Randy Biles Elected RVDA Chairman
RV Dealers Come in Record Numbers to 1999 International Convention/Expo

Outgoing RVDA Chairman Cammy Goetz (l), Curtis Trailers, Inc., Portland, OR, passes the ceremonial gavel to newly elected chairman, Randy Biles of Pikes Peak Traveland in Colorado Springs, CO. (Photos courtesy of RVDA)

By Don Magary, editor

The health of the RV industry is superb and that was more than evident at the recent Recreation Vehicle Dealers Association (RVDA) International Convention/Expo held in September in Las Vegas. RV dealers, suppliers, distributors and manufacturers turned out in record numbers, and whether in the varied educational programs, the informative presentations by nationally-known speakers or the expo, attitudes were positive - a strong indication that it's a great time to be in the RV industry.

Among the highlights of this year's convention was the election of a new board of directors, including RVDA's new chairman, Randy Biles of Pikes Peak Traveland in Colorado Springs, CO. Biles succeeds Cammy Goetz, Curtis Trailers, Inc., Portland, OR.

Other officers for 1999 - 2000 are: First Vice Chairman Ernie Friessen of All Seasons RV in Yuba City, CA; Second Vice Chairman Craig Jensen of Blaine Jensen RV Center in Kaysville, UT; Treasurer Lorna Milligan of Paul Evert's RV Country Inc. in Fresno, CA; and Secretary Lou Luttrell of Avalon RV-Marine in Medina, OH. Cammy Goetz remains an officer as past chairman, along with RVDA President Mike Molino. The officers make up the association's Executive Committee.

Strip away the expo and the associated convention activities such as business meetings and speeches; the real core of the RVDA convention is education, educating dealers on becoming more professional in the operation of the businesses.

The higher education theme "RV Dealers University" (RVDU) was the only sure bet in town that nobody in attendance would be going home disappointed, and included over 60 workshops with 40 different industry experts.

This year's workshops and roundtables covered some of the most important topics in the industry including dealer/manufacturer relations, avoiding employment law litigation, setting and hitting sales goals, estate planning, increasing F&I profits and much more. Participants had the option to follow five different tracks including general operations, sales, F&I, rental and service and aftermarket. The curriculum also included many proprietary seminars and roundtables.

In addition, the four-day event featured an insightful overview of economic trends from CBS's Emmy award winning broadcast journalist Ray Brady, a conscientious look at the forces shaping the RV business today from Coachmen's Claire Skinner, a thorough overview on dealer -specific results of the Go RVing Coalition's RV consumer satisfaction study by J.D. Powers' Linda Schultz, Emmy award winning broadcast journalist seen by millions of Americans each week on the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather.

Ray Brady kicked off the convention with a bang. He said, "The one thing that you can say about this economy, and I think you all know it better than I, that it is like the Energizer bunny -- It keeps going and going and going."

Brady detailed the many reasons why he does not foresee a major slowing of the economy anytime soon.

He said, "The American people are powering the economy forward. Retail sales are strong, the latest figures show that the car sales are strong and so is the housing business. It's true that exports are weak, but a lot of it is due to the fact that Americans keep spending and they are buying foreign products as well as the products you people make for them." continued