During the Vista rally Rich Strobel took these wonderful pictures of Red-tailed Hawks in a nearby tree.

ROCKWOOD WEST NEWSLETTER

FEBRUARY 2011

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE:

We recently had our first rally of 2011 and, as usual, Greg and Debbie were the perfect wagonmasters. There were 14 rigs in attendance and it was good to see so many members attend.

We have almost a full schedule of rallies for 2011. I'm looking forward to all the fun stuff planned for this year. Thanks to everyone who has "stepped up to the plate" by agreeing to host a rally. You can see the full schedule below. If you would like to host a rally we have a few months available. Please give me a call.

I'm looking forward to seeing many of you at Death Valley in March.

Paulette Kotan, president

MINUTES:

Vista Elks Lodge #1968

February 5, 2011

The meeting was called to order by the president who led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Members in attendance: Linda and Gerry Chetelat, Ramona and Nick Escamilla, Karenann and Bob Evans, Pat and Russ Himmer, Elaine and Tom Holloway, Paulette and Dennis Kotan, Nita and Mac McAfee, Debbie and Greg Murrell, Cookie and Hal Ringhand, Linda and Rich Strobel, Lucille and Henry Yanoff. Our guests included Bill Proett and friends of the Chetelat's Cathy Heffern and her dad Duke Heffern.

A heartfelt thanks to Greg and Debbie Murrell for their hard work in putting on yet another great rally.

Minutes: A motion to approve the minutes as printed in the chapter blog was made by Dennis and seconded by Tom. The motion was approved.

Treasurer's Report: We have a balance of $2,162.22. Motion to approve the report made by Tom and seconded by Hal.

There was no national director's report. Paulette said there were 1,280 coaches and 160 exhibitors at the Indio rally in January. The 2012 rally will begin on January 11, and the theme will be Pirate's Adventure. The FMCA rally in Perry, GA in March will allow people with "towables" (fifth wheels and trailers) to attend with the purpose of encouraging them to buy motorhomes.

Old business: A document "How to Put on a Rally" was recently located and updated by Paulette and is available to those planning on putting on a rally. It is important to set the cost for the rally based upon actual expenses. All costs must be borne by the members who attend the rally. If you would like a copy of the document, please contact Paulette.

Linda Strobel gave out information about the Vial of Life she obtained from Sharp-Grossmont Hospital and why we should have them in each of our vehicles and in a conspicuous place in your home. Please let her know how many you would like to have.

New business: Guests Cathy Heffern and her father Duke Heffern are interested in joining the chapter and were voted in as new members. We welcome you both to the chapter.

Paulette went over things to do in Death Valley during the March rally and put out printed information for anyone to look at. Dennis advised there are 3 dump locations and fresh water is available. Be sure you have full tanks when you enter the park since it is quite expensive within the park.

Gerry advised of the need for payment for the April rally by March 28th.

Nick gave us information about things to do at the May rally in Lone Pine.

Tom and Elaine expressed interest in the possibility of having a rally at their place in Colorado in August.

Motion to adjourn by Linda Chetelat, seconded by Pat Himmer.

Meeting adjourned.

Wagonmaster's report:

The February rally was held at the Vista Elks Club Campground from February 3rd to the 6th. It is probably the first Rockwood rally held at an Elk's Club. Several Rockwood members are also Elk Club members so they were familiar with narrow spaces and the cordial hospitality of an Elk's Club.

We had a nice covered patio area to use for all our meals. The rally began with heavy appetizers the first evening after everyone arrived.

On Friday morning several members carpooled to the Gemological Institute in Carlsbad for a 90 minute tour of their very large facility. It was an educational and beautiful tour. The Institute has many international locations for education, research, certification and instrumentation. The Carlsbad location is their main facility and employs about 900 people. We were in awe of the many jewels and stones.

One of the displays was the Victoria Secret's Special Bras.

The evenings were cool but warmed up a little more each day. The campground had a firepit with plenty of firewood for us. The second evening, a dinner of chili and beef stew helped to warm the members. Linda Chetelat brought cheesecake for the February birthdays, including Gerry's.

The meeting was held Saturday morning. Afterwards, a few members went searching for garage sales and the "Banana Split Gang" went to Denny's for banana splits. Later in the afternoon, Linda helped guide us through making "bean safes" for the monthly craft project. Her patience was admirable.

That evening the potluck was amazing, as usual. We have many good cooks in the chapter.

On Sunday morning, we left in a leisurely manner to our afternoon Super Bowl destinations.

See you in Death Valley next month!

RALLY SCHEDULE:

March 3-10 Death Valley Nat'l Park hosted by Kotans

April 1-3 Chula Vista RV Resort hosted by Chetelats

May 13-15 Lone Pine hosted by Escamillas and McAfees

August TBA in Colorado hosted by Holloways

September 9-11 Viejas Indian Reservation/Casino hosted by Himmers

October 20-23 Pismo Coast RV Resort hosted by Smiths and Yanoffs