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NEWS FROM THE REGION II DIRECTOR
(Updated January 30, 2008)

Newsletter  

January 2008

The HRRVC year for Mary and I started out with the Southeast Sunshine Rally in Orlando , Florida . We had to be in Orlando four days before the start of the rally for a series of Committee and Board meetings. The results of these meetings will be covered later in this newsletter. It was an excellent rally with super entertainment, which included The Rivoli Revue, the Shaw Brothers, Tommy’O and Sugar and Spice. The first three we had seen before and their performances were just as good as or better than we had remembered. One of the reasons for their better performances was the audio system; it was not too loud for our ears. Monday evening, an optional Luau Dinner show was offered, which was enjoyed by all those, who attended. The display of new units was probably one of the largest that we have had in several years. There were HRRVC Service Techs and vendor technicians for emergency repairs. We had to have the electronic module for our toilet replaced. Monaco announced that next year, they are going to send Service Techs to the Southeast Sunshine Rally.

The only disappointment relative to the Rally was the low attendance.  There were only 322 units on the fairgrounds. Based on the signup sheets, 54 units were from Region II. They were from the following states:

      ·        Delaware :                  3 units
·        Maryland :                 9 units
·        New Jersey :              9 units
·        Ohio ;                          6 units
·        Pennsylvania :            27 units
·        West Virginia :           0 units

Members from Region II were found everywhere working as volunteers, which is greatly appreciated by the Rally Coordinators, the Board of Directors and Club members. Without the volunteers there would be no rallies.

During the Committee and the Board meetings in Orlando a number of critical Club issues were addressed, including:

  ·        Need for additional Field Staff members, particularly Rally Coordinators
  ·        Field Staff Training Program
  ·         Future Rally Locations
  ·         Membership
  ·        Club’s Financial Position
  ·        Ramblings Magazine Articles
  ·        Posting of Chapter activity schedules on Regional Web Sites

The lack of Rally Coordinators for planning and running our HRRVC rallies after 2009 has become critical. Two of the existing Rally Coordinator teams, who have been running the International Rallies for the last several years, have stated that they plan to quit after they finish the rallies they have been assigned. The Club has been trying to get Rally Coordinator volunteers, since the late 90’s with only limited success. If anyone is interested in becoming a Rally Coordinator, they should contact either Linda Moran (tele.: 877-702-5415) or myself.

As individuals volunteer for the Field Staff positions, they need to be trained. Prior to now, the training of all our Rally Coordinators and Caravan/Adventure Wagonmasters was done on the job by working as Trainees and as Assistants, taking several years. This approach accomplished its objective of training individuals, but it was inefficient, didn't address all the issues, and took too long to train people. The Club can no longer allow two or three years to train new Rally Coordinators; we need them for our 2010 rallies. A new training approach consisting of a series of class room seminars, during which all aspects of running a rally and/or caravan/adventure is being structured. Following the classroom training each candidate will be assigned to be a Trainee on a Rally or a Caravan/Adventure. The first of these Training Programs is scheduled to follow the 2008 International Rally to be held Goshen .

The locations for the 2010, 2011 and 2012 International Rallies are being investigated.  As specified in the “Document Of Governance” (D.O.G.) the International Rally locations should follow a four year rotation; as follows: Eastern, Central, Western, Central and then back to the eastern region of the country to start the rotation over again. However, the rallies held in the east; Fryeburg , Maine , and the west; Napa , California , did not draw the attendance as the rallies held in the central portion of the country.  The Club cannot afford to lose money by having the rally attendance drop below a breakeven point, which is set during the early rally planning stage, including commitments to the fairground facilities. The plans are to have the next two International Rallies in the mid west; 2008 in Goshen , Indiana and 2009 in Sedalia , Missouri . Since the 2007 rally was in Du Quoin , Illinois , we will have had at least years three years of International rallies in the central portion of the United States . The problem of rally location selection is further complicated by the fact our members expect both water and electricity, thus eliminating a number of possible rally sites. Those facilities, which offer these services, know they have a marketable product, therefore they require commitments 3 to 5 years in advance and their costs tend to be high. I would appreciate hearing from anyone, who has a suggestion for a rally site, which will accommodate between 800 to a 1000 units.

The overall Club’s membership decreased 410 members during 2007, which is a substantial improvement from the 1073 member decrease in 2006. Based on these numbers, hopefully we have nearly reached the minimum and the Club’s membership will start to increase as a result of the active recruiting efforts at all levels, particularly the local Chapters. Region II’s membership numbers remained essentially the same throughout 2007; with a slight increase in three of the states.

The Club’s financial condition was of concern, due to the decreasing membership numbers and the lower than estimated attendance/participation at the Club’s events. However, due to very tight control and detail budget planning during 2007, the Club was able to meet all of its 2007 financial obligations without having to take any moneys from the Club’s reserves. Earlier in the year, it appeared that it might be necessary to consider a membership dues increase. The last HRRVC dues increase was back in 1997. Based on 10 years of inflation, a dues increase may be justified. Based on the results of the Club’s 2007 financial results and an expected increase in membership and event participation, the Board voted down a dues increase.

I’m sure that you have noticed a number of improvements in the Ramblings Magazine during the last year and there are more changes being considered.  We would like to include more educational and informative type articles in the magazine. If you have an area of expertise, why not write an article for the magazine and have it published.  The Chapters in Region II have been very good about getting articles into the magazine each month describing the fun and exciting activities your Chapter has done. We need to include in those articles some words promoting future Chapter activities. This will not only encourage your members to participate, but others to join your Chapter. I received a message within the last month from a HRRVC member, who doesn’t belong to a Chapter. He wanted to know how contact one of the Region II Chapters for the purpose of joining, because that Chapter’s article in the Ramblings described things they want to do.

Since the Chapter Campout schedules are no longer published in the April issue of the Ramblings magazine, it was requested that each Regional Web Master post the schedules on the Regional Web Site. All of the Campout Schedules for the Region II Chapters have been posted on the Region II Web Site. The information posted was that submitted by each Chapter on their Form 10. If there are any changes or corrections, please get them to me.

In closing, I want to remind all the Holiday Rambler owners in Region II of the State and Regional rallies scheduled for 2008. They are as follows:

Details and a Registration Form for the Region II/Pennsylvania State Rally are on the Region II Web Site; (http://www.hrrvc.org/hrrvcrg2/region_ii_rally.htm).  I would also like to remind everyone of the International Rally to be held in Goshen, Indiana on August 3 – 7, 2008, with early parking starting on July 31^st. Mary and I are looking forward to seeing a large of our Region II friends at each of these rallies.

Travel Safe

Phil

Phil Cline
Vice President/Region II National Director
Telephone; 484-919-2166
Email: Lets_Travel@msn.com

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