Utah State Park Sand Hollow, Hurricane, Utah

Wagon Master Report

Sand Hollow State Park Rally

November 3-8, 2019

What a great rally! We had such a good turnout! A huge “ThankYou” to all of you who came to Utah for our rally. So many things for everyone to do.....some visited Zion, Snow Canyon, went out in the side by side, a lot of visiting and laughing, nights around the campfire and of course, good eating!

We each hosted a dinner at our perspective houses. McAfee’s had a wonderful Mexican meal, with beef & chicken, along with rice, beans, tortillas & salsa. After dinner we had 2 tables playing LCR. The place was filled with laughter and shouts of left, right or dot, dot, dot! Big winners, with 2 wins each, were Amelio (our brother-in-law) & Debbie. Escamilla’s had a delicious Italian meal, with lasagna, garlic toast & salad. Afterwards, we had a movie in the garage shown on the big screen & with a projector. Laughter echoing throughout the garage could be heard. Both nights were a lot of fun and we got to show off our new homes!

For lunch on Wednesday, we all went to the Sand Hollow Resort Grill. We had a large table by the window with views of the mountains and the golf course. And the food was great! Another successful event.

After lunch we went back to the campground. In honor of Linda Chetlet, we had a craft time with the ladies. It was so much fun! We laughed and missed our 2 Linda’s.

Dinner at the Escamilla Home

Again, we would like to thank everyone for coming to our rally. We feel it was a great success because of you!

The McAfee’s & Escamilla’s

Can you see Teddie hiking?

Ramona and Nick

Craft Time

Nita, Mac and Lady

Bob's beautiful photo of Zion NP

MINUTES OF ROCKWOOD WEST MEETING,  November 8, 2019

The meeting was called to order by the president, Greg Murrell.  He led the members in the Pledge of Allegiance and then thanked the Escamillas and McAfees for a great rally.

Guests of Walt and Pam Rose were introduced, Mark and Andrea Rose from Manhattan, KS.

Members in attendance were Rose, Juliar, Murrell, Holloway, Strobel, Opteyndt, Smith, McAfee and Escamilla.

The minutes were approved as printed in the last blog entry.

The treasurer reported a continuing balance of $1,891.02.  There have been no income nor expenses during the last year.

Nick Escamilla, our National Director previously submitted the following report. He summarized it at this meeting.

FMCA GOVERNING BOARD MEETING

Minot, ND August 14, 2019

Meeting called to order at 8:00 am.  71% were in   attendance for a quorum.

• Treasure Report: 2020 Budget $8,054,803 was presented. AS of May 30, 2019 the FMCA balance was $7,397,558.00
• Bylaws XVII Chapters—change approved. (2) A group for 15 (old 20) can petition to to create a new chapter. A group of 7 (old 10) can petition to create associate chapter. (5) A chapter can elect in their bylaws to combine the positions of secretary and treasurer.
• Convention Committee Report: 2020—winter in Tucson, AZ and summer in Syracuse, NY. 2021—winter in Perry, GA and summer Gillette, WY. Future years presented, but not yet negotiated included Tucson, AZ, Rock Springs, WY, Perry, GA, Sedalia, MO and Syracuse, NY.
• PROTECH presented a new software system for FMCA Staff and Membership. The cost is $285,000 plus a monthly charge of $6,025.00. After much discussion it was approved. Since PROTECH is a capital expense the Governing Board approve a short term loan (4-6yrs) to pay the initial cost of $285,000.
• The Nominating Committee presented a slate of officers. Elected were Jon Walker—President, Rett Proter—Senior VP, John Reynolds—Treasurer, and Kathie Balogh—Secretary.
• FMCAssist: There is an increase of 73% from Seven Corners to keep FMCAssist. After much discussion, it was voted to increase membership dues for FMCA to $75.00 a year in order to keep FMCAssist.
• There 1,791 family and commercial RV’s at the convention.

The president asked about dues for the 2020 year since we have not had dues the last 2 years. It was moved, seconded and voted upon. There will be no dues for Rockwood West for 2020.

Next were elections for next year.  Every position agreed to remain in office.  The members approved the officers unanimously.

CALENDAR

December 11  Christmas Party at Paulette Kotan's house

January 19-23  Quartzsite, dry camping   (Bernie and Carol Juliar)

February 10-14  Borrego Springs, California State Park Palm Canyon (Bob and Teddie Opteyndt

March 26-29  FMCA Convention, Tucson, AZ

            pre rally?  go in together?

May TBA end of the month, (Walt and Pam Rose)

Other options were discussed for locations of rallys.

The meeting was adjourned.

Earp, CA / Parker, AZ

Wagonmaster's Report

Rockwood West Rally at Emerald Cove-May 14-17, 2019

We all "gathered at the river", the Colorado River, Emerald Cove RV Resort in Earp, CA. on Tuesday to begin our rally.  The Stroebels, Opteyndts, Juliars, Murrells, Escamillas, Roses and their guests, Patty and Bob Usher, along with the Smiths attended.  It was a hot (90+degree) day but we sat out in the shade for Happy Hour and Hearty Hor d'oevres and had fun catching up.

On Wednesday morning we had fun making egg omelets in the bag. It was already 90 degrees so we cancelled the miniature golf tournament.  Some of the group went exploring (off roading), some went to Lake Havasu City and some took a dip in the resort pool.  That evening we enjoyed a lasagna dinner with spumoni ice cream for dessert.

The next morning we all met at the resorts Tiki Bar for breakfast and a short meeting.  Then some of us went to the "smoke" shop in Parker (Arizona side of the river) for CBD oil and gel-good prices!  A few of the guys went to an estate sale and some of the group went to take pictures of horned owls in the canyons.  It was a beautiful day.  Later on we had Happy Hour and a great potluck dinner at the clubhouse followed by a few exciting games of "Left, Right, Center".  Debbie M., Bob Usher and Teddie O. were the jackpot winners!

We had a continental breakfast on Friday morning and then it was hugs and good-byes,  We agreed it was a good time visiting, watching the beautiful sunsets and star gazing.  We even got a kick (not literally!) out of watching the cute wild burros that strolled through the campground everyday. 

Mary Lee and Steve Smith

Friendly burro checking on Pam Rose in the Jeep.

Bob and Teddie watching the burros.

Minutes of Club Meeting

The president, Greg Murrell, led members in the Pledge of Allegiance and introduced guests, Bob and Patty Usher, friends of Walt and Pam Rose.

The minutes were approved as recorded in the most recent blog post.

The treasury balance remains at $1891.02.

The National Director, Nick Escamilla, reported that he will be attending the National Director's meeting at the FMCA International Convention in Minot, ND August 14-17.

Rallies were discussed:

Walt and Pam Rose reported they are working on one for October, 8-10 near Temecula, CA.  They are looking at the Wilderness Lakes-Thousand Trails campground or the Vail Lake campground.

Nick and Ramona Escamilla reported they will host one with Nita and Mac McAfee.  It will be near St. George, Utah at the Sand Hollow State Park campground.

Greg asked for volunteers for the Christmas Party.

Bernie and Carol Juliar volunteered to host the Quartzsite Rally.  The Q RV Show will be January 18-26. 2020.

Greg said we have openings for the months of February and March, asking for more volunteers.

Greg asked for news of present and former members.  He shared recent news of Vickie Bartlett, Beverly Hall, Russ Himmer, Chetelats and Kotans. 

Our hosts for this rally, Steve and Mary Lee Smith were thanked. 

The meeting were adjourned.

 

No-Host Rally at Sweetwater Summit Campground

San Diego County
Sweetwater Summit Campground
Bonita, California
March 17-20, 2019

      This was the first attempt at a No-Host Rally.  Since the membership has become smaller and the members not as interested in hosting breakfasts, dinners and making all the arrangements for reservations, the Murrells came up with this new form of a rally.  Everyone was given the place, dates and available spaces so they could make their own reservations.  It was held in a location where a larger number of members lived, hoping for a good turnout.  The 3 evening meals consisted of Heavy Appetizers, Potluck and going out to eat.  There was nothing organized for breakfast but folks gathered together is smaller groups to chat and some walked together.

      There were 7 rigs that attended:  Walt and Pam Rose, Hal and Cookie Ringhand, Bob and Teddy Opteynait, Steve and Marylee Smith, Nick and Ramona Escamilla, Greg and Debbie Murrell and guests Dave and Cindy Long.  Linda Strobel joined us 2 evenings (Rich was out of town) and Paulette and Dennis Kotan joined us at the Mexican restaurant.  We were all pleased with the number of members that showed.
     
      The campground was located in Bonita, a suburb of San Diego on top of a hill, next to Sweetwater Reservoir.  Due to all the recent rains, the surrounding hills were a beautiful sight with greenery and wildflowers. We were entertained one evening by a Ranger led program about local birds of prey.  They had two kinds of hawks, one falcon and one owl to tell us about.

      One day we went to the Tijuana Estuary and Visitor's Center for a short walk and then onto the Imperial Beach Pier for lunch.  Some took the long way home through the Strand and into Coronado. 

      Before our last morning of "Goodbyes", 3 couples had volunteered for rallies in 2019.    :)



Minutes of Meeting
March 19, 2019

The meeting was called to order by President, Greg Murrell who then led the Pledge of Allegiance.  Guests were introduced:  Dave and Cindy Long from La Mesa and Roger from Minnesota.

The minutes were approved from the Quartszite meeting as printed in the most recent blog post.
The treasurer reported a balance of $1989.02.  Debbie described the difficulties of trying to change treasurers from Teddy to her recently. The problems of continuing the account at Bank of America and then trying other large banks were made difficult due to the recent stricter parameters of opening accounts.  The choice was either a personal or business account.  The documentation of a business account was quite involved and our small club did not have the required legal documents.
After consulting with FMCA office and other club treasurers, she opened a personal account at Mission Federal Credit Union in San Diego.  They supply 2 checks per month by request so ordering checks was not necessary.  Greg and Debbie can sign checks.

Walt Rose suggested she ask about "Disperse on Death" form and she will inquire about that.

There was no National Director's report or New Business.
Old Business was discussion about Rallies.
The Smiths volunteered for May in either Julian or the Colorado River.
The Roses volunteered for October in Borrego Springs.
The Escamillas volunteered for November near St George, Utah.
All details will be announced later.

The meeting was adjourned.

Blythe to Quartzsite January, 2019

BLYTHE

 Three members and 2 guests  attended the Blythe Bluegrass Festival January 18-20.  Members in attendance were Bernie and Carol Juliar, Steve and Marylee Smith and Greg and Debbie Murrell. Guests of the Murrells were Dave and Cindy Long from the San Diego area and Jim and Jan Tennell, guests of the Escamillas.  Nick was sick and unable to attend but his friends from the St George area joined us. 
      The music was great and quite entertaining with groups from all over the United States performing on two stages. There were community fund raisers for different groups in the way of breakfasts each morning, bake sale, quilt raffle/show and steak dinner. The five motorhomes were parked together and each night we had a fire in the provided "stove" and free firewood.  The weather was great and the fire was just the right amount of warmth at night. After the festival the guests went to other destinations and the three members continued onto Quartzsite.


QUARTZSITE

     When the three members arrived in Q. after their 17 mile drive from Blythe, they were glad to see Rich and Linda Strobel, Dave and Linda Veysey, Jeff and Patti Kuchenski and their guests Sam and Kathy Miller.  They had arrived and saved the area we have returned to in the last few years.  In the next few days we had as many as 11 motorhomes circled around the campfire.  Others who arrived were Walt and Pam Rose, Glen Bigalow (guest of the Juliars) and Hugh and Ruth Gamble (guests of the Veyseys).
     Besides the nightly campfires, one heavy appetizer night, one potluck dinner, Mexican dinner in "town", breakfast at Bad Boys, we also went to Palm Canyon in the Kofa Wildlife Area for a hike and went looking for antaglios north of town. We were lucky to see the full eclipse of the moon the first night around the campfire.  It was truly amazing and were glad to see it in such good conditions in the desert. Of course, there was also some shopping done at the RV Show, Tyson Wells, Rice Ranch and Gem World!


Minutes of the Meeting, January 23, 2019

     The meeting was called to order and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by the President, Greg Murrell.  Members in attendance were Walt and Pam Rose, Mac and Nita McAfee, Bernie and Carol Juliar, Rich and Linda Strobel, Dave and Linda Veysey, Steve and Marylee Smith, and Greg and Debbie Murrell. 
     The minutes were approved as reported in the Blog.
     The balance in the checking account was reported as $1906.06.  Debbie Murrell, the Treas-Sec. reported the recently discovered problems with Bank of America, the monthly service charge of $16 and bank statements that were mailed to the wrong address in the last 12 months. She will research other possibilities of checking accounts when she returns home.
     Rallies were discussed as to their importance, organized as opposed to unorganized "rallies" and reducing the efforts of an organized rally for the hosts.  Blythe and Quartzsite were examples of an unorganized rally since no reservations were needed.  Members were made aware of the dates and no money was exchanged.
     The roster was discussed:
Corrections of the Veyseys email
     linda.veysey@gmail.com
     dave.veysey@gmail.com
McAfee's zipcode - 84737
     Phone    951 532-8558, delete 909-------- number

The meeting was adjourned.