Winners
A Report on the 28th Annual Coho Outing
Everyone was a winner at this year's annual Coho outing, which
is held each September in Traverse City, MI. This traditional
rite of fading Summer helps selected members of the RV and manufactured
housing industries gear up for Fall and the crowded agenda as
the year winds down. Coho is an event sponsored by five Michigan
companies: Stromberg Carlson, Tekonsha Engineering, Barker Manufacturing,
Marshall Brass-Marshall Gas, and Thetford Corporation.
These companies use the event to invite their customers to a weekend
of exciting entertainment around Grand Traverse Bay, and guests
can choose their own method of excitement -- golf at Interlochen
Golf Course or a day of charter boat fishing on the picturesque
bay. It's based on business, but its theme is fun.
And this year the event showed signs of maturing. 1996 was the
first year where female guests were officially invited. The sponsors
had never intended the event of be segregated, but when it was
started more than 25 years ago, like most businesses, women were
not in positions of leadership. So more by circumstance than plan,
the event developed into a 'men-only' event. And it was not by
court order that the event moved away from this tradition, but
by the sponsors themselves recognizing they needed to abandon
an unwritten policy because it was time.
And several industry women did attend this year's event, including
Joan McKinnon, general manager of Tekonsha Engineering, who in
the past has signed the checks to pay Tekonsha's portion of the
sponsorship. The sponsors hope that next year, the stigma that
the Coho outing was a stag party will be long forgotten and invited
companies will select ladies to represent them and participate
in the annual ritual of fun.
When the event was young, the main activity was fishing for Coho
Salmon. Today, it's golf. Over the years, the guest list has grown
to 127. But whether the guest's interest is golf or fishing, the
sponsors not only accommodate, but hold competitions and present
prizes. The fishing competition rewards individuals for landing
the biggest fish, while the golf competition rewards randomly
selected teams. The golf event is a four-man, best-ball scramble
and there are different teams for both the Friday and Saturday
events.
And while some guests took home prizes such as fish cookers and
customized golf bags among other prizes for their prowess in the
competition, everyone who attended the event went home a winner.
And whether it was listening to the traditional stories offered
by Paul Chandler, branch manager, Atlas Trailer Coach Products,
Surrey, B.C., Canada, during the awards festivities or simply
renewing acquaintances with old friends and colleagues in the
hospitality suite, guests had a delightful and memorable weekend.
That's because these sponsors certainly know how to tell their
customers, 'Thank you for your business' -- and that' the real
tradition and purpose of Coho.
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