Page 3 - Fall 2019 Travelore

DRVC Travelore - Page 3
The Officer’s Corner
Rod Kenly, President
Halloween and winter are just around the corner. Summer is over, and our rally in Miles City, Montana, as well as FMCA’s 100th in Fargo, North Dakota, are in the history books.
The Miles City Rally was nice in that the weather was good, and the KOA (the second in the system) hosted us well. A real treat was that we had a speaker who talked about the history of the area. In fact, the KOA was situated very near to the place where Lewis and Clark camped while they were in the area. Along with that, Custer met his demise
at Little Big Horn, which was a short drive down the road. The speaker talked about the Indians and what was going on — what happened because of (or due to) Custer. The speaker also had an original gun from one of the Custer’s troopers.
One of the rally attendees and new member, Doug Savchenko, has written a testimonial about why he joined the club and what he has learned from the Forum as well as attending our rallies. He wrote: “I was taken aback by learning all the things I didn’t even know I needed to know about.” I think all the attendees learn something new during the technical sessions and we all learn something from the roundtables that are held during the rallies.
We are all aware the FMCA does many things for its mem- bers. I think most people are aware of discounts at the various auto parts stores, and major engine shops (Cum- mins, Caterpillar), etc. I think almost everyone uses the FMCA tire discount for Michelin and other tires — these savings can be substantial.
Rod
I think the most underrated and least understood benefit is the FMCAssist. This is, for lack of a better term, medical evacuation coverage. If you become sick or death occurs on the road; FMCAssist will get you home. It will also get your motorhome back to your home location! I think a vast majority of people don’t understand that this cover- age can pay off thousands of dollars with just one event.
When FMCA started this benefit it was paid out of the savings/investments of FMCA. Now that FMCA has a better handle on the costs, and there have been a bunch of claims, it is now necessary to increase the dues to pay for this benefit. During the meetings held in Minot, it was agreed to raise the dues by $25.00 per year. When you
understand that this coverage is worth many thousands of dollars for one claim, the $25 is very minimal. There are stand-alone policies that are available that charge $1,000 per year for similar coverage.
The other information from FMCA during the meetings
is that since the admission of towables, FMCA member- ship has climbed 23 out of the last 24 months. As a related item, the membership of the Diesel RV Club has increased since the admission of towables.
We are returning to Distant Drums RV Resort for DRVC’s Valley Rally March 15-20 in Camp Verde, Arizona. The registration is live and online now.
The FMCA’s 101st rally will be held in Tucson, Arizona at the Pima County Fairgrounds. That registration is now online at FMCA.com. There are about 250 full hook up sites for that rally, on a first-come, first-serve basis. The rally theme is Sunset & Saguaros and will be held March 26-29. Entertainment includes Country star Josh Turner and the Classis Rock group, Three Dog Night.
As I wrap this up, a lot of you are heading for your snow- bird location or parking your coach for some period. This is a good time to get your fluids changed and fill the fuel tank if you are going to store your diesel unit.
I may see some of you at the Rocky Mountain Rally in Tucson (October) or the Western Area Rally in Indio (January), otherwise
See you down the road—
Your online diesel technician available only at the club’s forum