Life on
Wheels Conference to be Held at Harrisburg Show
Gaylord
Maxwell’s popular Life on Wheels educational
program for RVers presented in conjunction with the
University of Idaho’s Enrichment Program at
Moscow, ID, will take the term extension course to a
new level when the program is presented at this
year’s Harrisburg show. The Life on Wheels
course will be held September 7-10 in Harrisburg
prior to the Pennsylvania RV and Camping Show.
In addition
consumers will have the opportunity to hear Gaylord
and Margie Maxwell again this year present their
seminar "Full-Time RVing,’ Gaylord and
Margie have traveled in RVs for more than 40 years. A
former RV dealer, Maxwell started his writing career
25 years ago.
Recognizing his
longtime contribution to the RV industry, Gaylord has
been recently inducted into the RV Hall of Fame.
Emmert
Named Georgie Boy President
Fred Emmert has
been named president of Georgie Boy Manufacturing, a
division of Coachmen Industries. Emmert has served as
the company’s vice president of sales since
1991.
Before coming
to Georgie Boy, Emmert spent 14 years in sales and/or
marketing positions in the RV industry. He also spent
10 years in the automotive industry working for
Chrysler Corporation.
RV Loan
Outstandings Approach $12 Billion
The total
dollar value of RV loans continues to climb, jumping
six percent in 1996 to more than $11.8 billion,
according to a new survey of RV lenders released by
RVIA.
RVIA Finance
Committee Chairman Jim Pope said, "The strong
performance of the RV lending market is good news for
our industry as it pursues the baby boomer market
through the Go RVing campaign." Pope is vice
president of Green Tree Financial Servicing Corp.,
Memphis, TN.
Finance firms
held nearly half of the total of RV loans outstanding
in 1996. Commercial banks accounted for 45 percent of
RV lending activity followed by savings and loan
associations (4 percent) and credit unions (2.7
percent).
As reported by
RVIA survey respondents, 1996 RV loan delinquencies
were 1.86 percent. Repossessions averaged 0.71
percent with an average 70 percent dollar recovery.
RV loans consistently recorded lower delinquency
ratings than the weighted average of consumer loans
regularly charted by the American Bankers Association
in 1996.
RPTIA
Considering Separate Downtown Louisville Park Trailer
Show For 1998
RVIA’s
Louisville Trade Show scheduled for December 2 - 4,
1997 has once again achieved an oversubscribed demand
for exhibitor space; however, this success presents a
problem for members of the Recreation Park Trailer
Industry Association (RPTIA).
Bill Garpow,
executive director of RPTIA, said,
"Unfortunately, oversubscription of exhibit
space has an immediate impact on the park trailer
manufacturers who are automatically limited by
RVIA’s show policy to exhibit spaces no larger
than 1,000 square feet. The oversold condition and
park trailer space limitations at this show are
likely to continue until the KFEC facility expands,
perhaps in three or four years.
To resolve the
problem for its members RPTIA is now considering show
alternatives. Garpow said, "One option is to
have RPTIA produce a separate trade show in
Louisville that would coincide or overlap RVIA’s
show dates. Such a show could be held at the Downtown
Commonwealth Convention Center which is located
within walking distance from major hotels."
The dates at
this facility are available to RPTIA from 1999 on and
might be available in time for a 1998 show if
expansion plans for the center proceed expeditiously.
Garpow added, "RVIA’s show committee has
been made aware that RPTIA is considering producing
this show, and we hope they will support these plans
and work with RPTIA to make the proposed event a
success."
RVIA
Presents Association Awards
 |  |
| Kelly L. Rose,
chairman of RVIA and Starcraft Corp., presents awards
to Warren Brown of the Washington Post, and Tom
Fribley of Coachmen Industries. |
RVIA presented
two awards during a special luncheon on June 10 at
the association’s Committee Week.
Washington Post
automotive reporter Warren Brown and Coachmen
Industries’ Tom Fribley were honored for their
contributions to the RV industry.
RVIA’s
Distinguished Achievement in RV Journalism Award was
presented to Brown, whose coverage of RV travel has
helped elevate the industry’s profile by
providing accurate, useful RV information to millions
of readers. In addition to writing for the Post,
Brown’s work is syndicated to 160 newspapers
nationally and frequently appears in African
Americans on Wheels.
After his first
RVing experience last year, Brown quickly became an
RV enthusiast and industry ally.
Tom Fribley,
assistant vice president of technical services for
Coachmen Industries, was given the RVIA National
Education Service Award for his contributions in the
development and expansion of industry education
programs.
Fribley is an
active member of the industry education committee,
serves as a Trouble Shooter Clinic instructor and
sits on the Recreation Vehicle Dealer
Association/Recreation Vehicle Industry Association
RV Service Technician Certification Test governing
board.
Partial
Bridge Closure Creates Problem for Portland Show
Promoter
O’Loughlin
Trade Shows, Oregon’s largest consumer show
producing company, is being forced by a bridge
closure to produce three scheduled shows at once. The
shows effected are the Fall Home & Garden Show,
the Fall RV & Van Show and the Fall Boat Sale.
All three shows will run concurrently at the Expo
Center, September 11 through 14, 1997.
The reason for
the show concentration is because the Oregon
Department of Transpor-tation announced the 1-5
bridge linking Oregon and Washington will be
partially closed for 21 days starting September 16.
Three lanes of the normally six-lane bridge will be
closed during bridge repair work, and the resulting
traffic snarl likely will reach dozens of miles in
both directions.
StagParkway
Announces Plans to Return to Reno for National Show
Obviously
pleased with the turnout of its show earlier this
year in Reno, NV, StagParkway, has decided to hold
the show in that location again. The 1998 show will
be at the Reno Hilton, in Nevada from January 21 to
22, 1998
Colorado
Resident Wins National Sweepstakes Grand Prize
Fleetwood RV
recently announced the grand prize winner of its
year-long "This RV is for Me!" sweepstakes
promotion. The national promotion generated over
25,000 entry forms from people all across the
country. The winner of the Mallard travel trailer was
Don Lebsack of Loveland, CO. Lebsack entered the
sweepstakes at Loveland RV Service in Loveland
. Additional
sweepstakes prizes included two trips for four to the
Miller 400 race and a getaway for four to
Disney’s Fort Wilderness.
Heart’s AC
Load Manager
Earns UL Mark
of Safety
Heart
Interface’s AC load management system for the RV
market was awarded Underwriters Laboratories approval
for safety. The AC Load Manager automatically reduces
selected AC electrical loads. It is scheduled for
factory installation by several RV manufacturers
beginning this summer, according to Heart Interface
president, Warren Stokes.
The Heart
Interface AC Load Manager monitors the amount of AC
power coming into a vehicle. If the demand on the
vehicle increases because of a heavy load, such as
starting an air conditioner or microwave, certain low
priority loads are turned off (shed) in a
predetermined sequence. The microprocessor controlled
product assigns low priority to loads like electric
water heaters and highest priority to loads such as
televisions or microwaves.
Spartan
Introduces On-board
Weight Measure
System for RV Market
Slideouts and
satellite dishes have created a new issue in the RV
industry - weight management. One manufacturer
believes it has a solution.
Motorhome
chassis manufacturer Spartan Motors, Inc. has
introduced the Solomon System, an on-board vehicle
scale and recorder that addresses the growing
problems of improper weight distribution and vehicle
overloading in motorhomes. According to Spartan,
unbalanced weight and overloading can significantly
affect the ride and handling characteristics of a
vehicle and add to component failure and breakdowns.
The first-of-its-kind Solomon System continuously
monitors the total weight and weight distribution of
the coach to an accuracy of 99.5 percent of the
actual weight of the vehicle, which ensures a coach
is road legal and riding correctly.
The Solomon
System utilizes air spring sensors positioned at each
wheel to provide an instantaneous weight of the coach
via a dashboard LCD display. The system also
continuously
stores data on the activity of the vehicle for up to
five years. This data includes such things as gross
vehicle weight (GVW), road surface quality, dips at
corners and speed.
Go RVing
Coalition Changes Policy
on Use of
Slogan
In response to
requests, the Go RVing Coalition recently voted to
change its policy and allow RVIA manufacturer,
supplier and associate members - along with
participating dealers and show promoters - to use the
Go Rving logotype and campaign slogan, Recreation
Vehicles. Wherever You Go, You’re Always at Home
in company advertising and brochures.
Gary LaBella,
RVIA vice president for Public Relations, said,
"In taking this action, preserving the
effectiveness and generic nature of the
Coalition’s national advertising remains a major
concern, to avoid confusing the consumer and to be
fair to all who are contributing to the
campaign’s funding. Specific guidelines have
therefore been developed to ensure consistent usage
of the Go RVing name and slogan. Conversion vehicle
members are not participating in the Go RVing
campaign and are therefore not eligible to use the
theme in their advertising."
LaBella
emphasized, however, that the still photography and
television footage shot for the Go RVing campaign
remains the sole property of Go RVing, Inc. and may
not be used in individual company marketing
communications.
He also said,
"The many RVIA members who made voluntary
contributions of $5,000 or more to Go RVing through
the ‘Go the Extra Mile’ fund-raising
program have the exclusive right to identify their
company by name as a campaign supporter in their
trade advertising. This is an important way that
companies who go the extra mile by providing
financial support above and beyond the mandatory
member assessments can gain industry recognition and
build dealer loyalty."
Copies of the
guidelines for using the Go RVing Slogan are
available through RVIA. For more information about
this program, RVIA members are invited to call
LaBella or RVIA Director of PR Chris Morrison at
1/800-336-0154, ext. 308 or 344, respectively.
B.J. Thompson
Appointed to RVIA Board
B.J. Thompson,
president of B.J. Thompson Associates, Inc., was
appointed to the RVIA board of directors at its
Committee Week in June.
Thompson has
served as chairman of the Public Relations Committee
since 1985, overseeing the development of many
successful programs that have dramatically improved
the RV industry’s image. He was awarded
RVIA’s Distinguished Service to the RV Industry
Award in 1996 and the National Service Award in 1986.
Thompson is the
founder and president of B.J. Thompson Associates,
Inc., an advertising and public relations firm based
in Mishawaka, IN.
He assumes the
seat on the board vacated by Paul Hansen, formerly of
Winnebago Industries. As with all board appointments,
Thompson must stand for election in the next RVIA
board of directors elections, which will be held in
August.
FRVTA State
Convention to Feature Wide Array of Speakers
The 17th Annual
Florida RV Trade Association (FRVTA) State Convention
will be held September 4 - 7 at the Sanibel Harbour
Resort and Spa in Ft. Myers.
This
year’s convention will bring together top
industry speakers as well as information that will
immediately help your company’s bottom line.
Motivational speaker Dr. Kerry Johnson will present
his "How To Read Your Customer’s Mind"
program. Dr. Johnson’s session is focused on
giving attendees techniques to can use today to
significantly increase overall productivity in making
sales happen.
Both RVIA
president Dave Humphreys and RVDA president Mike
Molino will present a "State Of The
Industry" report during the Friday morning
general session. FRVTA’s legislative consultant
Randy Miller will sort out the recent Florida
legislative session and explain what impact it has on
the RV industry.
Breakout
sessions are scheduled for Saturday and include
"An introduction to the Internet,"
"Merchandising Tips for your Parts Stores,"
"Advertising/Marketing to the Baby
Boomers," "Financial Planning and Employee
Benefits," and "Sales Tax Audits and
General Legal Question and Answer" session.
Contact FRVTA
at (813) 684-7882 for more Information.
Go RVing
Campaign Timed Right
According to
Researcher
The
introduction of the Go RVing Coalition’s
national advertising campaign was right on target
based on preliminary findings from the upcoming
University of Michigan study of the RV market,
according to Dr. Richard Curtin, director of consumer
surveys at the university’s Survey Research
Center.
Speaking at
RVIA’s Committee Week, Curtin said the current
economic situation and demographic trends in the RV
market have helped create the right environment for
the three-year, $15 million promotional effort.
"My main
conclusion from looking at the data is that results
indicate the timing and potential of the Go RVing
campaign is quite substantial," Curtin said.
The
nation’s current economic situation is working
in favor of the RV market and the campaign, according
to Curtin.
"The first
bit of good timing is that the industry introduced a
campaign exactly at the moment when consumers are the
most optimistic and confident about their current and
future situation," he said.
He cited
several factors that point to continued strong
economic health, including a 30-year high in consumer
confidence, the lowest unemployment rate since the
mid-60s and low inflation.
Curtin also
downplayed rising interest rates. "The best
thing to sustain this economic expansion and to
sustain growth in RV sales is maintaining an economy
with low inflation, even if it means a quarter point
on the interest rates," he said.
Examining
findings from the new RV market study, Curtin
reported that 8.6 million households now own an RV up
from 8.2 million households in the 1993 study. RV
ownership continues to increase by about 100,000
households each year.
However,
ownership rates among vehicle-owning households
inched up only slightly from 9.6 percent in 1993 to
9.8 percent in 1997.
Curtin also
reported that although overall purchase intentions
were down marginally among current owners, former
owners and new market entrants, intentions among
those age 35-54 changed very little or increased.
Among those who have never owned an RV in this age
group, it gained four percent.
"This is
another element of my timing scenario. Based on these
results the industry should be doing something to
stimulate interest," Curtin said.
"That’s what the Go RVing campaign is all
about, and it’s focused on the area with the
most potential."
The aging of
the baby boomers continues to hold great promise for
the RV industry. Through the early part of the next
century, the number of consumers age 45-54, who
comprise the industry’s prime ownership market,
will increase by 10 million households.
"If the
industry can follow the baby boomers until they are
through this age curve, the increasing rates of
ownership combined with the increasing millions in
this age group promises great returns," Curtin
said.
"The RV
industry not only showed good timing with the Go
RVing campaign, but also good judgment," said
Curtin. "Both will come together to provide very
favorable prospects during the next decade."
This is the
fifth study of the RV market performed by the
University of Michigan Survey Research Center since
1980. The new research is expected to be completed
and released this fall.
Park Management
School Opens for
Fall Session
Next Month
The National RV
Park Institute (NRVPI) opens a new training session
September 28 and continues through October 3, 1997.
The education program will be hosted by an operating
RV park in Plymouth, CA. NRVPI targets new and
experienced park/campground operators. According to
Judy Miller of NRVPI, classes are filling rapidly,
however, space is still available.
During the
week-long session, students will attend 40 hours of
classes covering a variety of topics pertinent to
park management and taught by experts in their field
providing a true "hands-on" learning
experience. Attendees can also earn about half of the
credits needed for the ARVC Certified Park Operator
(CPO) designation.
Enrollment fees
for the week-long course are $650 per person and
include all classes, meals, and handouts.
For more
information, please write, call, or fax Executive
Services Group, PO Box 5578, Auburn, CA 95604,
916/823-1076 (phone), 916/823-6331(fax).
Morgan Group
Declares Quarterly Dividend
The board of
directors of The Morgan Group, Inc. (AMEX:MG)
declared a quarterly cash dividend of $.02 per share
of Class A Common Stock and $.01 per share of Class B
Common Stock. The dividend is payable on July 21,
1997 to shareholders of record on July 7, 1997.
Country Coach
Employees Earn 2nd Quarter Bonuses
Country Coach,
Inc., recently notified 382 qualifying employees that
they have earned a bonus pay out totaling $222,755
(averaging $583 each) as a result of the
manufacturer’s second quarter sales. This is the
seventh straight quarter in which bonus pay-outs have
resulted for reaching gross profit and sales goals.
In addition, a total of $91,200 in company match
funds was contributed to participating
employees’ 401k retirement savings plans.
In the past
seven quarters $1,543,546 has been paid to eligible
employees, who have averaged over a 10 percent bonus
for each of the last two years. The two-part profit
sharing program is based on sales, productivity, and
projected profit goals.
_____________________________________________RVN
