Dear Don:

Your editorial, The Future of (the) RV Aftermarket Association (December issue) really hit a 'passion' with me.

Being the same generation (or very close) to the talent you mentioned in Rosie Hirsch, Jess Fowler, Ellen Kietzmann, and Dave Burns; plus, serving on the Board of Directors under Presidents Shearer, Hesse, and Sunshine ­ I felt I had some qualifications to express a concerned opinion.

You expressed a desire to see the new RVAA complete the aftermarket group by considering membership applications from retailer dealers. I have been in the 'thick' of these discussions for years and our industry leaders always come across the same stumbling blocks:

(1) The name change will more clearly identify us with our sister associations, RVDA and RVIA. The idea of soliciting membership from the retail dealers was considered by WDA in the past and drew strict criticism from RVDA, as the RV dealer is their base membership. This move may damage a partnership that the RVAA leaders are trying to strengthen. Don't forget RVIA. If retail dealers met the aftermarket suppliers in the one-on-one format of the Executive Conference, would some dealers decide not to go to RVIA ­ Louisville? Would some suppliers decide not to spend extra advertising dollars on booth space at Louisville? Maybe, maybe not. Worth the risk to damage a partnership?

(2) Aftermarket suppliers would have to revamp their individual presentations at the Executive Conference to include suggested dealer pricing and programs. These may be contradictory to a potential distributor in a region. Both distributors and suppliers struggle with this issue.

(3) You probably would not find too many distributors (regional or national) that would be a proponent of having its key aftermarket retail dealers being in direct contact with its competitors. RVAA puts a lot of emphasis on interacting and socializing in a business atmosphere. This builds a business relationship based on communication and friendship. With this in mind, distributor members may feel very uneasy about their customers having the potential to build a relationship with executives from a competitor.

To solve these complex challenges, it's going to take the energy of the youth and the experience of the mature.

Craig Waugh
VP/General Manager
Allied Leisure Products, Inc.
Denver, Colorado

Dear Don,

After reading your editorial on the future of RV Aftermarket Association (RVAA), it looked like so many others dealing with the future of WDA and the wholesale distributor and small suppliers, but I thought I might respond to this one.

First you're right about you being part of the "aging generation" if all you remember that came out of that first strategic planning meeting ten years ago was a name change (from the Warehouse Distributors Association (WDA) to WDA ­ The RV Aftermarket Association.

I am also of that generation and was in that first meeting with Dan (Holt) you refer to in the editorial, as well as at those strategic planning meetings ten years ago -- and many others after that serving as a member of the board of directors.

I seem to recall that there were many more important decisions at that meeting than a name change.

For example, like the honeymoon between distributors and suppliers was over and the marriage was beginning. Also, our bi-laws needed major changes and were rewritten, and a communications committee was established.

The strategic alliance committee was established to bring other associations to a closer working relationship with ours. I happened to chair that committee and my first step was to recommend making dealers a part of our association.

As you may remember it was like backing into a buzz saw.

For the most part, our members were for letting dealers have a membership role in the association ­ and there was one person against it ­ a person who would not have blocked it if it would have come to vote.

However, what did stop it was a later meeting of that committee in Louisville, which I chaired, attended by all industry association leaders and dealers. The consensus was that it was not in the best interest of our industry to bring RV dealers into the RV Aftermarket Association -- and it was the dealers association leading the charge.

It became painfully obvious to me that those associations have their own priorities and income generating programs and they intended to protect them.

With that being said, however, there was support for the idea of bringing all segments of the RV aftermarket together at one place and time in "an industry-wide event.".

As for the future of The RV Aftermarket Association or WDA, I truly believe that my time spent on the board and my focus was geared toward the association embracing and helping the smaller distributor and supplier which would enhance our industry. However those segments (smaller distributors and suppliers) of our group for the most part were unwilling to participate past an initial contact with each other. They chose rather to exit and provided very little support for their own association.

Hal Fowler
Chairman
DTI RV Appliance Parts
Middlebury, Indiana

Dear Bob:

You hit the nail on the head in your article "Sell Convenience, Sell Safety; More than ever... Sell the Travel Advantages of RVing," in the December 2001 issue of RV News. Since 1983 the primary goal of The National Recreational Vehicle Owners Club (NRVOC) has been "to

professionally introduce others to The RVing Lifestyle." In effect, if we do a good job, we are building a motivated customer base for the RV industry as well as for our club.

The last two or three paragraphs of your article are very profound and relate directly to the problem. If the industry misses this golden opportunity to reveal the excitement and enjoyment of this unique style of life, they will have missed a great occasion to enhance their customer base.

K.W. Stephens
President
NRVOC
Gonzalez, Florida