Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Coachmen Industries, Inc. Good morning. On behalf of the RVIA Board of Directors and staff, I would like to welcome all of you to RVIA’s Annual Membership Meeting.

Good morning. On behalf of the RVIA Board of Directors and Staff, I would like to welcome all of you to RVIA's Annual Membership Meeting.

This morning's forum is a key component of our annual meeting as you will be the first among RVIA's nearly 500 members to hear reports on a variety of association business matters that have been addressed during the past two days.

Included will be a presentation on the first semi-annual review of the RVIA Strategic Plan that was established two years ago. This living document has proven itself to be a solid foundation for our association’s activities, thus you will soon discover that the changes made by our Strategic Planning Committee were merely refinements. We look forward to the guidance that it will provide to our Board, standing committees and staff during the next two years and beyond. You will also hear the latest about the exciting Phase III Go RVing campaign, now in its second month, and enjoy some of the high profile media coverage that RVIA's public relations department has garnered for our industry during the past year.

Last on our program, but certainly not least, will be our annual awards presentations, honoring a number of outstanding leaders for their many contributions to the RV industry through the years.

With that, I would like to take a few moments to reflect on the past year as well as what I believe the future holds for the RV industry.

The RV industry entered 2002 as the only segment in the travel industry not directly experiencing the ill effects of the horrific acts of September 11. It seemed that the tried and true benefits of RV travel -- freedom, flexibility and control -- rang more true than ever to Americans who flocked to RV dealers and RV rental outlets.

We remained cautiously optimistic about what may have been a short-term reaction, but that proved to be a prevailing trend as the momentum hit its stride in early summer with shipments and sales breaking month-to-month totals from prior years.

Our caution was thrown to the wind as we broke records through the fall months. The year culminated at RVIA's National RV Trade Show in Lousiville with one of the highest dealer attendance totals on record and robust activity throughout the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center -- even during a snow storm! When the numbers came in for 2002, our industry finished with the second best year in shipments in 25 years -- 311,000 units -- a 21 percent increase over the prior year.

Dr. Richard Curtin, of the University of Michigan Survey Research center and author of RVIA Roadsigns, forecast in November a record year in shipments for 2003. Continuing tremors about war in Iraq, however, have put an air of caution in his most recent forecast that was scaled back to 315,000 units. Not a record, but an increase over a very strong year nevertheless.

Despite the uncertainties of war, there are some significant factors that indicate our industry will endure what ever comes into play in the near term. First, our industry is the only travel industry segment that offers the answer to Americans' fears about other modes of vacation travel.