Al Ruhl and Warren Jones Honored by RVIA

Al Ruhl, right, vice president of Manchester Tank receives his award from Wilbur Bontrager, RVIA Chairman.	Warren Jones, left, and David Humphreys, RVIA president.

Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA) bestowed its most prestigious honor, the Distinguished Service to the RV Industry Award, on Al Ruhl, vice president of Manchester Tank & Equipment Corporation. The Distinguished Service Award is presented annually to an individual within the RV industry who has demonstrated outstanding service over a long period of time.

In total, RVIA honored six industry leaders at its 2000 annual awards presentation during the association's Annual Membership Meeting in Palm Springs, CA. The annual awards recognize outstanding contributions to the recreation vehicle (RV) industry and RVIA.

Ruhl was recognized for his active participation in many arenas within RVIA and his innumerable contributions over the years to the industry.

In addition to a ten-year stint on RVIA's board of directors and another ten years serving on RVIA committees, he is known as a fierce advocate of the industry, recognized for taking an impassioned stand on RV-related issues.

The RVIA Special Award went to Warren Jones, chairman emeritus of Hehr International, an industry supplier of doors, screens, windows and van accessories. Instrumental in the formation of the RVIA, he was ho  nored for more than 30 years of service to the RV industry.

RVIA's 2000 chairman of the board Wilbur Bontrager said, "Warren has long been recognized as an essential member of the RV family, always ready to lend a helping hand or offer an opinion. The path he has taken in his personal and professional endeavors have left lasting marks on the RV industry of yesterday and will lead it into the future as well."

The RV Automotive Achieve-ment Award was presented to Andrew Taitz, chairman of Workhorse Custom Chassis Cor-poration. This award recognizes a person from the automotive industry who has made outstanding contributions to the RV industry.

After purchasing the type A motorhome chassis business from General Motors, relocating the production facility and fine tuning the product, Taitz was able to supply chassis to the RV market with little or no disruption.

Bontrager said, "Andrew has made continued product development a top priority for Workhorse. Lines of communication with manufacturers, dealers, and RV service centers are open and they are able to provide excellent servicing capabilities for the retail customer."

The National Education Service Award was presented to Rebecca Ward, director, aftermarket services, for Jayco, Inc. She has been an influential member of key industry education committees who has made significant contributions to creating technician training programs and material for the industry.

The Distinguished Achieve-ment in RV Standards Award was presented to Mark Luttich, director of the RV Standards Program for the State of Nebraska. The award recognized his contributions toward the advancement of high technical standards in the manufacture of recreation vehicles.

The Distinguished Achieve-ment in RV Journalism Award, recognizing outstanding journalists whose work has contributed to the enhancement of the RV industry, was presented to Jeff Kurowski, senior editor of RV Business.

Kurowski has been covering the industry since the 1980's. As a business reporter at the South Bend Tribune for nine years, he began his affiliation with RVing in his early days on the Elkhart beat. By the mid-90's he was writing about the industry on a full-time basis.