ROCKWOOD WEST

JUNE 2012 NEWSLETTER

President's Message:

Thank you to all members who hosted a rally so far this year.  Everyone attending our last rally in Lone Pine had a great time.  We have a non-hosted rally at the Grand Canyon this month and rallies scheduled for September, October and November.  I hope you will all attend the fall rallies and support the chapter.

Paulette

Meeting Minutes:

Boulder Creek RV, Lone Pine, CA

May 27, 2012

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

Members present:  Dick and Vicki Bartlett, Lenny, Gloria and Julie Blake, Gerry and Linda Chetelat, Nick and Ramona Escamilla, Russ and Pat Himmer, Dennis and Paulette Kotan, Mac and Nita McAfee, Steve and MaryLee Smith and Rich and Linda Strobel.  Guests attending included Bob and Julie Wyrick, Frannie and Murt Strotbeck, Lanny and Marilyn Moldofsky, Steve and Irene DeAmbrorgio and our mascot Bill Proett.

A motion to approve last month's minutes was made by Dennis, seconded by Nita.  The motion carried.

The treasurer's report showed a balance of $1,669.04.  A motion to approve the treasurer's report was made by Gerry and seconded by Steve.  The motion carried.

National Directors report:  FMCA is currently looking for a less expensive medical evacuation plan.  They are also looking for volunteers for the parking crew for the Indianapolis rally.  FMCA currently has 84,556 active members and will be working with an outside agency to promote new members.

Old business:  Dennis reminded everyone going to the Grand Canyon of the necessity for blocks for your jacks.  If you don't have them you can't lower them.

New business:  None

No new nominations for the dummy award at this time.

Motion to adjourn made by Ramona, seconded by Pat.  The motion carried.  Meeting adjourned at 10:21 a.m.  (a new record for shortest meeting)

Trail Bosses Report:

Hello Fellow Rockwood West Members,

A good time was had by all in Lone Pine.  The weather was ideal.  There were 13 coaches attending and we had 3 guest coaches.  It was really nice seeing some new faces.  We hope they all had a good time and will join us again in the future.

We had a great (as usual) Heavy Happy Hour on Friday night.  There were lots of laughs and general conversation catching up with everyone.

Saturday was a free day and many of us went to Mule Days in Bishop.  I have never seen so many mules in one place in my life.  There were mules everywhere.  The parade was very entertaining and lots of fun.  There were all kinds of rodeo type activities with mules going on.

Due to miscommunication with the park, we had to change our potluck to Saturday night instead of Sunday.  And, of course, we had lots of food and yummy desserts.  It worked out well, because everyone had different stories about what they saw and did at Mule Days.

We had a nice breakfast Sunday morning and an ever nicer lazy day.  Everyone was on their own for dinner.  As usual, the women played games both nights and had a grand time.

Monday was continental breakfast.  We said our goodbyes to those who left.  Five coaches stayed a few more days with plans to head off to the Sierras for a week.

We thank our co-hosts, Nita and Mac, for all the help and support they gave us.

HAPPY TRAVELING!  Ramona and Nick

As usual we had a good turn out for all the meals.

 After our potluck dinner, Ramona passed out crazy lighted glasses for a toast.  It is hard to see the glasses in the picture.

 As you can see, each glass was lighted from the bottom.

 You never have to call this group twice for a meal.

 We always had a good crowd for every meal.

 Although there was no nominations for the dummy award at the meeting on Monday we reopened the nominations so Russ could be recognized for having received a ticket for not wearing his seatbelt while a passenger in Rich's vehicle.  Russ gets to keep this award until the next dummy is nominated.

Recipes requested from this rally will be sent by separate email to make them easier for printing.

ROCKWOOD WEST

NEWSLETTER

MAY 2012

President's Message:

If you weren't at the Chula Vista rally you missed a fun outing.  Ramona hosted a children's party to celebrate Nick's 65th birthday.  We had plenty of games in the evenings and everyone had a great time. As usual, Linda Chetelat, prepared wonderful meals with very delicious food.  We have several rallies planned for the remainder of the year and I encourage everyone to attend.  I'm looking forward to our Lone Pine rally and participating in some of the Mule Day events in Bishop and I hope to see you there.

Paulette Kotan

MEETING MINUTES:

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Chula Vista RV Resort and Marina

The meeting was called to order at 10 a.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by president Paulette Kotan.

Members in attendance:  June and Jim Cheshire, Linda and Gerry Chetelat, Ramona and Nick Escamilla, Mike and Roger Gibson, Pat and Russ Himmer, Paulette and Dennis Kotan, Debbie and Greg Murrell, Cookie and Hal Ringhand, Mary Lee and Steve Smith, Linda and Rich Strobel, Sandy and Bill Vargo, and Lucille and Henry Yanoff.  Guests Pat and Dawn Foder.

A motion to approve the last meeting minutes as printed in the blog was made Dennis and seconded by Ramona.  The motion carried.

Treasurer's report showed a balance of $1,656.04.  Motion to accept by Linda Strobel, seconded by Pat.  The motion carried.

National Director's report by Nick in the absence of Lloyd advised nothing new, FMCA still considering towables as members.

Old Business: none

New Business:  Paulette stressed the need to respond to all emails sent out to the membership.  She puts an enormous amount of time into preparing the blog and not all of the members are reading it.  There is an abundance of information in the blog and you should take the time to read it.

It was also stressed that members need to respond to wagonmasters of future rallies if they have shown an interest in attending and are not able to attend.  The number of spaces reserved is based on that count.  Please have your fees in by the deadline indicated in the flyer as most RV parks want their money at least one month in advance.

Rich suggested we consider rallies during the week, since most of the members are now retired and in some cases the rates can be less expensive.  He is considering a rally in Pahrump this fall.  Nick suggested a weekday rally might be considered for Quartzsite in January and we thought he should do just that.

Lin reminded everyone of the deadline for the Lone Pine rally and if you hadn't given your money to Ramona, this was the last day to make your reservation.

Motion to adjourn made at 10:17 a.m. by Ramona, seconded by Greg.  The motion carried.

RALLY SCHEDULE:

May 25-28 Boulder Creek RV Resort, Lone Pine, CA hosted by Escamilla and McAfee

September 21-23 Sweetwater Summit County Park, Bonita, CA hosted by Rose and Ringhand

October TBA hosted by either Himmers or Strobels

November TBA hosted by either Himmers or Strobels

  

WAGONMASTER'S REPORT:

We had a pleasant stay at the Chula Vista RV park, minor overcast and sunshine.  There were 13 rigs signed up.  Unfortunately, Cathy and her dad Duke were unable to attend.  We all missed them being with us.  We welcomed one guest rig, friends of the Cheshires, Dawn and Pat Foder.

On Friday night we had our customary happy hour abundant with appetizers.  Afterwards most of us played Bingo.  The exciting four games yielded three winners, Cookie winning two games and Linda and June each winning one game.  Some of the ladies remained in the lighted tent provided to us by the RV park to play Pokeno.  Since I was not there, my detective skills were challenged only to uncover mixed clues as to who won the most pennies.

 Saturday morning, following the hosted breakfast, we held our club meeting, one of the shortest of all time, a mere 17 minutes.  Greg and Debbie surprised us with their attendance and were fined, much to Greg's displeasure, one dollar for not having their badges.  They were given a cut rate since they didn't have their coach with them.  After the meeting the ladies participated in the craft of the month, making beaded bracelets.  I believe it was enjoyed by all and most of the ladies made at least two bracelets.
                                         Such concentration!!!

 Here, Ramona is modeling her bracelets.

 Ramona started the Saturday evening happy hour by surprising Nick with his 65th birthday party with balloons and toys that set the stage for the child in us all.  Nick is also retiring as of May 1st.

 With the help of my friends and their ovens, I managed to get the hosted lasagna roll dinner to the table on time.  Thank you all so much for your assistance.

 After dinner Ramona and Pat served birthday cake and ice cream to everyone.

 After dessert we had one of our Farkel tournaments with first and second places won by the Yanoffs and third place won by Paulette.

Sunday's parting after the continental breakfast was the conclusion of our visit with everyone and, at least me, looking forward to Lone Pine.
Linda Chetelat, wagonmaster

ROCKWOOD WEST

JANUARY 2012 NEWSLETTER

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE:  

Rockwood West got off to a great start this year attending the WMHA rally in Indio where we participated in the Chapter Fair and had a float in the parade.  From Indio we had a gathering in the desert just outside of Quartzsite.  Unfortunately, we don't have another rally until the end of April and the rally schedule for the rest of the year is very slim.  If you haven't hosted a rally in over a year, please step up to the plate and host a rally.  If you need help finding a suitable campground, see me for suggestions.  We can't have a successful chapter if only the same members are willing to host rallies.  We need everyone to participate for our longterm success.

Paulette

MEETING MINUTES:

Dome Rock BLM area

Quartzsite, AZ

January 20, 2012, 6:15 p.m.

The meeting was called to order and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by president Paulette Kotan.

Members present:  Gerry and Lin Chetelat, Nick and Ramona Escamilla, Russ and Pat Himmer, Dennis and Paulette Kotan, Mac and Nita McAfee, Greg and Debbie Murrell, Hal and Cookie Ringhand, Steve and Mary Lee Smith, Rich and Linda Strobel and Bill and Sandy Vargo.  Guests: Bernie and Carol Juliar and Tim and Sue Lappin.

A motion to approve the minutes of our previous meeting was made by Linda S, seconded by Dennis and the motion carried.

Treasurer's report:  Balance of $2,105.04.  Motion to accept the report by Steve, seconded by Pat and the motion carried.

National Director's Report:  The national director was not in attendance but Lloyd will be attending the national convention in Indianapolis in August.

Old business:  None

New business:  Paulette informed the club that one of our charter members Bob Hagberg had passed away.  A discussion again ensued regarding people stepping up to the plate to put on a rally.  Greg gave us information about the bird houses he built for us to decorate as a craft project at a future rally.  He advised everyone to save things they would like to decorate with such as bottle caps, jewels, train track, buttons, etc.  It should be fun if everyone participates.

Paulette announced the latest rally schedule (see below for information)

A motion to adjourn was made by Ramona, seconded by Pat and the motion carried.  

Meeting adjourned at 6:27 p.m.

WAGONMASTER'S REPORT:

Greg and I arrived in Quartzsite a couple of days early to save a large area.  We were familiar with the Dome Rock area due to camping there with his car club.  Members rolled into the area gradually, several came indirectly from the FMCA Indio rally, others came from their homes and 2 guests: Bernie and Caro Juliar from Monument CO/Surprise, AZ and Tim and Sue Lappin from Michigan on their winter tour.  The Lappins read about our rally in the FMCA magazine and contacted us by email about joining our rally.  We met the Juliars in Monument last summer and invited them to the rally.  There were a total of 12 rigs attending the rally.

 We had surprisingly good weather (little wind except for one day and night) and needed only light jackets a few days.  It was sunny the whole time.  Members shopped, went off-roading in ATVs and jeeps and ate well.  We began the official rally with heavy appetizers, followed the next 2 nights by potluck dinners and, of course, the mandatory campfire.

One evening during happy hour we had guest speakers from HarvestHosts.com explain their program.  They are a couple that toured Europe in a motor home and came back to begin a similar program they experienced there.  We joined this program after reading about it this past summer in the FMCA magazine.  Membership entitles you to free, one night dry camping at farms, wineries and other agricultural related locations.  We had 2 memorable experiences on our trip, one in CT on a large apple orchard and one in VA at a winery.  They donated a one year membership to our rally and a few members purchased memberships.  The free membership was won by our guests Tim and Sue Lappin.

We parted ways as scheduled between Saturday and Sunday.  However, 4 rigs continued onto Alamo Lake State Park about 70 miles northeast.  The Escamillas, McAfees, Murrells and Smiths were there 3-4 nights.  It is an isolated, beautiful area that Mac and Nita had visited a few times.  We took turns on the ATVs and explored more and ate more.
Debbie Murrell

RALLY SCHEDULE:
April 27-29     Chula Vista RV Resort & Marina, hosted by Gerry and Linda Chetelat
May 25-28      Boulder Creek RV Resort, Lone Pine, CA hosted by Escamilla and McAfee
Sept. 21-23     Sweetwater Summit County Park, Bonita, CA hosted by Ringhand and Rose

ROCKWOOD WEST PARTICIPATES

IN WMHA INDIO RALLY 2012

On January 10, 2012, eight members and one guest of Rockwood West met at the Spotlight 29 Casino in Indio.  Early on January 11th we lined up and proceeded to the fairgrounds to participate in the 2012 rally.    

 On Wednesday afternoon we set up a table with candy and a computer slide show for the Chapter Fair.  We had flyers for the April outing available as well as information on the blog to give to anyone interested.

 On Thursday afternoon our members participated in the parade.  After getting the float ready some of the group posed for pictures prior to getting in parade formation.  Everyone out did themselves in pirate costumes.

 
 Bill Vargo aka Ozzie Osbourne

 The float in the parade.

 Guess who?

Everyone couldn't fit in the golf cart so we had walkers giving out candy along the parade route.











Our thanks to the Holloways for allowing us to use their golfcart and special thanks to Lin Chetelat and Lloyd Holloway for designing and making the float.  Everyone had a great time.

ROCKWOOD WEST

DECEMBER 2011 NEWSLETTER

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE:

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving and didn't eat too much turkey.  The year is quickly coming to a close.  A big thank you to everyone for your help and support during the year, the chapter couldn't survive without you.  I'm looking forward to 2012 and all the outings already planned.  Have a wonderful Christmas and a safe and sane New Years.

MEETING MINUTES:

Lake Elsinore West Marina and RV Resort

Lake Elsinore, CA

November 19, 2011

The meeting was called to order and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by president Paulette Kotan.

Members in attendance:  Gerry and Lin Chetelat, Nick and Ramona Escamilla, Russ and Pat Himmer, Dennis and Paulette Kotan, Hal and Cookie Ringhand and Steve and Marylee Smith

A motion to approve the minutes from the previous meeting as they appeared in the blog made by Ramona, seconded by Cookie.  The motion carried.

Treasurer's report:  $2,616.54 on hand.  Motion to accept by Pat, seconded by Marylee.  The motion carried.

National Director's report:  The national director was not present but Paulette reminded us of FMCA's plight and their loss of revenue due to the decline in membership.  Brad Koshland resigned as the executive director of FMCA effective November 30, 2011.

New business:  None

Old business:  Paulette reported she had made 12 reservations for the group for the Indio rally in January.  She also asked everyone to contact Greg and Debbie and let them know whether or not you will be attending the Quartzsite rally in January so they can locate a space large enough for the group.  Lin reminded everyone that annual dues are due by December 31.  If you haven't paid your dues, please send a check to Linda Chetelat, 4205 Middlesex Dr., San Diego, CA 92116.

Motion to adjourn by Ramona, seconded by Pat.  The motion carried and the meeting was adjourned at 10:13 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Linda Chetelat

RALLY SCHEDULE:

January 11-15     WMHA Rally, Indio

January 18-23     Dome Rock BLM, Quartzsite hosted by Greg and Debbie Murrell

March TBA        hosted by Ringhand and Rose

April 27-29         Chula Vista RV Resort hosted by Gerry and Linda Chetelat

May 25-28          Boulder Creek RV Resort, Lone Pine hosted by Nick and Ramona Escamilla

June 10-16          North Rim-Grand Canyon arranged by Dennis and Paulette Kotan

WAGONMASTER'S REPORT:

We had six coaches attend the rally at Lake Elsinore plus the Smiths brought their son Scott and grandsons Trevor and Hunter.  Even through it threatened to rain we didn't have any but it was cool, perfect soup weather.

Friday night heavy happy hour was followed by a rousing game of Farkle.

Saturday morning was breakfast of scrambled eggs, hash browns, sausage and either tortillas or english muffins.

Linda, Cookie and Pat helped prepare breakfast.

The breakfast line.

We were sharing the room with a Gulfstream group so we had our meeting outside on the patio.  It was cool and windy so we had a very short meeting so we could get back inside where it was warm.

After the meeting Linda got the craft projects set up and the ladies made several necklaces and trivets using corks donated by Greg.


During the afternoon Nita and Mac joined us.  Their coach was in the shop so they couldn't camp with us.

For dinner there were 7 pots of homemade soup and fresh garlic bread for us to sample and enjoy.

The winner for the best tasting soup was Linda with her zucchini soup.  She won a bottle of wine (not 2 buck Chuck) for her efforts.

After dinner we had a Farkle tournament.  Nita was in the lead but had to leave so Russ took her place and eventually won.  Pat was second and Cookie won the boobie prize for the lowest score.

At the mid-point in the tournament we stopped for dessert of either banana splits or sundaes.  Yum!

On Sunday we had breakfast of muffins, strudel and raisin bread followed by goodbyes.

Thanks to everyone who helped us with the rally.  

Paulette and Dennis

ROCKWOOD WEST

NOVEMBER 2011 NEWSLETTER

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE:

We had a wonderful time at the Pismo Beach rally and I'm looking forward to all the rallies scheduled for 2012.  If you haven't attended a rally lately you have certainly missed out on a lot of fun and good fellowship.  I again urge you to look at the rally schedule and consider hosting a rally in the available months.  If you are hesitant to host a rally on your own, ask someone to co-host with you and I will also help as much as possible.  It takes all of us to be involved to make this a successful chapter.  

Please keep Roger Gibson, Duke Heffern and Richard Strobel in your thoughts and prayers as they deal with their health issues.

Paulette Kotan, president

MEETING MINUTES:

Pismo Coast Village RV Resort,

Pismo Beach, CA

October 22, 2011, 9:07 a.m.

The meeting was called to order and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by president Paulette Kotan.

Members present:  Lenny and Gloria Blake, Gerry and Lin Chetelat, Lloyd and Wendy Holloway, Bob and Linda Lee Karr, Steve and Mary Lee Smith, Rich and Linda Strobel, Bill and Sandy Vargo,  Henry and Lucille Yanoff.  Guest, Julie Blake.

The president thanked our hosts Steve, Mary Lee, Henry and Lucille for a great rally.

Motion to approve the last minutes as they appeared in the blog was made by Dennis, seconded by Lloyd and the motion carried.

Treasurer's Report:  Balance in the checking account $2,199.11.  Motion to accept by Wendy, seconded by Linda and the motion carried.  Everyone was reminded that dues for 2012 are now due.  Please remit your check to Linda Chetelat.

National Director's Report:  Lloyd once again stated FMCA's continuing money problems and their planned budget cuts to remedy existing problems, etc. and the drive to promote new memberships.  Paulette spoke to bringing new members who are not FMCA members to the chapter rallies and the fact we have a few free memberships in FMCA to offer anyone who joins our chapter.  She also discussed the differences between FMCA and Escapees, noting the advantages and disadvantages of both.

Committee Reports:  Gerry spoke for the nominating committee and swore in the new officers who were elected by proclamation during the September meeting at Viejas.  They are:

President-Paulette Kotan

Vice-President-Cookie Ringhand

Secretary/Treasurer-Linda Chetelat

National Director-Lloyd Holloway

Alternate National Director-Nick Escamilla

Nominating Committee-Ramona Escamilla, Gerry Chetelat and Dennis Kotan

   

Old business:  None

New business:  Steve and MaryLee collected the monies due for camping since we did not have the required rigs present to receive the group discount.

Motion to adjourn made by Steve, seconded by Lucille and the motion carried.  Meeting adjourned at 9:35 a.m.

Wagonmaster's Report:

The October rally was held at Pismo Coast Village RV Resort in Pismo Beach, CA.  We had 9 rigs sign up so unfortunately we were unable to qualify for the group rates.  It was a great rally!  The park is nestled on a beautiful site right on the beach and close to the little town of Pismo and the pier.  The management was very helpful and even let us use the wood pit BBQ from their old restaurant for our Santa Maria Tri-Tip dinner.  The clubhouse and facilities were terrific and included a heated swimming pool, showers, miniature golf and a well stocked general store. 

The activities started on Thursday evening in the clubhouse with our usual "Happy Hour" followed by a bountiful table of hearty appetizers and lots of fun socializing.  The Blakes brought their daughter, Julie, as their guest.

The next morning we had egg casseroles and a chile relleno casserole with tortillas, english muffins, bagels and fruit.  After breakfast, our great craft lady, Linda Chetelat, taught us how to make cute Holloween ghost door hangers out of foam.  Then she realy challenged us not so "craftily gifted" people with a beaded Christmas tree ornament.  Only with her assistance did we leave with two beautiful projects.  Thank you Linda for your time and PATIENCE!!!

 The rest of the day was spent relaxing around the camp, riding bikes into town, or sightseeing locally.  For those who had arrived earlier in the week, the days were spent having lots of fun scouring the local thrift shops for pirate costumes (yes, Sandy I did spend only a quarter on that pathetic crow!) for the Indio rally in January and trips to Avila Beach on a quest for the best clam chowder on the coast and then a visit to a local apple farm.
We were all given a tour of the Holloway's beautiful new coach shown here decorated with toilet paper.
   That evening we had a great Santa Maria BBQ dinner.  Steve wanted to especially thank Dennis and Paulette and their friends from San Luis who provided the "required" red oak for the traditional flavoring we needed for our tri-tips and the homemade sausage appetizer.  We filled up on delicious tri-tip, salsa, red beans, mac'n cheese, grilled french bread and salad.

We then had a celebration for the Blake's 55th wedding anniversary.  Congratulations!!

We also celebrated Wendy's birthday with a special birthday girl tiara!  There were 2 cakes.

We had a surprise visit from our two oldest "kids," Scott and Christy who joined in the socializing and spent the night.  They confided that our friends were "really awesome" and they had a lot of fun with them!!!  Christy still cannot believe that Cleo, the Chetelat's cat, walks on a leash.  She was also impressed with Bob and Linda Karr's stories of backpacking in the wilderness.

Saturday morning our good weather continued and we had buttermilk pancakes and sausages.  Thank you Lloyd, you can flip for us anytime!

After breakfast Paulette conducted a great meeting and then we ate AGAIN!

Due to the melodrama time being moved up we had our potluck at 1 p.m.  Thanks to all our good cooks we had another yummy meal and then we were off to the theater.

"The Great American Melodrama and Vaudeville" was full of crazy characters.  This time we saw 

"The Werewolf of Dr. Oz," a take off on Dorothy in the "Wizard of Oz" in the form of Donny, a teenage boy living in Kansas who is horrified to discover that he is turning into a werewolf.  Instead of searching for the wizard, Donny searches for "Dr. Oz," the TV personality who can "cure" him.  Following the musical came the "Game of Life" with zany songs like "Seniors in the Night" (Strangers in the Night) complete with a hilarious dance routine with walkers.  

To add to all this fun we returned to the clubhouse for a wonderful ice cream social!

Sunday morning we had a nice continental breakfast before beginning to pack up and check out.  We would like to thank our co-hosts Henry and Lucille Yanoff for helping us put on this rally and also to all who helped in so many ways, sharing ovens, refrigerators, cooking, cleaning up, etc.  It was a lot of fun.

Steve and Mary Lee Smith

Chile Relleno Casserole Recipe

4 eggs

1/2 cup half and half

8 oz Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded

2 T onion, finely chopped

4 oz can chopped green chiles, drained

2 T flour

Heat oven to 350 degrees, grease 8 or 9 inch square pan

In medium bowl beat eggs, stir in half and half and flour.  Blend until smooth.  Stir in remaining ingredients; blend.  Pour into pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes.

Cut into squares or use smaller squares for appetizers.

I doubled this recipe and used an oblong casserole dish for the rally.

RALLY SCHEDULE:

November 18-20  Lake Elsinore Marina hosted by the Kotans

2012

January 11-15  WMHA Rally, Indio

January 18-23  Dome Rock BLM, Quartzsite hosted by the Murrells

March TBA hosted by Roses and Ringhands

April 27-29  Chula Vista RV Resort hosted by the Chetelats

May 25-28  Boulder Creek RV Resort, Lone Pine hosted by the Escamillas

June 10-16  North Rim, Grand Canyon arranged by the Kotans

ROCKWOOD WEST NEWSLETTER

SEPTEMBER 2011

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE:

I hope everyone had a great summer and you are all ready for lots of rallies and lots of fun this fall and winter.

We currently have rallies scheduled through June 2012 with the exception of December, which is usually dark, and February. Thank you to everyone who has stepped up to the plate. For those of you not hosting a rally, please consider doing so. I have lots of brochures for campgrounds from San Diego to Solvang so see me if you're having a problem selecting a place to hold a rally. I would like to see rallies scheduled for the remainder of 2012.

A special thank you to Cookie for taking my place at the September meeting so I could attend a 50th anniversary party in Las Vegas.

Paulette Kotan, president

MEETING MINUTES:

Mar-Tar-Awa RV Resort

Alpine, CA

September 10, 2011

The meeting was called to order at 10:00 a.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by vice-president Cookie Ringhand.

Members present: Dick and Vicki Bartlett, Gerry and Lin Chetelat, Nick and Ramona Escamilla, Russ and Pat Himmer, Hal and Cookie Ringhand and Steve and MaryLee Smith.

Guests present: Pat and Russ Himmer's son Rusty, grandson Garrett, daughter Terri and husband Brian. Hal and Cookie Ringhand's friends Walt and Pam Rose.

Cookie thanked the Himmers for hosting a great rally and planning a wonderful menu just for the group.

A motion to approve the minutes from our last meeting in May as they appeared in the blog was made by Ramona and seconded by Steve. The motion carried.

The treasurer's report showed a balance of $2,212.11. A motion to approve was made by Pat and seconded by Hal. The motion carried.

Director's Report: Nick read the director's report prepared by our national director after the FMCA Governing Board meeting:

The 2011 meeting of the FMCA Governing Board was held on Wednesday, August 10, 2011 from 8:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. There were 373 members present (76% of the voting members.)

New officers elected were as follows:

National President: Charles M. Schrenkle

National Senior Vice President: Allen Rein

National Secretary: Vicki Ferrari

National Treasurer: Will Young

The budget was approved after much debate. This year National Directors will receive $155.00 each for attending the meeting. It was voted TO NOT receive any monies for National Directors for 2012. This was done to try and keep FMCA afloat. FMCA has been losing money due to low participation at conventions. This year's convention had 1,809 family members, 101 exhibitors, 194 display coaches and 39 demo units for a total of 2,143 coaches. Since we needed 3,000 coaches to break even, the loss for Madison is anticipated to be around $74,000.00.

FMCA is currently $620,000.00 in the hole. It was voted to take money from reserves to pay the bills.

In 2010 FMCA lost $1,942,617.00 and in 2009 FMCA lost $163,027.00.

Dan Couch, Finance Board Member (who was also running for National Treasurer this year) found 1.3 million dollars in IRS taxes FMCA had overpaid and we were fortunate to get it back. This was over the past four years. If it wasn't for this money, FMCA would have been in the hole $1,463,027 for 2009.

The Executive Board voted and approved to spend $143,000.00 to upgrade our outdated computer systems. This will be taken out of reserves and should be completed in three months.

It was decided to only have one convention a year in order to save money. The convention that was planned for Pomona, CA was cancelled. It would have cost $500,000.00 in up front money to have the convention there. It was decided to take the loss of $100,000.00 deposit rather than take a chance in having this convention and loosing more money. It was voted on by the Governing Board to take the loss.

The 2012 Convention will be held in Indianapolis, IN

The 2013 Convention will be held in Hutchinson, KS

2013 will be the 50th anniversary for FMCA and the theme for Hutchinson will be Mile Mark 50. They are looking for a mascot. FMCA is asking each chapter to make one and bring it to Indianapolis to be judged and one will be chosen. The chosen one will be awarded a prize and used for the 50th anniversary convention in Hutchinson.

It was my pleasure to attend this Governing Board meeting on behalf of Rockwood West. If anyone has any questions, please contact me.

Respectfully submitted,

Lloyd Kay Holloway

928-230-3556

lwholloway@frontiernet.net

OLD BUSINESS: None

NEW BUSINESS:

The nominating committee presented the current officers for an additional term. These are Paulette Kotan, president, Cookie Ringhand, vice-president and permanent sheriff, Lin Chetelat, secretary/treasurer, Lloyd Holloway, national director and Nick Escamilla, alternate national director. There was no opposition to these nominations and a motion to have the election by proclamation was made by Pat, seconded by MaryLee and the motion carried by unanimous vote. The officers will be sworn in at the October meeting.

Cookie presented her guests Walt (the duckman) and Pam Rose for membership. The motion to accept them as members was made by Lin and seconded by Ramona. The motion carried.

MaryLee reminded everyone of the deadline for reservations for the Pismo Beach rally and she passed out additional flyers. Flyers for the Lake Elsinore rally in November were also distributed.

A discussion of the Lone Pine rally result in Walt advising everyone of things to do in Bishop during "Mule Days" since we will be within driving distance.

Walt and Pam Rose volunteered to host a rally in March 2012 and Gerry and Lin Chetelat will host a rally in April 2012.

A motion to adjourn was made by Hal and seconded by Dick. The motion carried.

Meeting adjourned at 11:35 a.m.

RALLY SCHEDULE:

2011

October 20-23 Pismo Coast RV Resort hosted by Steve and MaryLee Smith and Henry and Lucille Yanoff

November 18-20 Lake Elsinore West Marina hosted by Dennis and Paulette Kotan

2012

January 11-15 WMHA Rally, Indio

January 18-23 Dome Rock BLM, Quartzsite hosted by Greg and Debbie Murrell

March TBA hosted by Walt and Pam Rose

April 27-29 Chula Vista RV Resort hosted by Gerry and Lin Chetelat

May 25-28 Boulder Creek RV Resort, Lone Pine hosted by Nick and Ramona Escamilla

June TBA North Rim, Grand Canyon arranged by Dennis and Paulette Kotan

WAGONMASTER'S REPORT:

The Viejas rally was very relaxing with beautiful weather. We had 9 rigs signed up but 2 had to cancel Friday night.

On Friday night we had three guests, friends of Hal and Cookie. Dick and Judy Keller with their granddaughter enjoyed our heavy hor d'oeuvres evening.

Saturday morning after a breakfast of pancakes, eggs and sausage, Cookie handled a very professional meeting, it was great fun.

After the meeting people headed over to the outlet center. Naturally the men went to Black and Decker. Some of the woman went to the outlet center and some went to the casino. Then the whole group got together for sundaes and banana splits. Everyone was still able to eat dinner.

Saturday, our daughter Terri and husband Brian came for the day and later our son Rusty and grandson Garrett arrived. Rich and Linda Strobel also joined us to visit and have dinner. Dinner was good except the cooks started talking too much and dinner ended up with a smokey flavor. Everyone still enjoyed beef stew.

Our craft project was cancelled due to lost stencils. I am still unable to find them, sorry ladies. I will keep hunting.

Sunday, after a continental breakfast, we just kind of set around feeling lazy, at least I did. We were packed up and out of the campground by 1:00 p.m.

We enjoyed hosting the rally. It was nice seeing the group, it was a long time since we last got together.

Thanks,

Russ and Pat Himmer