Well, I certainly hope that everyone has had enough of winter. I know that I have. I also know that, while no one will have any sympathy for us here in Florida, this has been the coldest winter here in 31 years. When it is 65 degrees in Key West you know it is cold everywhere. Instead of lounging around in t-shirts and shorts we have just about worn out our long pants and sweatshirts. There is one 
positive though and that is that no matter the temperature I still do not have to look for a snow shovel. Well, enough about me, how about all of you. I recently received an email from our traveling National Director Dan Couch in which he attached several photos. Evidently the Rio Grande Valley Auxiliary (i.e. The Texas Outlaws) of our chapter had an unannounced meeting which included the Couchs, Severes, Mathis’ and Drennons. I hope that everyone has had a decent winter. I know that some have not gotten to the “warmer” locations but if you have your health that is a positive.
positive though and that is that no matter the temperature I still do not have to look for a snow shovel. Well, enough about me, how about all of you. I recently received an email from our traveling National Director Dan Couch in which he attached several photos. Evidently the Rio Grande Valley Auxiliary (i.e. The Texas Outlaws) of our chapter had an unannounced meeting which included the Couchs, Severes, Mathis’ and Drennons. I hope that everyone has had a decent winter. I know that some have not gotten to the “warmer” locations but if you have your health that is a positive. We should have another good rally year in 2010. This is the club’s 41st year. Not bad for a bunch of gypsies banding together every month. We start with a rally at the Big Red Barn in Carthage, MO and end at Cedar Oaks in Grove, OK in October. In addition to the monthly rallies you can also head to Redmond, OR in August for the 84th International FMCA rally and in September to Shreveport, LA for the South Central Six State Rally. We have at least one member coach (Phil and Ginny Weaver) attending the 83rd International FMCA rally in Albuquerque, NM. I hope that we can get a report from them in April.
Membership: In an effort to keep everyone informed, I supplied FMCA with a letter to send to every FMCA member in our area who is not aligned with a chapter. In the area that I defined, eastern Kansas and western Missouri, sort of, 395 members received letters. I have gotten a number of responses, a majority of which are positive. Some members, while still not interested, were kind enough to contact me and thank us for the interest but that they were not interested at this time for one reason or another. Hopefully, we can add some members, introducing others to an RV lifestyle other than just using the old bus to go on vacation.
Medical update: There are a couple of items here. In mid January Norma Midget had some surgery as a result of cancer. The last word was that she was at home recuperating. Also, Frank Anderson has been in and out of the hospital in Wichita due to some heart problems. I have not heard anything for about six weeks and believe that he has returned home. Finally, we must now consider Wayne Cook a bionic man. He has two new space age knees and is ready to go. We no longer have to give him a leg up. I want all of you to take care of yourselves. We do not want anyone else to have to deal with medical problems.
Rally: Yes, I know, you can still remember the snow on your lawn and here I am going on about a rally. Come on folks, think warm. Our April rally is an all-host affair which means several members have signed on to take care of some part of the rally. I certainly hope all who signed on remember that they did. We have found that this type of rally is popular. However, I believe the popularity would decrease if we did them all of the time. Be sure to check the rally flyer for information. Please note that this is a Wednesday-Saturday rally.
FMCA: For those of you who are interested in keeping up with the financial situation of FMCA it would appear that there may be light at the end of the tunnel. The value of FMCA investments has increased by $3.26 million and the year end loss is “only” $1.4 million. Attendance at Perry and Bowling Green were lower versus history averaging 2,500 coaches. Attendance at Albuquerque will be reported even lower. However, membership levels are reported to be increasing. Finally, the magazine revenues are still flat but reports from the field indicate they will start to increase though slowly. I would say that that light we are seeing is more 60-watt than 100-watt.
Dues. If you have not paid your 2010 dues they are due. Remember, it is only $15. You spend more than that on foo-foos at Walmart. If you will remember I said last fall that if you have not paid by April 1 I would have to send Guido and his boys to your house. I hope that is not necessary.
Finally, a note on the photos that I include on the blog. If you have photos that you would like to see on our blog just send them to me. Please do not send me your entire photo album, one – three would be enough. Also, any time you wish to see a larger version of any photo on the blog just double click on the photo. When you are done use the back arrow to return to the page.
