ROCKWOOD WEST NEWSLETTER

APRIL 2011

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE: This year is off to a great start with another fun filled rally. Thank you Linda and Gerry Chetelat. It is good to see such an excellent turn out. We are a small chapter but we generally have a good turn out at our rallies. There are still no rallies booked for June or November so if you haven't hosted a rally in a while please consider hosting one. If you have never hosted a rally contact a member who has and they will be glad to co-host to help you out. I encourage all of you to invite your motorhoming friends to attend one of our rallies and if they join the chapter I can give them a coupon for a free one year membership in FMCA.

Paulette Kotan, president

MINUTES:

The meeting was called to order on April 2, 2011 at Chula Vista RV and Marina at 10:05 a.m. The president led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Members present: Gerry and Linda Chetelat, Jim and June Cheshire, Nick and Ramona Escamilla, Bob and Karenann Evans, Russ and Pat Himmer, Lloyd and Wendy Holloway, Dennis and Paulette Kotan, Greg and Debbie Murrell, Hal and Cookie Ringhand, Rich and Linda Strobel and Bill and Sandy Vargo.

Minutes: A motion to approve the minutes as printed in the blog was made by Ramona and seconded by Greg. The motion carried.

A motion to approve the treasurer's report was made by Linda S and seconded by Hal. The motion carried.

There was no official report of the national director as no governing board meeting was held at the Perry, GA rally. However, a discussion ensued regarding only one national convention per year beginning in 2012 and the reason for the date change for the Indianapolis convention. There was also a discussion regarding the advantages of attending area rallies. Paulette read a schedule of the various rallies being held this year from the FMCA magazine.

Old Business: Linda S. passed out more of the "Vial of Life" packets she obtained from Grossmont Hospital and reiterated the importance of having them in our vehicles.

New business: A motion was made by Linda C to eliminate the coffee pots and their container, seconded by Bill. The motion carried. At future rallies each rig in attendance will provide their own morning coffee. This will eliminate one box of supplies that needs to be carried by the wagonmasters.

Paulette nominated herself for the "Dummy Award" for printing incorrect directions on the flyer for the Death Valley rally. (Good thing almost everybody looked at a map). Shame on you Paulette! She tried to remove the attention from her faux pas by nominating Dennis for the destruction of their computer when he dropped it. Nice try Paulette! Luckily Lloyd moved the award be shared equally, seconded by Pat. The motion carried.

Nick asked for a show of hands for those planning to attend the May rally in Lone Pine. He emphasized the need for getting your reservations in soon.

Paulette read the list of future rallies and asked for volunteers for June and November. Alas, no takers.

Greg said he and Debbie would be hosting the first rally of 2012 in Quartzsite in January with the date to be announced in the future.

Wendy reminded us we had not attended the FMCA rally in Indio for the past 2 years, the theme for 2012 is "Pirates Adventure". It would be fun to participate in the parade again. This will be discussed at future meetings.

A motion to adjourn was made by Ramona, seconded by Karenann. The motion carried.

RALLY SCHEDULE:

MAY 13-15 Lone Pine hosted by Escamilla and McAfee

August TBA in Colorado hosted by Tom and Elaine Holloway

Sept 9-11 Viejas Indian Reservation hosted by Himmer

Oct 20-23 Pismo Coast RV Resort hosted by Smith and Yanoff

Jan 2012 TBA in Quartzsite hosted by Murrell

WAGONMASTER'S REPORT:

Our rally at Chula Vista RV Resort and Marina was blessed with the usual fair weather we find in the San Diego area. The event was attended by 11 of the 12 rigs that made reservations. Unfortunately, Kathy and her dad "Duke" were unable to attend due to his recent stay in the hospital. We were parked on two rows back to back.

Saturday morning we had a breakfast of egg bakes, english muffins, raisin bread and the usual condiments.

Following breakfast we had our meeting. After the meeting several of the ladies did some glass etching. Everyone was pleased with the results. Ramona is such a good sport, always entertaining us by not quite following the directions. You go girl!!!!

Dinner was a chili cookoff that was to be judged by the Bartletts who could not attend because Dick came down with the flu and they made the decision to return home to Prescott, AZ.

Thanks to Debbie everyone sampled each entry and voted secretly for the best chili. The affair was a huge success with the big winner being Cookie.

Cookie's prize was a battery operated motion sensor light.

After dinner dessert of apple pie and ice cream was served and Rich was anxious to get started.

Some of our members played a few games of Bingo after dinner. Pat would like to teach Rich the correct way of calling but doubts he would pay any attention.

On Friday night several of the ladies played Pokeno and Linda S was a big winner. On Saturday, even though we plied Linda with drink, she continued her winning ways.

Sunday morning after a breakfast of scones, cinnamon rolls and yep, you guessed it, leftover egg bake and various breads, those who were leaving said their "good-byes".

Prior to the rally I took some of the early arrivals, the girls, that is, June, Wendy and Cookie to Ocean Beach where we strolled along Newport Ave. in and out of the antique shops. Wendy purchased a stool she found perfect for use at her computer in their RV. We all agreed it really was very comfortable to sit on. (It's a good thing I had nothing in the back of the jeep). I didn't have to do too much arm twisting to get them into the famous hamburger joint "Hodads" where we all enjoyed the drippy hamburgers and massive onion rings. Leaving OB, I drove back to Chula Vista via Harbor Dr. through the Embarcadero area past the Princess cruise ship and Midway aircraft carrier.

Gerry and I feel the rally was a real success and want to thank all who attended in making it so. I personally want to thank those who insisted on helping us with the set-up and the cleaning despite my insisting they don't. I have one more thing to add and that is we are looking forward to seeing everyone at Lone Pine. Thanks again.

Linda and Gerry, wagonmasters