking out benefits that FMCA members can take advantage of that cannot be found anywhere else. That is the beauty of FMCA. We are a non profit. Which is why we can offer things to our members that other clubs cannot because they are profit driven. We have e a medical evacuation policy that is included with dues. Any other organization would charge you well over 100 bucks for the policy. I am all ears about what benefits members would like to have. We are and will continue to add benefits to attract members of all ages.

My question is simple. I keep seeing we are going to turn into just another Good Sam. That is a pretty blanket statement. Can you elaborate on why you feel that way? Not tying to be argumentative at all. I just keep seeing the statement with no support.

Good Sam is everywhere, no distinction as to the rig type. There are apps for the Good Sam club and Camping world locations. FMCA has rules of etiquette, Good Sam has how to join and it's retail partners. FMCA has "motor coach" right in the middle of its name. Good Sam club, when it was first formed, stood for "Good Samaritan", as in a family oriented group with like minds. Now, it means if you join, you get discounts on camping in a lot of campgrounds, anything you can drag into the campground is a rig, doesn't even have to be self contained, and you have discounts available at hundreds of Camping World stores.  What happened to the like minded individuals forming a group to get out and enjoy various activities? They are forming their own groups, separate from Good Sam, and attracting like minded individuals, who can get together on their own time, free of chapters and long commitments. The original intent of Good Sam has been lost to commercialization. There is nothing to bond Good Sam members together except for a membership card. Is this what FMCA sees for its long term goal, to be just another commercial entity, wearing logo shirts, and giving lip service to the members as to what the FMCA is really supposed to be? C'mon, FMCA  right now is a club of motor coach owners with motor coaching goals as its primary distinction. That distinction is something most of us do not want to lose.

[camarti1]

"The RVing Demographic is Changing

Working on the road or raising a family while nomadic is no longer a rarity but a rapidly growing segment of the RV lifestyle. Modern technology has provided new tools to make life on the road easier, making pursuing this dream increasingly possible for many aspiring RVers. Xscapers embraces this change and is ready to be a part of it with you. This isn’t only our way of life, it’s a conscious ideal."

The above is a caption and a quote from the Xscapers, the newest arm of the Escapees club. When I look at the website for the Escapees club, there are families and young people. They are sitting together in a classroom, learning some RV basics. Their "community" section is easy to move around on the web page, as there is not many multiple layers of hierarchy to find out how to be a member of a local group. FMCA needs to make a conscious choice to be a club for motor coaches with family inclusive values. That would mean weekend getaways close to centers where people can congregate within a few hours. Groups built of like minded folks like those folks which enjoy dune riding, or those with small kids, perhaps a day near a 4H event or a local dog show, sponsored by FMCA. Okay, I will stop now, I am not trying to make anyone angry at me, I just feel there is so much more FMCA could be doing to bring added value to its members, besides the discounts on the tires and the roadside assistance program. Good Sam already has those options. Price is not the only reason for someone to purchase something, it also needs to bring added value to the purchaser and their family. Families find value to be much more of a factor then price. Disney has proven that, offer kids perceived great values and a good time, and mom and dad will participate with the children.

[manholt]

I take offense when I'm told that "other groups are profit driven and we are not"!  If that is the case, then why are we voting to bring in Trailers & why say that if we don't diversify, then we will continue "down the road to Bankruptcy"!  Smithy, whom ever is making you say this nonsense on the Forum, believes that we are all fools and that I take offence to also! 

You are not a volunteer, your a paid professional.  EB and GB are volunteers, within the Foundation side of FMCA! 

[camarti1]

I am so severely disappointed right now, knowing one of the "members" writing and participating on this forum is an employee of the corporation. A PAID employee at that! Was it a willful omission in your "note" section you are an  employee of the FMC, and therefore, not an objective voice to the others on the forum? Is this how business is conducted within the framework of the FMC and FMCA? Well, at least we know where the push is coming from for the "yes" votes on this forum, and now we know the why.

[hermanmullins]

If you are speaking of Smithy then you are correct. Chris is FMCA'S Executive Director. Chris only responds when there is a misrepresentation of the facts which is quite often. 

Herman 

[camarti1]

31 minutes ago, Hermanmullins said:

If you are speaking of Smithy then you are correct. Chris is FMCA'S Executive Director. Chris only responds when there is a misrepresentation of the facts which is quite often. 

Herman 

Thank You Herman for the information. I am referring to Smithy. I knew I had seen a member identify themselves as a  representative of the FMCA. I made a horrible assumption all employees would identify themselves to the membership, so as to not skew any perceptions being shared by "members". 

[wolfe10]

52 minutes ago, camarti1 said:

Thank You Herman for the information. I am referring to Smithy. I knew I had seen a member identify themselves as a  representative of the FMCA. I made a horrible assumption all employees would identify themselves to the membership, so as to not skew any perceptions being shared by "members". 

Well, I can understand, that someone brand new to FMCA would not know who Smithy is.

But, Smithy/Chris Smith is very well known to anyone who has been around FMCA for any length of time. 

Open the November issue of the FMCA magazine and on page 10 you will see an article by Chris along with exactly the same picture as here on the Forum.  Chris has written a column (with his picture) for the FMCA magazine every month since he became Executive Director.

And, to Chris's credit, he has not expressed any "opinions" here-- just corrected mis-information

He is doing EXACTLY what an Executive Director should do IMO-- provide the facts to help member make an informed decision. 

[wildebill308]

4 hours ago, camarti1 said:

Thank You Herman for the information. I am referring to Smithy. I knew I had seen a member identify themselves as a  representative of the FMCA. I made a horrible assumption all employees would identify themselves to the membership, so as to not skew any perceptions being shared by "members". 

I have not seen smithy make any recommendations one way or the other. I have seen him correct false statements and lies so that those reading could have correct information to make a decision. 

camarti1, You have promoted Xscapers and Good Sams neither of which are a class A, B or C only organization. So what's your point? 

All I see is more knee jerk reaction to a non event.

Bill

[five]

It appears some folks are under the impression that "non profit" means no paid employees, that is not correct.  I have been a volunteer at Habitat For Humanity for 11 years.  We have lots of volunteers, but we also have six paid employees to run the organization.

[rossboyer]

So do Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Red Cross, United Way, Goodwill, churches.... and we could go on and on. 

[isaaac1]

Smithy, this is a  valid question, Why will this vote passing turn FMCA into another Good Sam, and the answer is simple, it is lack of focus.  It is a lack of any driving force to differentiate the FMCA from other groups, sure I hear FMCA is an umbrella group for the various chapters, this may be valuable as a way for chapters to operate, but much of that could be handled by a few people in a central office somewhere, why have a group, why hold rallies, and conventions.  I attended the six state rally last week, and while I had an enjoyable experience, I must also admit I walked away questioning not only why I was there, but also why anyone was there.  There was a vendor show floor which was much the same as I could find at a  RV show, also some good seminars, though most were vendor ran with a certain amount of focus towards promoting their products, again something I could find at a local RV show.  Outside of this we had what?  A bunch of people with name tags, some of which belong to chapters who spent most of a week camped out at a state fair ground who ate breakfast together and sat around in the evening together to watch entertainment.  This is not to say anything bad about those fine people, and those who volunteered and organized the rally, I myself volunteered at the rally, it is just I am left with asking, what were we all doing here?

For now the unifying factor is everyone has a motorhome, so we all share certain concerns, concerns that are somewhat different from the broader concerns that all RV owners have.  Opening up the group to towables, just waters down what is already a loose association, I see the same sort of thing at the local RV show, which has combined with the local sporting and fishing show, where you see fishing lures for sale next to people promoting snowbird RV parks, and beef jerky sales. So to sum it up, what I see lacking is focus, focus on the concerns of the membership, focus on the topic at hand, and focus on maintaining the FMCA as a viable organization.

As to what I would like to see at such a rally, things that I think might make them more useful, not just to young members, but to all members would be a bit more topic driven interaction, maybe some organized small round table discussions on topics of mutual interest.  These could range from coach or chassis specific discussions about issues owners face, or regional / destination oriented discussions where people can discuss the merits of snowbirding in Florida vs Texas.  These sort of things could help move focus away from the chapter oriented isolated small group mentality, and towards a larger FMCA as a whole driven mentality.  This is not to say there is anything wrong with chapters, I can see where they serve a purpose with some individuals, but I also see this drive toward regional chapters as holding back the organization.  If you really want to get controversial maybe even have a round table on downsizing from a diesel pusher to a class B, something a few people choose to do,  the woman that was parked behind me at the rally was there in a 24 ft custom ordered class B that she uses for solo travel, she also had a Tiffin Phaeton in storage back home in Delaware.  I would also love to see such events being weekend oriented, so as to allow more access by the working age members, the Six state rally I just attended ran from Wednesday to Saturday, with Sunday being the common departure day, though many members left by mid day on Saturday.  If the FMCA wants to attract these younger members we keep hearing about, a step in the right direction would be to hold such rallies over the weekends, keep the same number of days, but run them Friday to Monday, as many working people find it easier to get away from work when the event is centered over a weekend.  This may not solve the access problem for younger families with school age kids, but could make it easier for empty nesters in their 40's and 50's to participate.

 

Ike

[five]

15 hours ago, rossboyer said:

So do Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Red Cross, United Way, Goodwill, churches.... and we could go on and on. 

Yep....and some of the "non profit" employees are doing okay.  The CEO of the Red Cross has a base salary of over $500k.

[manholt]

Isaaac1.

I asked you to look me up, Herman Mullins told me you were there, he did not tell me that you was a volunteer at Six State...what did you do?

  I keep reading about what we should do to satisfy you and your wishes!  What have you done to reach out?  Long before I was your age, my wife and I joined a chapter...why?  She had a 12, 14 and 17 year old and figured, correctly, that there would be a lot of Grand Parents who had the same...we had a blast !  Met a lot of really good people who had what we had, no their youth was gone, but their enthusiasm was still there, just like our grandparents who relive life thru the grandkids! 

Back in the 70's, there was far less members in their 30's (me) and 40's (my wife), than today!  You have to adjust and reach out...I know of no organization that will come to me or you, on their knees, to beg us to join them!  

 

[smithy]

On 11/3/2017 at 6:44 AM, manholt said:

I take offense when I'm told that "other groups are profit driven and we are not"!  If that is the case, then why are we voting to bring in Trailers & why say that if we don't diversify, then we will continue "down the road to Bankruptcy"!  Smithy, whom ever is making you say this nonsense on the Forum, believes that we are all fools and that I take offence to also! 

You are not a volunteer, your a paid professional.  EB and GB are volunteers, within the Foundation side of FMCA! 

Manholt,

This is exactly why employees and board members are very hesitant to post on the forums.

I am trying to be helpful, so if what I am posting is considered nonsense, I can just step away and let members converse.

FMCA is a non-profit. But like any other entity, at some point you must break even. It hasn’t happened in a while. You are a governing board member who is involved. You see the financials. How is what I’m saying nonsense? 

No one puts me up to posting on here. I try to be helpful, but I’m starting to sense I may not be.

[rossboyer]

Chris: We appreciate your comments to clarify the issues. Thank you. 

[jimnorm]

Chris, do pleas continue to post.

Non or Not for profits that fail to increase their financial bottom line eventually fail. You cannot plan to break even, you must plan to finish on the black or positive. If you plan on 10% growth you will probably not achieve it, so likewise if you plan on zero growth, you will fall behind and eventually run out of reserves and cease to be.

 

[isaaac1]

Manholt, I tried to catch up with you a few times, at the rally, but I guess our timing did not work out.  My volunteer posting was on the vendor show floor and helping with vendor area take down.

In general I have not written about my wishes, but about the things I feel would appeal to a younger audience, things that I could use to sell the FMCA to them.  As to joining a chapter I am not opposed to it, I have reached out to inquire about a few, and seem to either find they are active in name only, or they mandate attending 3 or more chapter events per year, which is something I don't feel I can commit to without interfering with my other travel plans and obligations at least at the moment. 

[hermanmullins]

Isaaac1,

If you would like send me a PM with your contact information and I will pass it to the Pelican Travelers. We have a couple that are member of the Pelican Travelers here with us at the Louisiana State Fair where we are volunteering. 

I am sorry you haven't found a chapter. I don't understand a chapter requiring mandatory attendance for membership. If you would like to join Lone Star you may come to one or all Rallies. We understand people have Jobs, family obligations and health issues and are welcomed when they are able to come.

Herman 

[manholt]

I brought this Post back to life, as a reminder of the FMCA Future!

YOU HAVE  3  more day's TO SEND IN YOUR VOTE !  If you have been dragging your feet, now is the time to send in your BALLOT with your VOTE !!!!

Carl