At the national RV Show in Louisville, KY, the RV/MH Heritage Foundation announced the kickoff of a campaign to raise 5.5 million dollars to build a new and larger facility to house the RV/MH Hall of Fame Museum and Library. Winnebago Industries and the John K. Hanson Foundation have pledged a gift of $1 million to support the new building. Bruce Hertzke, chairman of the board of Winnebago Industries, has accepted the honorary chairmanship of the foundation campaign. Additional early pledges to the campaign have been received from Patrick Industries - $250,000, Newmar Corporation - $250,000, a gift in honor of Hall of Fame member Ralph Scoular - $250,000, and the state of Indiana - $200,000.

The new facility will cover over 50,000 square feet and will provide about three times the space of the current foundation headquarters. The building will include a new Hall of Fame gallery, separate museum halls for RVs, Manufactured Homes, and Supplier/component displays, and will have an industry wide conference and convention  center capable of hosting meetings and events involving over 300 attendees. The new and enlarged library facility has been endowed with a $2 million endowment gift from Roger and Waneta Reynolds of Chicago, IL, and St. Petersburg, Fl,. Reynolds was the Standards Director for MHMA in the late 1950s and early 1960s and wrote the original industry standards which have become today's ANSI code. He has not been involved in the MH or RV industries since the mid 1960s but felt that the preservation of the industries archives was important as a resource for the future.

A gift of $1 million dollars or more to the campaign will be recognized with one of the five "Founders Halls" being named for the benefactor; gifts of $250,000 or more will be recognized with inclusion in a "Founders Circle" with portraits and biographies prominently displayed. Gifts at additional levels will be recognized with appropriate plaques and awards.

Also included in the overall plan are outside display areas where industry manufacturers will have the opportunity to display their current products in comparison to the early units displayed in the museums.

The RV/MH Heritage Foundation, founded in 1972, annually elects individuals into the RV/MH Hall of Fame in recognition of outstanding service to the RV or manufactured housing industry and maintains the RV/MH museum and library as a repository for the history of the industry. The foundation hosts over 10,000 visitors a year from industry meetings and events, consumer visits, and international tours. It is a 501(c)(3) not-for- profit corporation and is supported by contributions from industry associations, companies, and individuals.

RVN